September 3, 2025 • 35 mins
The Bengals get set to open the season in Cleveland. Dan Hoard’s guests include Adam Schein from CBS Sports, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, and Zac Jackson who covers the Browns for The Athletic.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hi, get everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm Dan Horden. Thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast
the because training seasons. Over addition, as we look ahead
to Sunday season opener in Cleveland coming up, Adam Shine
from CBS Sports tells us why he loves the Bengals.
This year, I'll go one on one with Cam Taylor
(00:25):
Britt as he looks to bounce back from a sub
far season, and in our NOA Faux segment, we'll find
out what success looks like for the Cleveland Browns this
year from Zach Jackson, who covers the team for the
Athletic The Bengals Booth Podcast 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
(00:49):
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 podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet,
or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
(01:10):
the greatest thing since the Marty Brenneman Statue. This Saturday,
the Cincinnati Reds will honor legendary broadcaster Marty Brenneman with
the unveiling of his bronze statue outside of Great American Ballpark.
I've said before that Marty is responsible for one of
the greatest streaks in sports history. Over forty six years
(01:33):
and more than seven thousand games, he never botched a
big call as the voice of the Reds, whether it
was the final out of the World Series, a perfect
game by Tom Browning, or hit number forty one ninety
two by Pete Rose. There was never a stumble, wrong
name or incorrect detail. The words and the tone were
(01:56):
always perfect. Take it from somebody who tries to do
the same thing for a living.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
That is nothing.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Short of miraculous. As a play by play announcer of
live sporting events, you work without an eraser or backspace key.
You have one chance to get the moment right, and
Marty did for nearly half a century. I look forward
to seeing the statue of one of bye broadcasting heroes.
(02:22):
Now let's get to my first guest. My friend Adam
Shine is a busy man every weekday from nine to noon.
He hosts Shine on Sports on Sirius XM Radio. He
is the host of the Rise and Shine podcast. And
now you are going to be seeing him frequently when
you watch the NFL on CBS. When you watch the
(02:45):
Bengals on CBS this year and they go to the
studio for highlights, the guy that will be doing them
is my buddy, Adam Shine, and he will be sensational. Adam,
congratulations on that opportunity. Let's talk Bengals. You are a
big proponent of playing Joe Burrow and the starters in
the preseason. You got your wish. Why was it so important?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Well, first of all, then it's always great to be
with you, and I appreciate the nice words. You kind
of gave me the chills as you said that, because
I'm super excited.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
It's it's a dream assignment.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I did it a couple of times last year and
I'm fired up to do it every single week.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
For the NFL and CBS and listen.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
I give Zach Taylor a lot of credit, and frankly,
I give Joe Burrow a lot of credit. Look, everyone
knows the record for the Bengals first two weeks of
a season under Zach Taylor and it's a thing, and
it's real and something had to change. And I think
the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting a different result.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
And for a Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Team where Joe Burrow last year, Jamar Chase had this
unbelievable historic campaign and Cincinnati didn't make the playoffs, look
the goals to win a champcempionship.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
That's that's it.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
So to me, even as Bengals fans are nervous as
Joe Burrow is running backwards with you know, makeshift, it's
a line of the preseason, Zach Taylor did the right thing,
even when t Higgins and Tomorrow were on the sideline.
I think he did the right thing. And I give
Joe credit because you know this more than anyone. You
have to have buy in from the quarterback and he's
(04:25):
the leader of the team, and Joe has to go
along with the plan. And I just think the world
of what the Bengals did because same old, same old
was not going to cut it, not going to cut
it for the leaders, not going to cut it for
the coaching staff, not going to cut it. For the
fan base there, obviously there's an expectation.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I had T Higgins on my Serious XM radio show.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
He said, look, it's about getting into the tournaments and
winning games, and that to me, for an NFL player,
I think that's the awesome appropriate response.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
When I asked about preseason expectations.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Especially in the AFC this year, make the playoffs and
be There are about six teams in the AFC that
I think internally the goal is to win a couple
of playoff games. Like obviously on math that can't happen,
but Cincinnati is one of those teams. Win a couple
of playoff games, play on championship Sunday and see what transpires.
(05:21):
So I know social media was set up plays when
Zach had everybody in I know, when Burrow's getting hits,
everyone gets nervous. Look, no matter what happened, it was
the right coaching decision and approach. I was very outspoken
on that, and I'm excited for Zach and the Bengals
to be rewarded for it because you know nowadays social media,
(05:42):
you know, talk radio, all the talking heads, there's so
much scrutiny. No matter how it played out, that was
the right move. I was happy that the sports gods
smiled on the Bengals in terms of no injury, no harm,
no foul. So I'm excited for the Bengals to start
this year in the first two weeks.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
Of the season.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
We like the way that sounds. Let me follow up
on your interview with t Higgins. You asked him about
the importance of a fast start. He said, I don't
really like that narrative, and the national media pounced stephen
A Smith ridiculed him for that. But I think you
got what he meant that it's more than just a
fast start. They're trying to have a great season. Is
(06:25):
that how you took it?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
One hundred percent?
Speaker 3 (06:28):
And listen, the beauty is anyone could take anything anyway.
And you know I love stephen A. He's my guy,
and you know I can appreciate anyone doing what they
do and saying and spinning anything their way.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I followed up.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
On Tea's response because I found it so interesting and Dan,
the way I heard it was okay, we know the record.
Tea's lived it, Cincinnati's liveded. It's bigger than the first
two weeks. It's okay, next game, next opponent, get to
the playoffs, do some damage. Like t Higgins is foaming
(07:06):
at the mouth to play ball, Like leave that to
me to talk about the first two weeks. He just
wants to go out play Cleveland, get off to a
good start and win, and he wants to win week one,
week eight January and into February. So I took that
in terms of his response as let's just kick the
(07:27):
thing off, let's play ball. I think on the heels
of last year for team, you know, obviously with the
contract and the injury and the ambiguity, he's thrilled to
be back in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I think he's gonna have a terrific season.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
And I think for him it was Okay, we know
the deal, we get it, let's go play football.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
The Bengals extended Jamar, they extended Tea, they were able
to work things out with Trey for this season. How
do you grade their offseason?
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I think the offseason was an a you know, and
I'll even factor in Shamar Stewart's right, and even when
things were kind of going sideways here, right, you know,
where we didn't know about Trey, we didn't know about Schamar.
It all works and you know, forget about the comments
or the whold out or.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
The inactivity in May.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Stewart looked great in camp from all reports, looked good
in the preseason games.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
From all reports. I thought the pick was really good
at the time.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
You know, Trey Hendrickson, you needed him to sign in
my opinion by a certain dates.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
He did it.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
I think he'll be top four, top five for a
quarterback sacks. He's a terrific player, I thought, and I
love that Rumo did on defense. I thought bringing in
Al Golden again needed to make a change. You know,
I still think what coach Rumo did was was strong
for a long period of time. But I'm a big
Al Golden fan. I thought that was terrific. And Dan,
(08:57):
let's not bury the lead here because I think times,
you know, with the Bengals, it could be, oh, they didn't.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Do this, or they're doing that.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
They signed Jamar Chase and t Higgins, and I was
pretty outspoken on that where you needed to sign both
and that sounds great if you have a microphone in
the national media.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Right, the Bengals did it. When you have Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
When the Colts I had Peyton Manning. You want to
give him two absolute stars at the receiver position. It
was Harrison and Wayne and now it's Chasing Higgins. You know,
some number two is historically you know, we could talk
Peerless Prize or Alvin Harper. They changed teams. You know,
t Higgins is a legit number one receiver. He just
(09:42):
happens to be the number two on the Cincinnati Bengals
because Jamar Chase is outstanding. So for the Bengals to
realize that that gives them the best opportunity to win
and to keep that together. And that's Look, you can
debate anything. You know, Joe Burrow's top four quarterback in
the NFL. You could tell me he's one, two, three
or four and we could have an intelligent conversation. We
(10:04):
know the other names of Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and
Patrick Mahomes. There's no debate. Best quarterback receiver combo in
the NFL. That's Cincinnati. That's a strength and I think
the Bengals deserve a lot of credit for keeping that
band together.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Adam he tweeted recently, I want to love this team,
but so you've got some reservations.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
What are they?
