Mike Petraglia in for Mo -- 7/22/24

Trags fills in for Mo as he talks Bengals media day with Charlie Clifford and Joe Danneman, Bearcat football with Alex Fran and FC Cincinnati/Bengals media day with Laurel Pfahler. All that and lots more.

Episode Transcript

(00:06):
And a happy Monday afternoon to youall out there. My name is Mike
Petralia Trags, filling in on thisJuly twenty second for the one and only
Moegar Moeger Radio Show on Cincinnati's ESPNfifteen thirty. The number to call in
the event to express your opinion aboutthe twenty twenty four Bengals as they begin

(00:29):
training camp in a couple of days, or to get anything off your mind
is five to one three seven fournine fifteen thirty five one three seven four
nine fifteen thirty. I want tohear what's on your mind after an eventful,
if not productive weekend of certainly baseballand looking ahead to the Bengals camp,

(00:50):
which really kicked off in Earnest today. Well, we're gonna have Charlie
Clifford of WLWT Channel five here inCincinnati talk about what were some of the
nuggets he learned today from media Day, a couple of days before the Bengals
kick off their training camp down atpay Corps Stadium. We're also going to
be talking about the struggling Orange andBlue FC Cincinnati has dropped a couple of

(01:15):
games in a row, actually threein a row to underwhelming competition, I
would say, and that is unlikewhat we have been accustomed to over the
last several years here in Cincinnati.So we'll have Laurel Failure on from Queen
City Press. But also Laurel doesa fabulous job covering the Bengals for the
Dayton Daily News, so we'll haveher on to discuss what she learned from

(01:40):
mock Turtle Soup Day as we liketo call it on the inside of Media
Day down at pay Corps Stadium today. So we've got a lot lined up
for you today. I won't getinto my trials and tribulations of how I
had to get here, but letme give you this much. It had
a lot to do what happened,and on Friday, Thursday and Friday,

(02:01):
across the country, across the globefor that matter, it was difficult getting
a flight. I missed my flightthis morning in Philadelphia, so I wound
up doing planes, trains and automobilesto get here. But I am in
front of this microphone to serve thisloyal ESPN fifteen thirty audience in the great

(02:23):
city of Cincinnati. And with allof that out of the way, I
want to welcome my first guest.He never complains about anything. He's one
of the most mild mannered people Iknow. On the Cincinnati Sports Speed he
does a great job covering all thingsCincinnati sports for WLWT Channel five. Charlie

(02:43):
Clifford, Charlie, how are youdoing on this Monday afternoon? I bet
you're better than I am. Well, I'm glad he made it back and
I'm looking forward to hearing the fullstory tracks, which I expect Wednesday.
Sounds like it was a nightmare.I know, Charlie. Sometimes it's a
nightmare and sometimes it's just annoying.This was a little bit of both.

(03:07):
It was annoying to have to getbehind the steering wheel at three am and
drive straight through since, oh no, you left that part out and I
already pulled that out for everybody.And yeah, I'll take that white one
over there that looks good, giveme the keys. So it was a
white SUV as a matter of fact. But the lovely Debora Ann kept me

(03:30):
company, kept me awake, keptme alive so I could get here.
I was hoping against hope to makemock Turtle Soup Day down at pay Course
Stadium, get into the press conferences, wrap that up really quick, scoot
right up seventy one to the lovelyiHeart Studios here in Kenwood and get on
the air and have everything covered,all my bases covered. But the gods

(03:52):
were not kind to me in termsof at least covering the Bengals today.
But you know what, there's plentyof Bengals camp to go. Oh Bengals
campound hasn't even begune. And Ihad to keep telling myself, telling myself
that as I wanted to creep offthe seventy five eighty miles an hour,
I'm like, Mike Trags, justrelax. My inner trags got to me,

(04:13):
okay, And I was like,okay, just kil It'll be there,
easy, cowboy, easy, allright, enough of that. Uh
yeah, it wasn't today. Welllet's yeah, let's talk. Let's catch
up. And as you said,the good news is by Wednesday, this
stuff's kind of all old news,right. So I A, this is
a first class event by the Bengals. Very nice for mister Brown and his

(04:38):
family and the brass to go outof their way, and you know,
it is just a nice way tostart what is a marathon here ahead through
through the holidays, through January andthe number one takeaway today and it was
the first thing asked. His firstresponse, Joe Burrows cleared for contact.
So this now completes the re haveprocess with the risk ligament, asked Zach

(05:03):
Taylor directly. You know you willsee a normal practice day for Burrow on
Wednesday, and then as things rampup with obviously he can't hit the quarterback
at any time throughout the summer.But there were no lingering questions or oh
that something you know happen over thepast few weeks during this break. No,

(05:25):
all systems are go for Burrow.This is as good as the Bengals
could have hoped. After you know, the Thursday night, Week eleven in
Baltimore, I don't think this couldhave gone any better based on the velocity
we saw in the spring, andI think we were all kind of looking
at each other like, oh gosh. You know, unless you were told
that he's coming off season ending wristsurgery, you would not have known.