Speaker 3 (10:29):
I need to see the defense. I think it will
be better. I need to see it the tackling preseason.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Look, we always.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Get nuts when things are great in the preseason, and
you know, I refer to it Dan as you don't
want to get Joey Harrington's right, Like I remember Joey
Harrington looked great in a couple of preseason games.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Oh, Joey Lynn's good. I mean you don't.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
So you always want to, you know, go against you know,
having something ultra positive, and then you think you're gonna
crown somebody. I think when there's something you cancerned abouts
and is on the heels of last year, is on
the heels of you know what we saw with when
Cincinnati defense did not perform well, that to me was
(11:10):
a little alarming in terms of the defense. I kind
of wanted the offensive line again, not on the preseason,
just maybe in terms of names and personnel and offseason to.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Feel a little bit better about it. You know. I
made my picks.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
For the AFC Tuesday after Labor Day, and I took
the Bengals and I thought about taking them to win
the division.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
I picked them third in the division.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
I picked them seventh seed, and I honestly in the
AFC North. I struggled because I think there are three
teams that have real Super Bowl aspirations. I put Pittsburgh
in the conversation. I love Baltimore this year. I really
want to see Cincinnati playing for a Super Bowl. I
think the elements are there. I think there's a lot
(11:59):
of areas that are underrated. My concern is that the
other two teams in the division are just a little
bit more well rounded.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
That might not matter.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
And if this defense under Coach Golden, plays to the
level I think they are capable of where they can
create turnovers, get sacks, get the opposition's offense off the field,
get Joe the ball back, then I think they'll be fine.
But I just I'm concerned about the division and the
defense and how it stacks up ultimately.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
In the ANC North, the Bengals open in Cleveland. The
Browns have issues, but we've learned not to take anything
for granted, especially in the AFC North. What do you
think about that Week one matchup?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
So maybe this is me drinking the kool aid after
the T Higgins interview, but I can't stress enough how
much I love the Bengals, Like I think Joe Burrow
is going to absolutely explode. I think that t Higgins
and Jamar Chase will get into the end zone a
couple of times each. Like I think that because of
(13:09):
the history and the precedents of the slow starts since
twenty nineteen, and the expectations and the offseason, I just
think they're not taking anything for granted. You talk about
your reference obviously, my take on the genius of playing
these guys in the preseason, I think Borrow is gonna
(13:29):
come out firing. Like it's kind of crazy and I'm
guilty of it. We all start doing MVP rankings in September,
like there's you know, any kind of avalidity to it.
I think Joe Burrow for MVP, Jamar Chase for Offensive
Player of the Year. After the first two weeks of
the season, Like when you start seeing odds and line movement,
(13:50):
we're going to be talking about those guys being absolutely dominant.
I also think that Joe Flacco, while he was strong,
let's be fair, a couple of years ago playing for
Kevin Stefanski, I think the most underrated story when it
comes to Cleveland or under talked about story, Joe Flecko
(14:10):
did him play well last year? That's why Indianapolis moved
on from him. So my expectations for the Browns are
really low. Now, obviously they have Miles Garrett, their defense
is strong. I think Kevin Stefanski is a hell of
a coach. They will be ready. But I really think
the Bengals come out with a vengeance internally and to
(14:32):
kind of maybe hush some of the loud, obnoxious voices
on the outside, and I think they spank the Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
All Right, you heard it from Adam Shine, This has
been great. Can't wait to see you in the studio
throughout this season on CBS. Thanks so much for joining us, Dan,
you the best, Appreciate anything for you. After t Higgins
appeared on his radio show, Adam praised his leadership, accountability
and just play ball mentality and predicted that t is
(15:02):
going to have a monster year. Here's hoping he's right
up next. My one on one visit with Cam Taylor
Britt last week on this podcast, I included Cam on
my list of the Bengals top five training camp standouts.
A few weeks ago, we were talking about his strong
camp and Cam mentioned that he's following a strict daily routine.
(15:24):
This year that begins with making his bed in the morning,
and that reminded me of one of the best speeches
I've ever heard. Several years ago, Naval Admiral William mccraven
delivered the commencement speech at the University of Texas and
shared ten lessons he learned from basic seal training. If
you've never seen it, I highly recommend looking up McRaven
(15:48):
commencement speech on YouTube. The first lesson he shared with
the graduates is the importance of making your bed.
Speaker 5 (15:56):
If you make your bed every morning, you will have
accomplished the first task of the day. It will give
you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage
you to do another task, and another and another, and
by the end of the day that one task completed
will have turned into many task completed. Making your bed
will also reinforce the fact that the little things in
(16:17):
life matter. If you can't do the little things right,
you'll never be able to do the big things right.
And if, by chance, you have a miserable day, you
will come home to a bed that is made, that
you made, and a made bed gives you encouragement that
tomorrow will be better. So if you want to change
(16:37):
the world, start off by making your bed.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Now, here's my conversation with fourth year cornerback cam Taylor Brett.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
Kem.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
You were talking a few weeks ago about following a
strict routine and you said, you have to make your
bed in the morning to start the day off. Right,
there's a famous speech where Admiral will Yeah McRaven talks
about that. Are you familiar with that speech? Did a
coach or a mentor talk about the importance of beginning
the day making your better? Did you just come up
(17:10):
with that on your own?
Speaker 6 (17:11):
Kind of been doing my whole life? Honestly, I think
that's the best way you start your day off. And
I think it's kind of plays the test of football,
you know, detailed, you know, and everything else. And think
about it. If you're not life is a miss. Your
room is a miss, you know, and that's the one
you know you don't want to live that way. And
I said, yeah, most definitely start by cleaning my room
on basically making my bed, you know, uh, the first
(17:33):
start all.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Right, Now, you have to watch that speech because he says,
if you want to change the world, make your bed
every morning.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Wow. Almost definitely didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
So when you talk about following a more strict routine,
how is that helping you?
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Man? Thank yous planning out in my favor.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Man, Honestly, I feel like I've gotten better in every
every way, uh physically and a better football player by
cutting out some things and just putting some things in.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Something like that.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
I need to do far as my body, working with
certain people, getting extra work with Chuck, you know, as
my dog. So you know, I want to be the
best I can be and he wants me to as well,
so you know, he he's always on my side to
help me. You know, anytime I want to know or
get some air strata, know this, this andess, especially with
the game's.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Coming, You're always confident. But is it at a new
level going into this season.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Yeah, it really is. I don't know the word for it. Man.
I just want to play with.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
Fire under my butt, you know, every play basically, don't
let nothing go for.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Granted, don't look back at my damn.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
You could have doled for that, or could have did
this or Yeah, I don't want no fear of failure.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Basically playing out there this year, you know, want.
Speaker 6 (19:00):
To be the best cam tend a brid out there
on the field for the Bengals.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
You know what I'm saying. That's it.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
You've been asked a lot about last season, and it
was obviously an inconsistent one for you, but you always
point out that you did play all seventeen games. Why
was that so important to you?
Speaker 6 (19:17):
It was very important to me, just because it doesn't
happen a lot, especially in the NFL week. The week
in these games that we do play are very crucial
on the body.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Sometimes there's short weeks. You know, you got your Monday
night games purs of night games, and your body doesn't
fully recover.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
But I feel like that's one thing I took a
step in lest year, was trying to make sure my
body was always right, and I think it kind of
played out into my favor and towards the end of
the season. You know, but that is a great thing
to play a full season of football.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
You've got new defensive coordinator and Al Golton. Did that
give you a fresh start?
Speaker 6 (19:52):
I would say so, yeah, you can honestly put it
in those words, as you know, like you said, the
year ahead, Uh, it's like a fresh everything, you know, uh,
And and just coming into the building with a new
mindset as with the defense.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
And everybody's all aboard on it. It's been great.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Did you feel like lou Ana Roumo lost faith in you?
Speaker 6 (20:15):
I wouldn't say I feel like he lost faith. I
think one thing he always tried to do is getting
me back to where I was.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
Honestly, in a way, I don't.
Speaker 6 (20:23):
I know, it's a business at the end of the day,
and if you're you're messing up out there, you don't
belong out there. And that's what it was in the sense,
So I don't. I wouldn't say that. He's always pushed
me and you know, been behind me and in ways
that I probably wouldn't even know behind closed doors.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Chuck Burks is in your corner. Describe your relationship with
your cornerbacks coach.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Father figure away from you know, a home.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
Basically, I don't. You don't have to go and look
for a search or anything. When I got you know,
chick right there, you know, uh for basically you know
all my answers. I can speak to him, you know,
not just about football, but you know outside of the building,
you know, my life. Want us to know about your
mental and how are you not just the football player?
Speaker 4 (21:06):
But Cam celebrate.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
This is a contract year. The top cornerbacks in the
NFL are making more than twenty million dollars a year.
Do you have to put that in the back of
your mind at the start of a season.
Speaker 6 (21:20):
Yeah, just go ball, do my job. The ball will
find me. It's simple as that. Just continue to do
what I do and don't don't veer away from the light,
you know, to shine that.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I put out there already on.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
Myself, gonna shy away from you know, take take everything,
simple as it.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
We're visiting with Cam Taylor Brett. You open against the
Cleveland Browns with forty year old Joe Flaccoyd quarterback. He
played his first NFL game when you were eight years old.
Can you fool a guy like that? Or do you
beat him with a good pass rush and forcing him
to make throws that he'd do want to make?
Speaker 6 (22:01):
I think that's sacod answer is probably the busines answer.
Uh yeah, not much fooling. You would say, what has
he seen? But we can play harder than him, We
can play we can we can you know, rest the
quarterback a lot faster, you know, make him make a
decision a lot faster. Uh, dis ripped the time in
on the outside of receivers. Yeah, I wouldn't say. You know,
(22:25):
there's not much you could do with my Joe. Man,
he's he's a season vent for sure. And you know,
we just gotta go out there and play our game.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
You know. Uh, whatever our calls, we run it and execute.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
It's your fourth NFL season, the Bengals have never won
in Week one. How sick are you of all of
the fast start conversation?
Speaker 6 (22:45):
He pissed me off. Man, I feel like, you know,
at the end of the day, we just need to
go out there and go do it. And I played
a huge factor in that. So, you know, we just
gotta go out there and do it. None knows to
be said.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Final thing for Cam Taylor Brett, your alma mater. Nebraska
open this season with a victory over the University of
Cincinnati Bearcats. Safe to assume you watch the game and
what did you think?
Speaker 4 (23:05):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (23:05):
I did watch the game, Man, go big Red. That
was a lovely win, especially in the arrow. But uh,
you know, I do think the Husters can make a
run for it, you know, I think, of course, there's
some bumpser bruises along the game.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
First game of the season Jitters.
Speaker 6 (23:21):
Also, you know they're playing at the NFL stadium, so
I know some of those kids very in all. But
uh right, the kid Dealer, he's very smooth too. Man
like how he plays at a running back over there.
I gotta get his name and he went for like
one twenty.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Five Ammitt Johnson.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Yeah, he's nice, man. I love the way he runs
very hard.
Speaker 6 (23:39):
Marque's Bruefort on defense, Malcolm Hartzog on defense.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
They're looking good, man.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
I think they could do some big Congrats on that win.
More importantly, get one against Cleveland.
Speaker 6 (23:50):
Most definitely who the that's Camp Taylor Brett.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
The first depth chart of the year, Cam Taylor Brett
and DJ Turner are listed as the starting outside corners,
with Dax Hill penciled in as the starter at slot corner.
The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,
Proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by
Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet designed elevator, home, business
(24:16):
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 for
this week's Know the Faux segment. After winning eleven games
and going to the playoffs two years ago, the browns
fortunes plummeted last season as Cleveland went three to fourteen.
(24:38):
As a result, the Browns appear to have moved on
from the two hundred and thirty million dollar mistake by
the Lake quarterback to Shawn Watson and started another rebuild
built around the league's best defensive player, Miles Garrett and
a bunch of draft picks. Zach Jackson, who covers the
Browns for The Athletic, joined Dave Lapham and me on
(24:59):
the Bengals Game Planned show this week and I asked
him what success looks like for the Browns in twenty
twenty five.
Speaker 7 (25:09):
Well, I think it means getting some clarity on some things,
and even if that's not quarterback, you know, I think
they have to know that they were right to recommit
smile Garrett. I think they have to know that they
had a good draft class, which they think they do,
and they need to know if they have the right
guys in charge. Frankly, and I think these are smart guys.
I think they've done a good job in spots and
(25:30):
bad spots. Bad job in others, But I don't know
that the greatest front office in the world could recover
from the Deshaun Watson mistake. I really mean that. And
it's gonna haunt this team. It's gonna hurt their salary tap,
it's hurt how they're perceived, right, and the roster is
not awful, but it's pretty thin. So we're just starting
a long journey here, and I don't know what the
(25:52):
roster is going to look like or what the record
is going to look like, you know, three months from now.
I got a feeling the Browns are going to be
really hard to play against, if this makes sense, But
I'm not sure how many games they're gonna win. So
that's the hell of a question you've asked there.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Yeah, and a very interesting answer.
Speaker 8 (26:07):
I mean, I think the biggest concern that I would
have as a as a Cleveland Browns fan is the
quarterback position. You mentioned Joe Flacco. Is Joe Flacco got
anything left? Is he got something in the tank? I
think Cleveld's gonna score some points. I think they'll score
some points. My question is will the Bengals be able
to score points against the Cleveland Browns? Defensive football team.
(26:31):
And do the Cleveland Browns defensive football team have any
weaknesses anywhere that you're that concern you going into this opener?
Speaker 7 (26:40):
Yeah, a corner. They're really thin and you don't want
to be that against the Bengals. Right, they're finant linebacker.
Now the rookie, the second round rookie Carson Sweatsyer. I
want you guys to circle that name because he is
off to an amazing start. And I think they got
one right there. We'll see, yeah, Lap, I think Flaco's
in great shape. I know we can still sling it.
I know they're going to have a good plan on right.
(27:00):
Can they avoid the turnovers?
Speaker 1 (27:03):
You know?
Speaker 7 (27:03):
Can they get up enough to really put pressure on Burrow?
The Browns offensive line should be a strength. They have
four guys back who've been there a long time. The
problem is none of the four are under contract for
next year. You know, Joel Atonio's had a borderline Hall
of Fame career. We don't know if he's going to
play anymore after this year. So it's a top heavy team.
It's a team that has good players in most spots,
(27:25):
that's completely unproven depths and has questions across the offense,
and then you know, we know that September in the
NFL is strange. But in this game, you have a
clear elite offense in the Bengals and a really good
to elite defense in the Browns. The other side step
question marks. So I think we see this game more
clearly than you see a lot of early season games.