(05:46):
I mean, there were no trainingwheels in the spring, and that will
be the case again here in thesummer. And then the second most interesting
thing, you know is this JamarChase extension trags and I don't know what
your crystal ball says, but youknow, I asked Mike Brown, do
you table the negotiations until next yearor is this something that you know you're

(06:10):
open to keeping this dialogue going throughoutthe season, because Duke Tobin did say,
you know, yes, we havehad discussions about keeping Chase here long
term, which is no shock toanyone. And Mike, Mike, Mike
Brown did say, you know,while he won't close the door on anything
you know happening, you know thisseason, he did say, look,

(06:31):
the off season is a better timefor these types of things, and that
he does think it will take alittle while. But to call them all
Bengals fans, you know nerves,you say, we're you know, we're
willing to bend over backwards to getthis thing done. And he said,
you know, everyone knows this thingstarts with Joe and then Chase knows it,

(06:53):
and we know it. He's thesecond most important piece. So what
do you what's your pulse on arewe gonna be talking about this next summer?
Because I don't personally, I don'tsee an extension getting done here based
on what we know with what justhappened with justin Jefferson. I think it's
going to be a very similar timeline. Yes, I do think we're gonna

(07:15):
My initial thought is, yes,we're going to be talking about this into
next year. What I'm curious tosee is how this dynamic impacts T.
Higginson, whether or not they offerhim another franchise next year or if they
decide to trade him. Now.Look, I don't anticipate the Bengals going

(07:35):
south at all. Nobody does.I expect them to be a super Bowl
caliber team if Joe Burrow is onthe field. But and the Bengals have
always done an excellent job of signingthe players they value the most. That
is the one thing that indicates tome. It took a while to get
Joe Burrow done, but it gotdone. I think they are going to

(07:58):
find a way to get jamar Chadone. I really, I'm telling you
right now. You could tell methe deal gets done tomorrow, and I
really wouldn't be shocked. You couldtell me that it goes into next year
and impacts you know, T Higgins, and you know, maybe they don't
tag T Higgins next year. Iwouldn't be shocked by that. But my
instinct is this is going to bedragging out a little bit, and I

(08:22):
do think it will probably go intonext year. I have always believed this
about the Bengals. When they identifythe players they want to keep, they
usually do an outstanding job of keepingthem, almost always. And I think
Jamar Chase is somebody not only theBengals want to keep the front When I

(08:43):
say the Bengals, I mean thefront office obviously, but the but the
quarterback wants him around. And Ithink, you know, you don't sign
Joe Burrow and then let your topreceiver go. I just don't. And
given the dynamic, if I'm aBengal fan, I'm pretty compident that the
Bengals get Jamar Chase a long termdeal done. The length that's another story

(09:05):
altogether. I have no idea ifit's going to be three or four years.
You know, I had James rapenon a couple of weeks ago and
we had this conversation and he mentionedI thought this was interesting that it really
behooves the Bengals to do a longerterm deal, but Chase is more inclined

(09:28):
to do a shorter deal. Andthat's where yeah, and that's where I
think some of the negotiating is youknow, we're splitting hairs here, but
that's probably where a lot of thenegotiating is being done. It will be
interesting, as you and I knowthis spring, Chase came back for the
final week of the mandatory program andit was all smiles on the field.

(09:52):
Declined to speak with reporters politely.I think that was smart, right,
and now it's like, okay,well now it's the real deal. You
know, how does that? Howdoes he handle still? You know,
nothing's changed contractually, and you know, my sense is he knows. Okay,
justin Jefferson just set the bar here. This is the path and the

(10:15):
timeline it took. I'm probably ona similar path here. You know,
there's no reason for me to makesomething bigger out of this at this point
time. Uh. You know,I don't expect Jamar Chase to be,
you know, blowing off interview sessions. And what's your take on how he
now handles this? Knowing that,you know, I think an extension is

(10:39):
probably unlikely to get done, youknow, before there's some games being played
here. You know, I don'tthink he's going to blow off the media
indefinitely. Charlie I think he isgoing to, you know, obviously,
play the game. He's going toget asked about this contract, and he's
going to say the right things.He's not going to start a fire.
That's not Jamar's style. I don'tthink. Yeah, Jamar is definitely unabashed

(11:09):
when getting wanting to get certain feelingsout there, and you know, and
I think there was that fantasy forus. It's awesome. But there was
that moment last season, I thinktoward the end of the season where Jamar
acknowledged, you know, yeah,I want not only the cash the first
year, I want it the secondyear. And that was a window into

(11:31):
what Jamar is thinking and what JamarChase's side is thinking and the Bengals don't
know. That's where the Bengals andJamar Chase again have to do some negotiating
because what Jamar Chase wants in termsof guaranteed money over the first two years
is not something that the Bengals liketo do. And that again, that
is something that I think will getsolved in the long run. But I

(11:54):
do think Jamar Chase will eventually talkand you know, he'll be Jamar,
especially when it comes to talk aboutthe opposition, But when it comes to
the contract, I think he'll modifyhis approach a little bit. I want
to ask you about t Higgins,and it was interesting that Zach Taylor was
asked about t Higgins today signing histag and not dragging that out, and

(12:16):
Zach goes, it was appreciated,And I think those three words kind of
sum up Zach's true feelings and sentimentsabout Tea not playing the Jesse Bates game.
And you know, Jesse Bates wasa great teammate. He was a
terrific player, but you know hechose to drag it out into training camp,

(12:37):
into the preseason. Toward the endof the preseason. Of course,
in twenty twenty two, t Higginsnot doing that. I think when Zach
Taylor says it was appreciated, that'swhat he means by that. You're right,
and it makes sense. I mean, you don't have to be the
head coach of a football team tounderstand the anxiety that comes with oh gosh,

(12:58):
everyone in this locker room knows there'sthis story hovering over you know,
this training camp where one of ourbest players is in there, and there's
a psychological effect. Whether whatever yousay whatever answer you're given the media.
I mean this team is playing atan advantage now that they've both the Higgins
and the brief Trey Hendrickson situation,you know, are resolved going into daylin

(13:22):
a camp. I think coming offthe disappointment of last year, for everyone
that reports to that building every day, you know, in any role,
when Joe Burrow got hurt, youknow that there's obviously just there's a different
feeling walking in the door every daythan when he's healthy. So I think
to have that health situation patched up, to have Higgins on board, I

(13:43):
mean, Taylor did take it muchfurther than saying it's appreciated in the scrum
I was in, you know,saying, you know, he's been really
impressed with how he's handled this fromstart to finish, and he's not surprised
that, you know, he decidedto pretty much go team first year and
can get back. And you knowthere's another side of the corner folks saying,

(14:03):
oh, he's getting paid twenty twomillion to play you know one sure
that's not you know, so Ithink that for now it's water under the
bridge. Is it likely Haigan's lastseason here? I think so, but
you know, time will tell,and ultimately you're gonna have a super charged

(14:24):
core of this team that knows that, Okay, we had a good couple
cracks at it back to back years. Last year was what it was,
and now hey this is you know, I think they they know it's it's
their time and you know, whetherthe football gods things ALIGNE will find out.

(14:45):
But I expect to see a veryvery locked in group from day one,
starting on Wednesday. And you know, Higgins, as you know,
as most of Cincinnati knows, avery happy, go lucky, fun guy
to be not diva. So no, no, and and that is the
narrative, yes we can is nottrue. He cares about himself, he

(15:09):
wants to keep himself healthy, hewants to get paid, obviously, but
he is not the typical diva characterthat we see a lot or you know,
and we've seen a lot over thelast twenty years in the National Football
League. He's very much a teamplayer. Speaking with Charlie Clifford of Channel
five here in Cincinnati on the MowegerRadio program on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty,

(15:33):
this is Trags Mike Petralia filling intoday and tomorrow, for that matter,
Were you surprised at Duke Tobin,vice president or director of player personnel for
the Cincinnati Bengals, said no,we're probably not going to sign a veteran
corner. Were you in the inthe least bit surprised by that? You
know, I wasn't in that portionof the Uh. Well, he did

(15:56):
say yeah, yeah, and I'lltake your word for it. I'm I
think. Look, I think anunderrated piece of all of this is Josh
Newton, the guy they drafted outof TCU. I've heard from multiple people
inside the building that they really likethis guy. He's different. Now.

(16:17):
Is he gonna be an impact guyright away? Very rarely does that happen,
But I think they see a lotof things that that line up with
what Cam Taylor Britt has from anintangible standpoint. I think that's a big
part of that answer he gave toa quietly. And also, you have
two guys that want to play footballon Sundays and become full time starters,

(16:42):
and Dak Hill and DJ Turner andthat competition alone, I mean, they're
young enough you're not worried about,you know, in prolonged injury history with
either of those guys, I thinkto right off the bat, bring in
a corner. Again, It's like, what is that telling the rest of

(17:03):
the room, Oh, we reallydon't trust you guys? You know?
Is it a situation where somebody goesdown at camp and that that changes,
that changes the forecast? You're sure, but I think you have to give
you know, you're saying you believein these guys. You know you can

(17:26):
you can erase all those words veryquickly by bringing in someone. Okay,
he's he's had x amount of startsand six years ago he was a pro
bowler. You know, we knowthis league, it's a young man's league,
and a lot of times if youget a shot to play early in
the right system, you know,that's that makes your career. And if
you don't, you know, thenyou wind up like how many you know

(17:51):
who really never got a fair shot. So I think for turn Hill,
they both know this is my shotto carve out a role, and I
would expect both of them to beyou know, but I mean, this
is an opportunity of a lifetime forsure. So well that's my thought on
that answer. Yeah, And Ithink do essentially confirmed what you theorized right

(18:15):
there, Charlie. The quote is, we've got some new guys working in
there, and it will be excitingto see how they do. Do I
feel like we have an immediate needfor a veteran to make our team.
No, maybe if our numbers aredown and we need some help at camp.
But as we go, we'll determinethat. I feel good about it.
Right to your point, Charlie.And then let's go to Jordan Battle

(18:37):
and Von Bell. Because what isyour sense of how this shakes out?
I asked Lou, and I'm interestedto see what you think, because I
think Lou's going to go with theguy he trusts the most, and I
think right out of the gate hetrusts Von bellmore to communicate because that was
one of their big issues last year. Right. Do I think there's a

(19:00):
scenario where Von Bell and Jordan Battleand Geno Stone are on the field at
the same time. Maybe, ButI think I think it's going to start
out Von Bell and Geno Stone andthen they'll make some adjustment adjustments from there.
But you know, if if vonBell looks the least bit I don't

(19:21):
know, for lack of better words, slow, then maybe you could see
a change there, But to beginwith make sure everybody's on the same way,
same page communication wise, I thinkyou start with von Bell. I
am interested because I think again,I think people think very highly of Jordan

(19:42):
Ball over there, and I justdon't know, Oh, there's no question
about that. If he's going toprogress into the best player he can be,
you know, sitting on the bench, that's not going to be you
know, the best way to dothat. I'm very interested to see how
they shake that out. And you'reright, I mean a lot it is
if you're in a row and whatit does is it fosters competition, which

(20:03):
is what the Bengals desperately need inmy opinion this camp. And I've talked
to many reporters on the beat aboutthis and I think it's a great point.
I think there needs to be moreof an intense competition fostered in this
camp. When people ask what's thedifference, what's the change the Bengals are
going to make this camp from lastyear when they you know, a Burrow

(20:23):
injury aside, they didn't come outsharp. It is the competition and the
intensity out of the gate. Ithink that's where you're going to see a
difference. We have to wrap itup here, Charlie. It is three
twenty four on a Monday afternoon.I've been talking to Charlie Clifford of Channel
five in Cincinnati on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteenthirty working on any specific pack. Oh

(20:48):
by the way, by the way, I forgot to mention this before we
let you go. Terrific job onTim Crumrae. Loved the interview, loved
the package, and I think anyBengal fan I would appreciate what I'm about
to say. He is one ofthe two or three most intense, fierce
Bengals ever to put on the stripes. You agree, I mean, I