But what's going to happen? I don't know. I think
(27:46):
it's going to be wild come Sunday afternoons.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, Zach Jackson covers the Browns for the athletic Miles
Garrett demanded a trade early in the offseason. Browns gave
him one hundred and sixty million dollars to change his
mind after seeing what the Cowboys got in exchange for Parsons.
Should the Browns have traded Miles Garrett?
Speaker 7 (28:10):
No, even though I thought mostly they should have. I'm
glad you've stramed it that way, Dan, because it's like this,
you would have had to have get gotten a real
offer that was almost double that for the Browns to
entertain it. They think he's that good, right, and you
can we can talk for hours about how they just
throw money to fix their problems, and we could talk
for hours about whether Miles Garrett's going to give you
(28:30):
full buy in or whether he's still going to be
great the next time that you're good. But they couldn't
be the front office that traded four to Shaun Watson
and traded away Miles Garrett for one and for two.
Even though they're pretty walking, pretty close to admitting they're
in a rebuild, they think Miles is so generationally good
and has so much left in the tank that they
weren't going to watch him walk away. And I think
(28:52):
this summer he and Denzel Ward have both been phenomenal.
That's part of the reason, along with that rookie linebacker
that I think the defense gives them a chance. And
like I said, this is going to be a really
hard team to play against. I don't know about the
offensive cohesion, I don't know about the depth. You know,
you never know with injuries. But it is a team
in a really weird spot because their best players are
(29:14):
either thirty or near thirty and make a lot of money,
and there's not a ton of young players there and
there's certainly no long term answer at quarterback.
Speaker 8 (29:24):
Did Dallas get enough? When you talk to people in
the Cleveland Browns organization. You said, Miles Garrett, you know
they would have they would have commanded twice as much.
He's when the Dallas Cowboys got What did does Cleveland
do that? People look in the front office in Cleveland
think that Dallas kind of enough.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
No, I don't think anyone does. And it's just, you know,
they were just not realistically ever going to get enough
to trade the guy right. So they went out and
they paid ten million to a veteran in Elie Collins
to play next to him, and they went and they
got the number five pick in the draft, Mason Graham,
who's going to be a going up against the new
right guard. And they hope that those guys can only
share it. And they hope that Garrett, I think thirteen
(30:01):
sacks in twelve games against the Bengals, they're hoping he
has about five of them on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
A couple more questions for our guests, Zach Jackson, who
covers the Browns for the Athletic. There are a lot
of Ohio State fans, obviously in the Cincinnati area, and
anybody that watched Quinn Seawan Judkins played for the Buck
guys last year, particularly in the National Championship Game. I
wouldn't want to face him. I mean, he is an
angry runner, but he's been out of training camp because
(30:30):
of a contract battle. Is he gonna play on Sunday
or do the Bengals get to avoid him in week one?
Speaker 7 (30:36):
He had no chance even if he signs. And I
really don't know what's going on exactly with that, but
you know, he's missed all a training camp, so he
has really put I don't want to say it here
in the first week of September that he's put his
entire rookie season in danger. But when you're a running
back and you missed training camp, it's going to be
awfully hard to gain the trust of the staff. And
they picked him over Trayvon Henderson, his Ohio State teammate,
(30:57):
because they thought he was the better stylistic fit for
what they needed and what they want to do, and
to not have him leave a running game that was
completely broken last year with two intriguing backs in Ford
and Stampson. But they're smaller backs and neither one of
them as talented as he is. So it is a blow.
And it is one of these things that you look
and you say every year it's something with this team,
and this year it's the number thirty six pick in
(31:20):
the draft not having a contract four days before the
season starts.
Speaker 8 (31:24):
Boy, I'll tell you that's that's interesting. What offensively Cleveland's
got Joe Flackhall. You mentioned that Joe Flaccoll looks really good.
I mean he probably throws the ball. Joe Barlow was
talking about him today, saying that he's a natural.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Thrower of the football.
Speaker 8 (31:42):
The ball comes out of Joe Flacco's hand about as
well as he's ever seen. Who are his main weapons
or is it just a collection of a little bit
from everybody.
Speaker 7 (31:53):
Yeah, I think Jerry Duty is no doubt the number
one guy. They're going to utilize David Najoku, and they're
also going to utilize as the rookie tight end Harold Fannon,
who's gonna kind of eventually take over from the Joku,
maybe as soon as this month, but we'll see. But
it's Jerry, Judy Speed, It's Cedric Tillman size, it's the
new rookie Isaiah Bond, who I think will get some
(32:13):
gadget plays and maybe a bomb or two. I mean,
there's a lot that went right back in twenty three
when Flacco came off the couch and led the Browns
to the playoffs flat. But when you watch those games,
there are many times that you see you look and
you say, well, the safety was out a position or
somebody got fooled there, and that's not really the case.
It's that Flacco throws it so much further than almost
every other quarterback does that guys were not believing that
(32:35):
he would actually do that. So if he hits a
couple of those Sunday and the stadium goes nuts, the
Browns can get some momentum. If he throws it to
the other team, which he's been known to do, then
the Bengals might run away with it. I think it's
going to be a close game. I think the ball
is going to be in Burrough's hands late and the
game is going to be very much undecided.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Final question for me, Zach. They drafted two quarterbacks, Dylan
Gabriel and Shador Sanders. You would think at some point
this year, I want to know what they have. Did
either guy look like you would be able to start
relatively soon.
Speaker 7 (33:06):
I don't believe that, at least not effectively. You know,
Gabriel was a six year college player. They drafted him
because they feel like that he was able to pick
things up in process and make a better transition. I
don't know that he'll ever have the ability, right, but
I would say then they're both going to play. When
we see you guys in January again, one of them
is going to be playing. They're probably both going to
(33:26):
play before that. You know, they would love, obviously for
one to be the answer. And maybe the only way
out of this Watson thing is to find your own
Brock Purty, right, a quarterback drafted late, comes out of
nowhere who doesn't cost anything and becomes that guy. Shador
is intriguing. He's miles away from that. Dylan Gabriel is
a fast processor and a pretty accurate thrower. I don't
(33:47):
know that he'll ever have this physical ability to be
a starting quarterback here. But the one prediction I have
for this season is, I think eleven times since ninety nine,
the Browns have had at least three different starting quarterbacks
in a season. Write me down for number twelve and
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
That's incredible.
Speaker 8 (34:03):
What a stat that is the coaching staff? How safe
is everybody is? Kevin Stefanski. Is he in good shape
with the general manager, with ownership, with everybody.
Speaker 7 (34:15):
Yeah, I think Kevin's held in high regard. I think
Kevin's going to have him really ready to play on Sunday.
And I don't think they want to move on. But
I think the answer to that question lies in what
kind of season is it?
Speaker 4 (34:25):
Right?
Speaker 7 (34:25):
Do they continue to have more judkins off the field incidents?
Do they have incidents where guys are loafings, or do
they come out and they compete and they're prepared and
sometimes they just turn out of talent. I think we
have to see that. I know that ownership does not
want to move on from the coach or the GM,
and I know that everybody's driven to make up for
this Watson mistake and to kind of hang their hats
(34:46):
on this rookie class that looks really good before a
real snap has ever played. But the reality is, when
you go from eleven wins in the playoffs the three wins,
I don't care who you are, You're on the hot
seats next year. So let's check back in a couple
months to see where that's stands.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Thanks thus Zach Jackson, And 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
Ulta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet designed elevate your home,
business and community to a new level, and by Kettering
Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
(35:20):
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 listening to The Bengals
Booth Podcast.
Hi, get everybody.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm Dan Horden. Thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast
the because training seasons. Over addition, as we look ahead
to Sunday season opener in Cleveland coming up, Adam Shine
from CBS Sports tells us why he loves the Bengals.