(21:11):
take your word as you know fact, and yes, I mean him and
his wife Cheryl could not be nicerpeople. He was recognized today, you
know, Mike Brown with some reallynice words. They're going to have a
big bash, you know, leadingup to that Monday night game week three.
I mean, this family is overthe moon. They are, you
know, they're trying to thank everybodywho went online and voted the Cowboy in

(21:33):
so definitely would love to pass thatalong for him and Cheryl and Cowboy up
Cincinnati. Let's go training camp,cowboy up indeed? All right, He's
Charlie Clifford of Channel five Cincinnati.Be sure to follow him on the X.
What's what's your ex address? Again? You're shar underscore, Cliff and
glad your back tracks. Get someget some rest and see you Wednesday for

(21:57):
having me on. I hope tohave as I hope to finish out the
next two and a half hours strong. So we'll see how that turns out.
Charlie, We'll see you on Wednesday. All right. He is Charlie
Clifford, Channel five Cincinnati. Youare listening to Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteenth Mike Petralia tracks backwith you here on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty,

(22:25):
filling in for mo Egger the MoegerRadio Program. I'm in here today
and tomorrow we'll be talking all sortsof Bengals conversation and topics from media Day
that was held today at pay CorpsStadium. There was a lot of reporting
that goes on tomorrow by the players, physicals and whatnot. And then the
first day of training camp is Wednesday. The first public training camp availability for

(22:52):
the club is on Monday again downat pay Corps Stadium, and I thought
Charlie Clifford hit the nail right onthe head. I think the second area
is going to be a fascinating,fascinating area to focus in on as training
camp begins, both in training camppractices certainly, and then as the preseason
approaches. But perhaps the most Idon't know focused area for me when I

(23:18):
watch these practices will be the jointpractices, the one in Chicago before the
preseason game on August seventeenth. Thatjoint practice will be August fifteenth at Lake
Forest, Illinois, and then aweek later, the Bengals have their final
preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts atpay Course Stadium. Two days before that,
they'll have a joint practice with theIndianapolis Colts. That's when I want

(23:42):
to see the competition really heat upas DJ Turner and Dax Hill battle for
that second starting corner spot opposite CamTaylor Brett. It'll also be interesting to
me to see how the Bengals youis Mike Hilton and maybe slot guys in

(24:03):
in Mike Hilton's role. Now DaxHill is projected and a lot of people
assume he's going to be the nextMike Hilton, the slock corner, starting
slot corner for the Bengals. Butyou're not going to disrupt what Dax Hill
is trying to do in this camp, and that is battle with DJ Turner
for a stout starting outside corner spot. So don't expect that to happen,
but it'll be interesting to see.Maybe they give a look sie to Josh

(24:27):
Newton in that Mike Hilton role.Certainly he can't lose anything in a preseason
game. You don't want to geta guy injured. But certainly Josh Newton
playing on the inside playing slot corner, maybe they learned something about his quickness.
He certainly has got when he's playingwell. He's got great ball skills.
He showed that at TCU, Sothat's something I'm looking forward to.

(24:48):
But the other battle, of course, is Jordan Battle. No pun intended
against Von Bell Gino Stone. Ithink they brought him in here to be
a starting safety. I don't thinkthere's any question about that. But where
do where do they go in termsof Von Bell, the veteran that they
brought back from Carolina, or JordanBattle, the second year player out of

(25:11):
Georgia. To me, that's goingto be a fascinating battle to watch,
and certainly we're going to get intothat as the show progresses. We're also
going to talk about I think asneaky, controversial, perhaps significant contract coming
up, and that's for Evan McPherson. How will that play out? Will

(25:34):
the rest of the market in theNational Football League dictate how the Bengals negotiate
with Evan McPherson. Do the Bengalsvalue Evan McPherson more on their team than
other teams value their placekickers. Thatis something I want to get into as
well. We're also open to takingyour calls here at Cincinnati ESPN fifteen thirty

(25:56):
five one three seven four nine,fifteen thirty five one three, seven four
nine, fifteen thirty. We havea luck coming up in the next two
and a half hours, so staytuned on. Mike Petralia trags on ESPN's
fifteen thirty. Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center

(26:23):
trags Mike Petralia back with you onCincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. I want to
hear what you're thinking out there,Cincinnati about the Reds Bengals FCC five one
three seven four nine fifteen thirty fiveone three seven four nine one five three

(26:44):
zero. Again, we're talking alot of Cincinnati Bengals today and that is
because today was media Day down atpay Corpse Stadium, and it's the rare
opportunity where you get to hear fromnot only the owner, Mike Brown,
but also UH Director of Player PersonnelDuke Tobin, as well as of course
head coach Zach Taylor and the coordinators, and you get a vibe, You

(27:07):
get a feel for what their expectationsare going into the season. And look,
for the last three years, thoseexpectations have been nothing short of the
Super Bowl. And that's what JoeBurrow has changed, right, I mean,
that is really the essence of whyJoe Burrow has been so important to
this franchise because in years past,even in the Carson Palmer era, there

(27:32):
were playoff expectations, but it wasn'tSuper Bowl or bust. Every single year.
Going in the training camp, youget the definite sense given the dynamics
of the contracts that are going on, both the ones that have been completed
i e. Joe Burrow and theones that are still out there to be
negotiated and completed and brought to fruition. Jamar Chase that the Bengals have a

(27:55):
window here of this group, thisparticular group that I don't know how long
they view it. I mean,if you get Jamar Chase sign long term,
and you and Jermaine Burton is therookie receiver out of Alabama, you
think he's going to be and isproductive as you think he's going to be,
well, then I think that windowspretty long, pretty significant. And

(28:17):
who knows about Chase Brown. AndreYoshabash is I think another young, I
wouldn't say unheralded, but certainly underplayedathlete and the weapon on the Bengals offense,
certainly on the national stage. Nota lot of people talk about him,
but the Bengals have done a goodjob here. I think of filling

(28:38):
in young pieces around the core group, especially on offense, that the Bengals
want going forward. It's just it'sgoing to be interesting to me if the
Bengals can get to and win aSuper Bowl, how does that alter how
they operate going forward? Are theyin it for the long run? Are

(29:02):
they in it for multiple certainly JoeBurrow has set on numerous occasions They're not
in it just to win one superBowl. They're in it for multiple super
bowls. And make it a habit, and make it the culture, and
make it the standard. Is theword I was looking for it, you
know what? The term he usedafter the Bengals won that first division title

(29:22):
with him as starting quarterback back intwenty twenty one. This is the new
standard in Cincinnati. And if theBengals can get to and win a Super
Bowl, does that change how theBengals view their big time players contractually going
forward. I bring all of thisup because I think the way they approach
Evan McPherson is going to be fascinatingto me, because I think they have

(29:47):
a They place a lot of valueon their fourth year kicker. He,
of course, came into the NFLsame draft, of course, that Jamar
Chase came in to the NFL intwenty twenty one. Jamar Chase was a
first rounder. So you get anextra year of control with Jamar Chase if
you so choose through the franchise tag. But Evan McPherson is entering his fourth

(30:08):
season as a fifth round pick.How do they prop him up, how
do they extend him? And itwas interesting that Duke Tobin said this afternoon
that he's kind of optimistic that theycan get a long term deal done with
Evan McPherson. Look, he's aplace kicker, and you know a lot
of you out there may be jokingand laughing at why are you spending so

(30:30):
much time talking about a kicker whenit is we all assume that he's going
to be with the Bengals long term. The Bengals need a weapon like Evan
McPherson to finish out games. Theyplay a lot of close games. Joe
Burrow likes to play close to thebest. Certainly he likes to air it
out, but they play a lotof close games. With Joe Burrow as
quarterback, you want to finish herand that's what Evan McPherson is. We

(30:53):
have one final break in this threeo'clock hour, we'll be back talking more
Bengals and more maybe surprise picks Surprisesto look forward to, uh in the
training camp that begins on Wednesday downat pay Corpse Stadium. You are listening
to Cincinnati ESPN fifteen thirty, GetBeauty, Comfort, Energy, Mike Petralia

(31:18):
trags back with you on Cincinnati's ESPNfifteen thirty that number to call in five
one three, seven, four ninefifteen thirty five one three seven, four
nine one five freeze zero drags withyou here until six o'clock when ESPN Network
takes over. Uh. My favoritequote, perhaps of the many on media

(31:41):
day down at pay Corse Stadium,might have come from the one Mike Brown,
the owner of the franchise, whenhe was asked about Evan McPherson.
He said, quote, we're talkingto Evan. We'll see how it goes.
We did sign Mimes today. That'ssome OREUS mems. Of course,
nobody bothered to ask. These thingshappen when they do. There's a season

(32:05):
for them and when they happen,and then they happen, and not all
of them. But I'm hopeful thatwe can get there with Evan. He's
a clutch player. He's played wellfor us when it matters. I just
love it when Mike Brown throws alittle lighthearted, playful and it's definitely playful,
not bitter, playful dig at themedia because nobody asked about a Marius

(32:30):
Mims getting signed, and I haven'tmentioned it in the first whatever. This
is the first fifty minutes of thebroadcast today here on the Moweger Radio program,
So let's give Amrius Mims his due. The Bengals today signed offensive tackle
Marius Mims, the team's first rounddraft pick out of the University of Georgia.
Mims, at six eight three andforty pounds, played in twenty nine

(32:52):
games with eight starts during his threeseasons twenty twenty one through twenty three with
the Bulldogs. He helped Georgia winback to back national championships. As everybody
knows, he got his first startagainst the Ohio State Buckeyes in the twenty
twenty two national semifinal. Of course, that was the heartbreaker for the buck

(33:13):
Eyes that they lost in the closingseconds. Buck guys had an eighteen point
lead and Georgia came back and wonthat game. But that was Marius mims
first start as a college player,and certainly he went on to have a
very good career at Georgia, avery powerful talent, and the Bengals saw
that, and that's obviously why theydrafted him in the first round. This

(33:36):
past April, he led the SECand ranked seventh nationally in fewest sacks allowed
per game at just under one,that would be zero point nine to three
with the signing of A Marius Mims. Today, the official signing of A
Marius Mims, Bengals have now signedall ten of their selections from the twenty
twenty four NFL draft. Look,I mean, that's really I think a

(34:00):
lot of paperwork, a lot ofbureaucracy, but that was something it was
really a matter of time before everythinggot done with regard to all ten of
their selections, none of them.This isn't like the seventies and the eighties
and even the early nineties, wheredraft picks had the leverage of holding out.
That's not the way it is now. So the Bengals do have all

(34:22):
of their draft picks under control.But again, you heard Mike Brown,
I'm sorry, Duke Tobin acknowledging thatthey could make some progress with Evan McPherson.
Mike Brown acknowledging that they hope toget a deal done with Evan McPherson.
I also think is very significant becauseI think everybody in the franchise realizes

(34:47):
how important he is. And whenMike Brown uses the idea the word,
he is a clutch kicker. Obviously, they're getting getting across the point to
the fans that they ppreciate just howgood Evan McPherson is late in games.
And look, if you ask me, Evan McPherson solidified his spot in Bengals

(35:08):
lore with that playoff season. Notthe playoff year that they went to the
Super Bowl, which was still agreat year, but when he went fourteen
for fourteen in playoff kicks in thetwenty twenty two playoff drive that ended with
the AFC Championship loss in Kansas City. There you'd be hard pressed to find