This year, I'll go one on one with Cam Taylor
(00:25):
Britt as he looks to bounce back from a sub
far season, and in our NOA Faux segment, we'll find
out what success looks like for the Cleveland Browns this
year from Zach Jackson, who covers the team for the
Athletic The Bengals Booth Podcast 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
(00:49):
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 podcast delivered write to your phone, tablet,
or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's
(01:10):
the greatest thing since the Marty Brenneman Statue. This Saturday,
the Cincinnati Reds will honor legendary broadcaster Marty Brenneman with
the unveiling of his bronze statue outside of Great American Ballpark.
I've said before that Marty is responsible for one of
the greatest streaks in sports history. Over forty six years
(01:33):
and more than seven thousand games, he never botched a
big call as the voice of the Reds, whether it
was the final out of the World Series, a perfect
game by Tom Browning, or hit number forty one ninety
two by Pete Rose. There was never a stumble, wrong
name or incorrect detail. The words and the tone were
(01:56):
always perfect. Take it from somebody who tries to do
the same thing for a living.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
That is nothing.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Short of miraculous. As a play by play announcer of
live sporting events, you work without an eraser or backspace key.
You have one chance to get the moment right, and
Marty did for nearly half a century. I look forward
to seeing the statue of one of bye broadcasting heroes.
(02:22):
Now let's get to my first guest. My friend Adam
Shine is a busy man every weekday from nine to noon.
He hosts Shine on Sports on Sirius XM Radio. He
is the host of the Rise and Shine podcast. And
now you are going to be seeing him frequently when
you watch the NFL on CBS. When you watch the
(02:45):
Bengals on CBS this year and they go to the
studio for highlights, the guy that will be doing them
is my buddy, Adam Shine, and he will be sensational. Adam,
congratulations on that opportunity. Let's talk Bengals. You are a
big proponent of playing Joe Burrow and the starters in
the preseason. You got your wish. Why was it so important?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Well, first of all, then it's always great to be
with you, and I appreciate the nice words. You kind
of gave me the chills as you said that, because
I'm super excited.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
It's it's a dream assignment.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
I did it a couple of times last year and
I'm fired up to do it every single week.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
For the NFL and CBS and listen.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
I give Zach Taylor a lot of credit, and frankly,
I give Joe Burrow a lot of credit. Look, everyone
knows the record for the Bengals first two weeks of
a season under Zach Taylor and it's a thing, and
it's real and something had to change. And I think
the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting a different result.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
And for a Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Team where Joe Burrow last year, Jamar Chase had this
unbelievable historic campaign and Cincinnati didn't make the playoffs, look
the goals to win a champcempionship.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
That's that's it.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
So to me, even as Bengals fans are nervous as
Joe Burrow is running backwards with you know, makeshift, it's
a line of the preseason, Zach Taylor did the right thing,
even when t Higgins and Tomorrow were on the sideline.
I think he did the right thing. And I give
Joe credit because you know this more than anyone. You
have to have buy in from the quarterback and he's
(04:25):
the leader of the team, and Joe has to go
along with the plan. And I just think the world
of what the Bengals did because same old, same old
was not going to cut it, not going to cut
it for the leaders, not going to cut it for
the coaching staff, not going to cut it. For the
fan base there, obviously there's an expectation.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
I had T Higgins on my Serious XM radio show.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
He said, look, it's about getting into the tournaments and
winning games, and that to me, for an NFL player,
I think that's the awesome appropriate response.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
When I asked about preseason expectations.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Especially in the AFC this year, make the playoffs and
be There are about six teams in the AFC that
I think internally the goal is to win a couple
of playoff games. Like obviously on math that can't happen,
but Cincinnati is one of those teams. Win a couple
of playoff games, play on championship Sunday and see what transpires.
(05:21):
So I know social media was set up plays when
Zach had everybody in I know, when Burrow's getting hits,
everyone gets nervous. Look, no matter what happened, it was
the right coaching decision and approach. I was very outspoken
on that, and I'm excited for Zach and the Bengals
to be rewarded for it because you know nowadays social media,
(05:42):
you know, talk radio, all the talking heads, there's so
much scrutiny. No matter how it played out, that was
the right move. I was happy that the sports gods
smiled on the Bengals in terms of no injury, no harm,
no foul. So I'm excited for the Bengals to start
this year in the first two weeks.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
Of the season.
Speaker 2 (06:03):
We like the way that sounds. Let me follow up
on your interview with t Higgins. You asked him about
the importance of a fast start. He said, I don't
really like that narrative, and the national media pounced stephen
A Smith ridiculed him for that. But I think you
got what he meant that it's more than just a
fast start. They're trying to have a great season. Is
(06:25):
that how you took it?
Speaker 1 (06:27):
One hundred percent?
Speaker 3 (06:28):
And listen, the beauty is anyone could take anything anyway.
And you know I love stephen A. He's my guy,
and you know I can appreciate anyone doing what they
do and saying and spinning anything their way.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
I followed up.
Speaker 3 (06:43):
On Tea's response because I found it so interesting and Dan,
the way I heard it was okay, we know the record.
Tea's lived it, Cincinnati's liveded. It's bigger than the first
two weeks. It's okay, next game, next opponent, get to
the playoffs, do some damage. Like t Higgins is foaming
(07:06):
at the mouth to play ball, Like leave that to
me to talk about the first two weeks. He just
wants to go out play Cleveland, get off to a
good start and win, and he wants to win week one,
week eight January and into February. So I took that
in terms of his response as let's just kick the
(07:27):
thing off, let's play ball. I think on the heels
of last year for team, you know, obviously with the
contract and the injury and the ambiguity, he's thrilled to
be back in Cincinnati.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
I think he's gonna have a terrific season.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
And I think for him it was Okay, we know
the deal, we get it, let's go play football.
Speaker 2 (07:48):
The Bengals extended Jamar, they extended Tea, they were able
to work things out with Trey for this season. How
do you grade their offseason?
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I think the offseason was an a you know, and
I'll even factor in Shamar Stewart's right, and even when
things were kind of going sideways here, right, you know,
where we didn't know about Trey, we didn't know about Schamar.
It all works and you know, forget about the comments
or the whold out or.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
The inactivity in May.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
Stewart looked great in camp from all reports, looked good
in the preseason games.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
From all reports. I thought the pick was really good
at the time.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
You know, Trey Hendrickson, you needed him to sign in
my opinion by a certain dates.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
He did it.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
I think he'll be top four, top five for a
quarterback sacks. He's a terrific player, I thought, and I
love that Rumo did on defense. I thought bringing in
Al Golden again needed to make a change. You know,
I still think what coach Rumo did was was strong
for a long period of time. But I'm a big
Al Golden fan. I thought that was terrific. And Dan,
(08:57):
let's not bury the lead here because I think times,
you know, with the Bengals, it could be, oh, they didn't.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Do this, or they're doing that.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
They signed Jamar Chase and t Higgins, and I was
pretty outspoken on that where you needed to sign both
and that sounds great if you have a microphone in
the national media.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Right, the Bengals did it. When you have Joe Burrow.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
When the Colts I had Peyton Manning. You want to
give him two absolute stars at the receiver position. It
was Harrison and Wayne and now it's Chasing Higgins. You know,
some number two is historically you know, we could talk
Peerless Prize or Alvin Harper. They changed teams. You know,
t Higgins is a legit number one receiver. He just
(09:42):
happens to be the number two on the Cincinnati Bengals
because Jamar Chase is outstanding. So for the Bengals to
realize that that gives them the best opportunity to win
and to keep that together. And that's Look, you can
debate anything. You know, Joe Burrow's top four quarterback in
the NFL. You could tell me he's one, two, three
or four and we could have an intelligent conversation. We
(10:04):
know the other names of Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and
Patrick Mahomes. There's no debate. Best quarterback receiver combo in
the NFL. That's Cincinnati. That's a strength and I think
the Bengals deserve a lot of credit for keeping that
band together.