(35:31):
any better postseason by any kicker inNFL history, certainly Adam Viniti I think
holds the distinction of the most clutchkick in NFL playoff history in the snow
against the Raiders in January of twentytwo thousand and two on the way to
Super Bowl thirty six. That kickin the snow to tie the game and

(35:53):
send it to overtime, to me, is the greatest clutch kick I've ever
seen. And I think if youasked most NFL observers a long term and
who haven't been watching that long,I think they would agree with that,
But Evan McPherson's season of twenty twentytwo really to me kind of solidified his
spot with the Bengals in their frontoffice that this is a guy we want

(36:15):
to keep around long term. Othernews from today, it was interesting to
hear Mike Brown say that Zach Taylorwhen he was asked about Zach Taylor today.
He's a very bright guy and he'sa good person. The players respect
him for what he can do,the knowledge he brings, and they like

(36:35):
him. The reason they like himis he treats them as they would want
to be treated, and that's howhe goes about it. It's been a
successful formula. This last part isparticularly important to me and significant. I'm
pleased with how we have come alongunder Zach. I think the future with
him and Joe is bright. Inother words, Mike Brown is acknowledging what

(36:55):
I think a lot of Bengal fansalready know. Zach Taylor and Joe Burrow
are kind of a package deal.They have been really ever since Zach Taylor's
second season in the NFL. Ofcourse, you know, you throw the
first two and fourteen season out intwenty nineteen, but once these two got
on the same page and they developed. They developed rather quickly, and that's

(37:17):
why I think when you see whatJoe Burrow does and how comfortable he is
working with Zach Taylor as the playcaller, as we all know it's not
only the head coach but the playcaller, I think that's important to everybody
in the organization that those two aretogether. And we've heard a lot about
the consistency in the coaching staff,the continuity of the coaching staff, and

(37:42):
with the exception of course of BrianBrian Callahan had a minecramp there Brian Callahan
leaving as offensive coordinator and going totake on the head coaching duties in Tennessee.
The Bengals have had a tremendous amountof consistent and see and continuity in
their coaching staff and I think thathas really benefited them long term and will

(38:08):
continue to do so going forward thisseason. Coming up in Hour number two,
we hope to talk with Joe Dannomanof Fox nineteen. They are the
new voice and official TV sponsor ofthe Cincinnati Bengals. They will be bringing
you preseason coverage as well as coveragethroughout the season, so we'll talk some

(38:30):
Bengals with Joe Daniman as well assome Cincinnati Reds talk, and then we
hope to talk to Laurel Failer inthe five o'clock hour, talking Bengals and
FCC. My name is Mike Petraliatrags. You are listening to Cincinnatis ESPN
fifteen thirty. Mike Petralia trags backwith you on Cincinnatis ESPN fifteen thirty,

(38:58):
entering our number two of free onthe afternoon, filling in for the one
and only Moegger. He is otherwisesupposed today, so uh, he is
taking today and tomorrow off and Iwill be filling in for him for the
next two hours and Tuesday as well. Before we get to Joe Daniman and

(39:20):
talk all things Bengals and Reds.Want to get to Mike in La He's
been patiently waiting online number one.What is up? Mike's up? How
are you doing well? I gota beautiful view here at my hospice then
in La Joyo, overlooking the PacificOcean, so in a nice deck out
here. So I'm a pretty luckyguy. That sounds like a beautiful view.

(39:46):
Yeah, it's really nice life.It's really nice. It's you know,
I'm just a little multo San Diegothere up bye bye h oh.
Shoot, I can't remember the tanknow in town with all the flower farms,
John Blank. But anyway, it'sa good place to be in this
situation. So thanks for asking.You know, last week you kind of

(40:07):
you got you had to go.I hit you with that last uh switch
hit or MVP to win the lastNo, No, Mickey Mantle is the
easy pick. Mike, you usedyou wheeze around on me and then you
had to get me out. Nowhat it is. But in nineteen seventy

(40:28):
one, Oh, William McCovey.No, not William McCovey, Reggie Smith,
Nope, he here's why you wina ton of money on this trivia
question at the bar and get yousome three beers. It's by the Blue
and seventy one the Sky Young Awardwinner and he was the MVP, which

(40:52):
means I think he had a prettygood year, wouldn't you. Yes,
And and that was three years afterthey lowered them ounds, so that it
makes that all the more impressive.Well you got any thoughts, by the
way, on the Reds and whatthey're doing right now or more to the
point what they're not doing well.You know, I don't know what you

(41:16):
said about this team, how canwe have Well, these bonehead and mistakes,
they'll make a lot. You're rightabout that, Mike if they get
within snipping distance, Mike of thislast playoffs. But they and what bothers
me is Ladolo Green or one ofthese cats can go out and through a

(41:36):
great game and then knucklehead Alley whomakes up for his mistakes to a degree
by his great player, but stillno excuse. He's been playing baseball since
he played twelve years old. Heknows what not to do. But we
didn't have to coach him to dothat. I don't buy that. So
those little mistakes in the field andmental errors are what's going to kill them,

(41:58):
even if they're playing great in theI mean the pitchings. Could the
starting they get the best they getthe fifth best bullpen in Major League Baseball,
I mean, come on, guys, and the starting pitches, I
don't know. It's going to haveto be that. And maybe more home
runs. Although they led the leaguein I think they're leading the league in
July for home team home runs,which is impressive. Their team agree with

(42:20):
that. Yeah, their team erais three point eighty eight. That's almost
a full run lower than it waslast year, and a run and a
half lower than it was two yearsago when they lost one hundred games.
This team should be better than fortyseven and fifty three. They've gone five
and eight since sweeping the New YorkYankees in New York. The bottom's fallen,

(42:42):
fallen out, and I think alot of Redspans are anticipating them being
sellers at the deadline. Mike,we got to let you go. We
have a guest coming up here onthe Moager Radio program on since NAI's ESPN
fifteen thirty. He is is thesports director at the station that will be