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Adam he tweeted recently, I want to love this team,
but so you've got some reservations.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
What are they?
Speaker 3 (10:29):
I need to see the defense. I think it will
be better. I need to see it the tackling preseason.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
Look, we always.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Get nuts when things are great in the preseason, and
you know, I refer to it Dan as you don't
want to get Joey Harrington's right, Like I remember Joey
Harrington looked great in a couple of preseason games.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Oh, Joey Lynn's good. I mean you don't.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
So you always want to, you know, go against you know,
having something ultra positive, and then you think you're gonna
crown somebody. I think when there's something you cancerned abouts
and is on the heels of last year, is on
the heels of you know what we saw with when
Cincinnati defense did not perform well, that to me was
(11:10):
a little alarming in terms of the defense. I kind
of wanted the offensive line again, not on the preseason,
just maybe in terms of names and personnel and offseason to.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Feel a little bit better about it. You know. I
made my picks.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
For the AFC Tuesday after Labor Day, and I took
the Bengals and I thought about taking them to win
the division.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
I picked them third in the division.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
I picked them seventh seed, and I honestly in the
AFC North. I struggled because I think there are three
teams that have real Super Bowl aspirations. I put Pittsburgh
in the conversation. I love Baltimore this year. I really
want to see Cincinnati playing for a Super Bowl. I
think the elements are there. I think there's a lot
(11:59):
of areas that are underrated. My concern is that the
other two teams in the division are just a little
bit more well rounded.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
That might not matter.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
And if this defense under Coach Golden, plays to the
level I think they are capable of where they can
create turnovers, get sacks, get the opposition's offense off the field,
get Joe the ball back, then I think they'll be fine.
But I just I'm concerned about the division and the
defense and how it stacks up ultimately.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
In the ANC North, the Bengals open in Cleveland. The
Browns have issues, but we've learned not to take anything
for granted, especially in the AFC North. What do you
think about that Week one matchup?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
So maybe this is me drinking the kool aid after
the T Higgins interview, but I can't stress enough how
much I love the Bengals, Like I think Joe Burrow
is going to absolutely explode. I think that t Higgins
and Jamar Chase will get into the end zone a
couple of times each. Like I think that because of
(13:09):
the history and the precedents of the slow starts since
twenty nineteen, and the expectations and the offseason, I just
think they're not taking anything for granted. You talk about
your reference obviously, my take on the genius of playing
these guys in the preseason, I think Borrow is gonna
(13:29):
come out firing. Like it's kind of crazy and I'm
guilty of it. We all start doing MVP rankings in September,
like there's you know, any kind of avalidity to it.
I think Joe Burrow for MVP, Jamar Chase for Offensive
Player of the Year. After the first two weeks of
the season, Like when you start seeing odds and line movement,
(13:50):
we're going to be talking about those guys being absolutely dominant.
I also think that Joe Flacco, while he was strong,
let's be fair, a couple of years ago playing for
Kevin Stefanski, I think the most underrated story when it
comes to Cleveland or under talked about story, Joe Flecko
(14:10):
did him play well last year? That's why Indianapolis moved
on from him. So my expectations for the Browns are
really low. Now, obviously they have Miles Garrett, their defense
is strong. I think Kevin Stefanski is a hell of
a coach. They will be ready. But I really think
the Bengals come out with a vengeance internally and to
(14:32):
kind of maybe hush some of the loud, obnoxious voices
on the outside, and I think they spank the Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
All Right, you heard it from Adam Shine, This has
been great. Can't wait to see you in the studio
throughout this season on CBS. Thanks so much for joining us, Dan,
you the best, Appreciate anything for you. After t Higgins
appeared on his radio show, Adam praised his leadership, accountability
and just play ball mentality and predicted that t is
(15:02):
going to have a monster year. Here's hoping he's right
up next. My one on one visit with Cam Taylor
Britt last week on this podcast, I included Cam on
my list of the Bengals top five training camp standouts.
A few weeks ago, we were talking about his strong
camp and Cam mentioned that he's following a strict daily routine.
(15:24):
This year that begins with making his bed in the morning,
and that reminded me of one of the best speeches
I've ever heard. Several years ago, Naval Admiral William mccraven
delivered the commencement speech at the University of Texas and
shared ten lessons he learned from basic seal training. If
you've never seen it, I highly recommend looking up McRaven
(15:48):
commencement speech on YouTube. The first lesson he shared with
the graduates is the importance of making your bed.
Speaker 5 (15:56):
If you make your bed every morning, you will have
accomplished the first task of the day. It will give
you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage
you to do another task, and another and another, and
by the end of the day that one task completed
will have turned into many task completed. Making your bed
will also reinforce the fact that the little things in
(16:17):
life matter. If you can't do the little things right,
you'll never be able to do the big things right.
And if, by chance, you have a miserable day, you
will come home to a bed that is made, that
you made, and a made bed gives you encouragement that
tomorrow will be better. So if you want to change
(16:37):
the world, start off by making your bed.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
Now, here's my conversation with fourth year cornerback cam Taylor Brett.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
Kem.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
You were talking a few weeks ago about following a
strict routine and you said, you have to make your
bed in the morning to start the day off. Right,
there's a famous speech where Admiral will Yeah McRaven talks
about that. Are you familiar with that speech? Did a
coach or a mentor talk about the importance of beginning
the day making your better? Did you just come up
(17:10):
with that on your own?
Speaker 6 (17:11):
Kind of been doing my whole life? Honestly, I think
that's the best way you start your day off. And
I think it's kind of plays the test of football,
you know, detailed, you know, and everything else. And think
about it. If you're not life is a miss. Your
room is a miss, you know, and that's the one
you know you don't want to live that way. And
I said, yeah, most definitely start by cleaning my room
on basically making my bed, you know, uh, the first
(17:33):
start all.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Right, Now, you have to watch that speech because he says,
if you want to change the world, make your bed
every morning.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Wow. Almost definitely didn't know that.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
So when you talk about following a more strict routine,
how is that helping you?
Speaker 4 (17:52):
Man? Thank yous planning out in my favor.
Speaker 6 (17:53):
Man, Honestly, I feel like I've gotten better in every
every way, uh physically and a better football player by
cutting out some things and just putting some things in.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Something like that.
Speaker 6 (18:08):
I need to do far as my body, working with
certain people, getting extra work with Chuck, you know, as
my dog. So you know, I want to be the
best I can be and he wants me to as well,
so you know, he he's always on my side to
help me. You know, anytime I want to know or
get some air strata, know this, this andess, especially with
the game's.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Coming, You're always confident. But is it at a new
level going into this season.
Speaker 4 (18:33):
Yeah, it really is. I don't know the word for it. Man.
I just want to play with.
Speaker 6 (18:41):
Fire under my butt, you know, every play basically, don't
let nothing go for.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Granted, don't look back at my damn.
Speaker 6 (18:51):
You could have doled for that, or could have did
this or Yeah, I don't want no fear of failure.
Speaker 4 (18:56):
Basically playing out there this year, you know, want.
Speaker 6 (19:00):
To be the best cam tend a brid out there
on the field for the Bengals.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
You know what I'm saying. That's it.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
You've been asked a lot about last season, and it
was obviously an inconsistent one for you, but you always
point out that you did play all seventeen games. Why
was that so important to you?
Speaker 6 (19:17):
It was very important to me, just because it doesn't
happen a lot, especially in the NFL week. The week
in these games that we do play are very crucial
on the body.
Speaker 4 (19:27):
Sometimes there's short weeks. You know, you got your Monday
night games purs of night games, and your body doesn't
fully recover.