(43:04):
the I don't want to say voiceof the Bengals. Oh, we don't
have them yet, Sean So.Sean McMahon, my clutch rock solid producer,
tells me, and board operator tellsme that we don't have Joe Daniman
lined up yet. So we willvamp here a little bit longer and tell
you that the Reds tonight play theAtlanta Braves down in Atlanta. It's game

(43:30):
four of what has been a disastrousroad trip so far. Of course,
they got swept away by the WashingtonNationals down in DC over the weekend.
They followed to forty seven and fiftythree on the season five and eight.
As I mentioned, since they sweptthe New York Yankees in New York.
It's just they make too many mistakes, too many fundamental mistakes that drive fans

(43:55):
well and the coaches on the coachingstaff just crazy. And David Bell has
really defended his players and will continueto do so. Let's face facts here.
He's not going to throw any playerunder the bus. That is not
his style. But the patience ofthe fans is wearing thin. What'll be
interesting is to see if the patienceof the front office is wearing thin and

(44:22):
if they indeed say, look,we're not going to be what we envision
this team to be going forward thisyear. It's just not in the cards.
And we're going to reorganize, shufflethe deck, trade away some veterans
that are certainly valued by other teams. And we can get into that subject
and much more with our next guest. He is Joe Daniman does a great

(44:45):
job as sports director of Channel nineteenFox nineteen here in Cincinnati. Joe,
you were down at Bengals media day, I was trags, Yes, turtle
soup day. It was mock turtlesoon. We will not somebody as Sean.
As a matter of fact, SeanMcMahon was asking me, I wish
you could get into the details,and I'm like, Sean, I don't

(45:07):
think you do want to get intothe details. Trust me on that.
Just understand that mock turtle soup isthe appetizer they give before a nice meal
following media availability for the first time, right before training camp begins with all
of the big dignitaries that are theare Mike Brown of course, the owner,
Duke Tobin, Zach Taylor, thehead coach, and the assistant coaches,

(45:31):
the coordinators and whatnot. And Ithink people have to understand that most
people, and this is just frommy table, no one touched the turtle
soup. I felt bad because theyput this out there and this is part
of the brand of the day,right, this is Mike Brown staying and
they put it. Now. Iwas at a table of like six people

(45:52):
and there was one person who wasnew to Cincinnati who tried it just to
say she tried it, but everybodyelse just kind of discarded it to the
middle and went straight to the sell. So I feel bad that we are
wasting Mike Brown's unique delicacy here inCincinnati. I feel bad about it.
Well, we are going to moveon from talking about the food on the

(46:15):
menu to what players are on themenu and could really serve up an appetizer
here in training camp. What bigbattles are you looking forward to the most
this training camp which begins on Wednesdaydown at pay Corpse Stadium. Okay,
so I'm gonna have a unique takehere for you, because I think everybody's
gonna say. I'm going to sayon the surface, certainly Dax Hill DJ

(46:38):
Turner is the big battle I'm watchingfor maybe a dark horse of Amarus Mimes
and the news of the day ofhim signing his contract ready to go.
Maybe that's a dark horse one towatch. Could he unseat Trent Brown from
a seat that Trent Brown actually neverhas had here in Cincinnati. So that's
what I'm going to watch. ButI think the most interesting battles going to

(47:00):
be the Cincinnati fan base and it'spatients battling the process of Joe Burrow.
Now my point here, Trags isJoe told us the first time. He
talked in the off season that hewas going to dial it back, that
they were planning on him taking somedays off, and then when it happened

(47:22):
during the offseason, there was stilla bit of a panic button hitting in
Cincinnati. People were still wondering,what's going on, Why isn't he practicing,
And that's despite Joe telling us he'sgonna take some days off. He
is going to dial it back.So that's going to happen throughout training camp.
Joe's gonna take some days off ashe should. I think it's the

(47:43):
correct move going forward, not evenif it's this year with the risk and
coming back from that. I thinkthis should be a every year thing for
Joe Burrow, just to make surehe is ready to go in September and
then ready to go all the waythrough January and February here in Cincinnati if
they make it that far. Soto me, the training can't battle of
people fighting their own emotions and impatienceand worries that there's something wrong with Joe

(48:06):
Burrow if he takes a day off. I think that's going to be very
interesting to watch here in Cincinnati howthe fan base digests the days Joe Burrow
doesn't practice. Are they okay withit, do they understand as part of
the process, or are they deepdown inside going to be concerned, going
to ask questions. And therefore wefeel the pressure to ask questions about Joe

(48:30):
Burrow and his health on a dailybasis, even though we are prepared for
him to take days off. Ido not think Joe Daniman of Fox nineteen
the Bengals would clear Joe Burrow forfull contact unless they were confident that hit
his wrist is to the point wherehe can take part fully in training camp,

(48:51):
no question about it. And notonly that Trags, but Zach Taylor
also saying today that they're likely toplay him in some preseasons, which I
was a little bit surprised by.Now, I'll fully admit I kind of
flip flopped on this whole thing.You go back to Week one when he
played poorly against the Pittsburgh Steelers andthrough all the interceptions, and I think

(49:14):
I tweeted that day he said,bookmark this tweet, come back here a
year later, Joe Burrow will beplaying in the preseason. And then his
next offseason went to hell and hewasn't able to play in the preseason.
So here we are now with himcoming back from a major surgery on his
wrist, and the understanding that themost important thing for Burrow is his health,

(49:35):
and now they're likely going to puthim in the preseason. I think
that's very interesting from Zach, andI also think that, again to your
point, a bit of vote ofconfidence right for where they think he is,
to the point where if it's thefirst preseason game here in a few
weeks that they're gonna put Joe Burrowout there, they've got to feel fully
confident that he's not only himself throwingthe ball, but also fully ready to