Speaker 6 (19:34):
But I feel like that's one thing I took a
step in lest year, was trying to make sure my
body was always right, and I think it kind of
played out into my favor and towards the end of
the season. You know, but that is a great thing
to play a full season of football.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
You've got new defensive coordinator and Al Golton. Did that
give you a fresh start?
Speaker 6 (19:52):
I would say so, yeah, you can honestly put it
in those words, as you know, like you said, the
year ahead, Uh, it's like a fresh everything, you know, uh,
And and just coming into the building with a new
mindset as with the defense.
Speaker 4 (20:08):
And everybody's all aboard on it. It's been great.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Did you feel like lou Ana Roumo lost faith in you?
Speaker 6 (20:15):
I wouldn't say I feel like he lost faith. I
think one thing he always tried to do is getting
me back to where I was.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
Honestly, in a way, I don't.
Speaker 6 (20:23):
I know, it's a business at the end of the day,
and if you're you're messing up out there, you don't
belong out there. And that's what it was in the sense,
So I don't. I wouldn't say that. He's always pushed
me and you know, been behind me and in ways
that I probably wouldn't even know behind closed doors.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
Chuck Burks is in your corner. Describe your relationship with
your cornerbacks coach.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Father figure away from you know, a home.
Speaker 6 (20:46):
Basically, I don't. You don't have to go and look
for a search or anything. When I got you know,
chick right there, you know, uh for basically you know
all my answers. I can speak to him, you know,
not just about football, but you know outside of the building,
you know, my life. Want us to know about your
mental and how are you not just the football player?
Speaker 4 (21:06):
But Cam celebrate.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
This is a contract year. The top cornerbacks in the
NFL are making more than twenty million dollars a year.
Do you have to put that in the back of
your mind at the start of a season.
Speaker 6 (21:20):
Yeah, just go ball, do my job. The ball will
find me. It's simple as that. Just continue to do
what I do and don't don't veer away from the light,
you know, to shine that.
Speaker 4 (21:34):
I put out there already on.
Speaker 6 (21:35):
Myself, gonna shy away from you know, take take everything,
simple as it.
Speaker 2 (21:42):
We're visiting with Cam Taylor Brett. You open against the
Cleveland Browns with forty year old Joe Flaccoyd quarterback. He
played his first NFL game when you were eight years old.
Can you fool a guy like that? Or do you
beat him with a good pass rush and forcing him
to make throws that he'd do want to make?
Speaker 6 (22:01):
I think that's sacod answer is probably the busines answer.
Uh yeah, not much fooling. You would say, what has
he seen? But we can play harder than him, We
can play we can we can you know, rest the
quarterback a lot faster, you know, make him make a
decision a lot faster. Uh, dis ripped the time in
on the outside of receivers. Yeah, I wouldn't say. You know,
(22:25):
there's not much you could do with my Joe. Man,
he's he's a season vent for sure. And you know,
we just gotta go out there and play our game.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
You know. Uh, whatever our calls, we run it and execute.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
It's your fourth NFL season, the Bengals have never won
in Week one. How sick are you of all of
the fast start conversation?
Speaker 6 (22:45):
He pissed me off. Man, I feel like, you know,
at the end of the day, we just need to
go out there and go do it. And I played
a huge factor in that. So, you know, we just
gotta go out there and do it. None knows to
be said.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
Final thing for Cam Taylor Brett, your alma mater. Nebraska
open this season with a victory over the University of
Cincinnati Bearcats. Safe to assume you watch the game and
what did you think?
Speaker 4 (23:05):
Yes?
Speaker 6 (23:05):
I did watch the game, Man, go big Red. That
was a lovely win, especially in the arrow. But uh,
you know, I do think the Husters can make a
run for it, you know, I think, of course, there's
some bumpser bruises along the game.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
First game of the season Jitters.
Speaker 6 (23:21):
Also, you know they're playing at the NFL stadium, so
I know some of those kids very in all. But
uh right, the kid Dealer, he's very smooth too. Man
like how he plays at a running back over there.
I gotta get his name and he went for like
one twenty.
Speaker 2 (23:34):
Five Ammitt Johnson.
Speaker 4 (23:36):
Yeah, he's nice, man. I love the way he runs
very hard.
Speaker 6 (23:39):
Marque's Bruefort on defense, Malcolm Hartzog on defense.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
They're looking good, man.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
I think they could do some big Congrats on that win.
More importantly, get one against Cleveland.
Speaker 6 (23:50):
Most definitely who the that's Camp Taylor Brett.
Speaker 2 (23:54):
The first depth chart of the year, Cam Taylor Brett
and DJ Turner are listed as the starting outside corners,
with Dax Hill penciled in as the starter at slot corner.
The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps,
Proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by
Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet designed elevator, home, business
(24:16):
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 for
this week's Know the Faux segment. After winning eleven games
and going to the playoffs two years ago, the browns
fortunes plummeted last season as Cleveland went three to fourteen.
(24:38):
As a result, the Browns appear to have moved on
from the two hundred and thirty million dollar mistake by
the Lake quarterback to Shawn Watson and started another rebuild
built around the league's best defensive player, Miles Garrett and
a bunch of draft picks. Zach Jackson, who covers the
Browns for The Athletic, joined Dave Lapham and me on
(24:59):
the Bengals Game Planned show this week and I asked
him what success looks like for the Browns in twenty
twenty five.
Speaker 7 (25:09):
Well, I think it means getting some clarity on some things,
and even if that's not quarterback, you know, I think
they have to know that they were right to recommit
smile Garrett. I think they have to know that they
had a good draft class, which they think they do,
and they need to know if they have the right
guys in charge. Frankly, and I think these are smart guys.
I think they've done a good job in spots and
(25:30):
bad spots. Bad job in others, But I don't know
that the greatest front office in the world could recover
from the Deshaun Watson mistake. I really mean that. And
it's gonna haunt this team. It's gonna hurt their salary tap,
it's hurt how they're perceived, right, and the roster is
not awful, but it's pretty thin. So we're just starting
a long journey here, and I don't know what the
(25:52):
roster is going to look like or what the record
is going to look like, you know, three months from now.
I got a feeling the Browns are going to be
really hard to play against, if this makes sense, But
I'm not sure how many games they're gonna win. So
that's the hell of a question you've asked there.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
Yeah, and a very interesting answer.
Speaker 8 (26:07):
I mean, I think the biggest concern that I would
have as a as a Cleveland Browns fan is the
quarterback position. You mentioned Joe Flacco. Is Joe Flacco got
anything left? Is he got something in the tank? I
think Cleveld's gonna score some points. I think they'll score
some points. My question is will the Bengals be able
to score points against the Cleveland Browns? Defensive football team.
(26:31):
And do the Cleveland Browns defensive football team have any
weaknesses anywhere that you're that concern you going into this opener?
Speaker 7 (26:40):
Yeah, a corner. They're really thin and you don't want
to be that against the Bengals. Right, they're finant linebacker.
Now the rookie, the second round rookie Carson Sweatsyer. I
want you guys to circle that name because he is
off to an amazing start. And I think they got
one right there. We'll see, yeah, Lap, I think Flaco's
in great shape. I know we can still sling it.
I know they're going to have a good plan on right.
(27:00):
Can they avoid the turnovers?
Speaker 1 (27:03):
You know?
Speaker 7 (27:03):
Can they get up enough to really put pressure on Burrow?
The Browns offensive line should be a strength. They have
four guys back who've been there a long time. The
problem is none of the four are under contract for
next year. You know, Joel Atonio's had a borderline Hall
of Fame career. We don't know if he's going to
play anymore after this year. So it's a top heavy team.
It's a team that has good players in most spots,
(27:25):
that's completely unproven depths and has questions across the offense,
and then you know, we know that September in the
NFL is strange. But in this game, you have a
clear elite offense in the Bengals and a really good
to elite defense in the Browns. The other side step
question marks. So I think we see this game more
clearly than you see a lot of early season games.
But what's going to happen? I don't know. I think
(27:46):
it's going to be wild come Sunday afternoons.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
Yeah, Zach Jackson covers the Browns for the athletic Miles
Garrett demanded a trade early in the offseason. Browns gave
him one hundred and sixty million dollars to change his
mind after seeing what the Cowboys got in exchange for Parsons.
Should the Browns have traded Miles Garrett?
Speaker 7 (28:10):
No, even though I thought mostly they should have. I'm
glad you've stramed it that way, Dan, because it's like this,
you would have had to have get gotten a real
offer that was almost double that for the Browns to
entertain it. They think he's that good, right, and you
can we can talk for hours about how they just
throw money to fix their problems, and we could talk
for hours about whether Miles Garrett's going to give you
(28:30):
full buy in or whether he's still going to be
great the next time that you're good. But they couldn't
be the front office that traded four to Shaun Watson
and traded away Miles Garrett for one and for two.
Even though they're pretty walking, pretty close to admitting they're
in a rebuild, they think Miles is so generationally good
and has so much left in the tank that they
weren't going to watch him walk away. And I think
(28:52):
this summer he and Denzel Ward have both been phenomenal.
That's part of the reason, along with that rookie linebacker
that I think the defense gives them a chance. And
like I said, this is going to be a really
hard team to play against. I don't know about the
offensive cohesion, I don't know about the depth. You know,
you never know with injuries. But it is a team
in a really weird spot because their best players are
(29:14):
either thirty or near thirty and make a lot of money,
and there's not a ton of young players there and
there's certainly no long term answer at quarterback.
Speaker 8 (29:24):
Did Dallas get enough? When you talk to people in
the Cleveland Browns organization. You said, Miles Garrett, you know
they would have they would have commanded twice as much.
He's when the Dallas Cowboys got What did does Cleveland
do that? People look in the front office in Cleveland
think that Dallas kind of enough.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
No, I don't think anyone does. And it's just, you know,
they were just not realistically ever going to get enough
to trade the guy right. So they went out and
they paid ten million to a veteran in Elie Collins
to play next to him, and they went and they
got the number five pick in the draft, Mason Graham,
who's going to be a going up against the new
right guard. And they hope that those guys can only
share it. And they hope that Garrett, I think thirteen
(30:01):
sacks in twelve games against the Bengals, they're hoping he
has about five of them on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
A couple more questions for our guests, Zach Jackson, who
covers the Browns for the Athletic. There are a lot
of Ohio State fans, obviously in the Cincinnati area, and
anybody that watched Quinn Seawan Judkins played for the Buck
guys last year, particularly in the National Championship Game. I
wouldn't want to face him. I mean, he is an
angry runner, but he's been out of training camp because
(30:30):
of a contract battle. Is he gonna play on Sunday
or do the Bengals get to avoid him in week one?
Speaker 7 (30:36):
He had no chance even if he signs. And I
really don't know what's going on exactly with that, but
you know, he's missed all a training camp, so he
has really put I don't want to say it here
in the first week of September that he's put his
entire rookie season in danger. But when you're a running
back and you missed training camp, it's going to be
awfully hard to gain the trust of the staff. And
they picked him over Trayvon Henderson, his Ohio State teammate,
(30:57):
because they thought he was the better stylistic fit for
what they needed and what they want to do, and
to not have him leave a running game that was
completely broken last year with two intriguing backs in Ford
and Stampson. But they're smaller backs and neither one of
them as talented as he is. So it is a blow.
And it is one of these things that you look
and you say every year it's something with this team,
and this year it's the number thirty six pick in
(31:20):
the draft not having a contract four days before the
season starts.
Speaker 8 (31:24):
Boy, I'll tell you that's that's interesting. What offensively Cleveland's
got Joe Flackhall. You mentioned that Joe Flaccoll looks really good.
I mean he probably throws the ball. Joe Barlow was
talking about him today, saying that he's a natural.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
Thrower of the football.
Speaker 8 (31:42):
The ball comes out of Joe Flacco's hand about as
well as he's ever seen. Who are his main weapons
or is it just a collection of a little bit
from everybody.
Speaker 7 (31:53):
Yeah, I think Jerry Duty is no doubt the number
one guy. They're going to utilize David Najoku, and they're
also going to utilize as the rookie tight end Harold Fannon,
who's gonna kind of eventually take over from the Joku,
maybe as soon as this month, but we'll see. But
it's Jerry, Judy Speed, It's Cedric Tillman size, it's the
new rookie Isaiah Bond, who I think will get some
(32:13):
gadget plays and maybe a bomb or two. I mean,
there's a lot that went right back in twenty three
when Flacco came off the couch and led the Browns
to the playoffs flat. But when you watch those games,
there are many times that you see you look and
you say, well, the safety was out a position or
somebody got fooled there, and that's not really the case.
It's that Flacco throws it so much further than almost
every other quarterback does that guys were not believing that
(32:35):
he would actually do that. So if he hits a
couple of those Sunday and the stadium goes nuts, the
Browns can get some momentum. If he throws it to
the other team, which he's been known to do, then
the Bengals might run away with it. I think it's
going to be a close game. I think the ball
is going to be in Burrough's hands late and the
game is going to be very much undecided.
Speaker 2 (32:52):
Final question for me, Zach. They drafted two quarterbacks, Dylan
Gabriel and Shador Sanders. You would think at some point
this year, I want to know what they have. Did
either guy look like you would be able to start
relatively soon.
Speaker 7 (33:06):
I don't believe that, at least not effectively. You know,
Gabriel was a six year college player. They drafted him
because they feel like that he was able to pick
things up in process and make a better transition. I
don't know that he'll ever have the ability, right, but
I would say then they're both going to play. When
we see you guys in January again, one of them
is going to be playing. They're probably both going to
(33:26):
play before that. You know, they would love, obviously for
one to be the answer. And maybe the only way
out of this Watson thing is to find your own
Brock Purty, right, a quarterback drafted late, comes out of
nowhere who doesn't cost anything and becomes that guy. Shador
is intriguing. He's miles away from that. Dylan Gabriel is
a fast processor and a pretty accurate thrower. I don't
(33:47):
know that he'll ever have this physical ability to be
a starting quarterback here. But the one prediction I have
for this season is, I think eleven times since ninety nine,
the Browns have had at least three different starting quarterbacks
in a season. Write me down for number twelve and
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
That's incredible.
Speaker 8 (34:03):
What a stat that is the coaching staff? How safe
is everybody is? Kevin Stefanski. Is he in good shape
with the general manager, with ownership, with everybody.
Speaker 7 (34:15):
Yeah, I think Kevin's held in high regard. I think
Kevin's going to have him really ready to play on Sunday.
And I don't think they want to move on. But
I think the answer to that question lies in what
kind of season is it?
Speaker 4 (34:25):
Right?
Speaker 7 (34:25):
Do they continue to have more judkins off the field incidents?
Do they have incidents where guys are loafings, or do
they come out and they compete and they're prepared and
sometimes they just turn out of talent. I think we
have to see that. I know that ownership does not
want to move on from the coach or the GM,
and I know that everybody's driven to make up for
this Watson mistake and to kind of hang their hats
(34:46):
on this rookie class that looks really good before a
real snap has ever played. But the reality is, when
you go from eleven wins in the playoffs the three wins,
I don't care who you are, You're on the hot
seats next year. So let's check back in a couple
months to see where that's stands.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Thanks thus Zach Jackson, And 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
Ulta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet designed elevate your home,
business and community to a new level, and by Kettering
Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
(35:20):
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 listening to The Bengals
Booth Podcast.
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.