(49:59):
take hits fall down, brace himself, do everything you would have to do
at that risk to be a footballplayer. So I found that not only
interesting, I thought that could beeven even better news for the fan base
in their confidence that Burrow is allthe way back to where he should be
at this point of the year.The bigger deal to me Joe is the

(50:19):
Bengals ramping up the intensity and thecompetitive nature of training camp. I don't
care if it's in a preseason game. I don't care if it's in training
camp. I don't care if it'sin a joint practice. In talking to
a number of people inside and outsidethe organization, what they want to see
is the Bengals come out with moredetermination, a greater fierceness entering the regular

(50:45):
season than they have the last severalseasons. And you know, you hear,
Look, Zach Taylor knows this statand he gets it thrown out there.
The Bengals are one to nine inthe first two weeks under Zach Taylor,
and that stat is what it is. Okay. I think what the
Bengal fan base wants to see isthis team embrace a more competitive, intense

(51:09):
training camp. And that is,to me, what's most important to Joe
Burrow. I don't you know,I don't think he cares if it's in
a preseason game or in joint practicein Lake Forest, Illinois. It's got
to be there though for him toget ready. That's that would be my
point to the Bengals. And Ithink it's a great point. But I

(51:30):
do think and let's debate this year, because I do think there's a good
color point to this, this entireargument. You know, you're correct on
the stats, You're correct on theslow starts and the idea on the surface
sounds right. Fast starts play betterstart of the season. My question is
does that matter because we looked atwhat the Bengals have done in September in

(51:52):
recent years, even look at whatthe Chiefs have done in September in recent
years get off to slow starts too, and it is that part of the
sacrifice they make to give up afast start to have a great finish.
Now we've seen the Bengals and Ithink you have to throw last year out
because of what happened with Joe.I don't think the slow start will hurt

(52:15):
the team now. The devil's advocateand in the other side of this point
would be if you get off toa slow start this year with this schedule,
then you're giving yourself a problem becausethree of the four easiest games of
the year on paper before the seasonstarts are in the first four games.
That's being the Patriots, that beinga game against the Commanders, in a

(52:37):
game against the Panthers, three gamesthat the Bengals will be favored to win,
and quite honestly, Bengals should winthose games. So if they're not
ready to play and they lose thosegames with portions of the schedule that are
backloaded a little bit harder, thenyou're running into problems. So I know
I'm speaking out of both sides ofmy mouth here, but I do wonder

(52:58):
if the plan they've had in thepast to make sure this team peaks in
December and January and has worked right, It's worked and made the AFC Championship
two of the last three years andmade a Super Bowl as well. Why
deviate from that when this team canlose games and as long as Burrow plays
a full season, they're going togo to the playoffs, and then once

(53:21):
they're in the playoffs, they haveas good a chance as anybody as in
advancing in the playoffs. Now,the one other argument I would put trags
to this is you're playing a prettyimportant game week two. If you want
home field advantage, if you wantto play home games in the playoffs,
that is a massive game. Andto your point, if you want to
be ready for Week two and thechallenge that will be there in Kansas City,
if you do go harder in trainingcamp practice, maybe that does give

(53:45):
you a three to five percent chancebetter of winning that game. So I
think there are debatable points to this, but certainly it's something in the fan
base that is frustrating, and Iunderstand it. But I would also say
at the other side, I'm I'mnot sure if it's get to the playoffs
and then let Joe do his thingand let this team be as competitive as

(54:06):
anybody the playoffs. I'm not surea fast start matters that much to this
team, although the city and thefan base want them to get off the
faster starts. If that game twoyears ago in Kansas City is in Cincinnati,
they win the AFC Championship and goto the Super Bowl and probably win
the Super Bowl, that would bemy counter to that. I think,
Okay, I think they have there. Yeah, they to me, this

(54:30):
team needs to show that it canget home multiple home games in the playoffs
in Cincinnati with this fan base completelycharged and with Burrow as the quarterback,
and I think you've almost got anunbeatable combination. If that's the fact,
you know what, fans in Cincinnatiare getting really sick and tired of Joe.

(54:51):
A major League baseball team that can'texecute fundamentals and knows how to run
the bases and field the ball andwhat base to throw to. You know
what, I'm talking watching the oneoh I have, but it's interesting to
watch that. I was watching thegame yesterday with one of my teenagers,
and quite honestly, every single daythe Reds give you a talking point to
a young person playing baseball what todo and what not to do, and

(55:16):
look tracks. We know baseball tracksevery number possible. Is anybody found out
if the Reds lead the league andouts made on the base pass that is
something I think Elias could look upvery easily. I'm sure it's something I
could dig into on the MLB pressbox. A fight, I mean between

(55:38):
caught stealing pickoff La de la Cruznow multiple times trying to get the third
when he should freeze, guys beingthrown out at home, like what happened
in the game in Milwaukee when StuartFairchild was looking over his shoulder with two
outs on a ball hit the centerfield. So yeah, there are so
many small base running air it's noteven small sometimes big base running here is

(56:00):
that are costing this team runs.And if you look at this team and
we all understand the Reds record inone run games is very poor this season,
so the fact that they're leaving runsconsistently on the bass pass for a
team who is not winning close games, it has to be absolutely maddening to

(56:22):
the fan base to watch this happenand continue to happen more than one hundred
games into the season. I haveto bring this up. Look, we
like him, but at some pointDavid Bell has got to be accountable for
this. Now My question, butmy question here is if the Reds front

(56:42):
office, and we assume that theybelieve in Nick Krawl and what Nick Krawl
has built here, if Nick Krawlis calling the shots, does Nick Krawl
look at David Bell and say heis our manager for this group going forward,
regardless of what this year portends.Whatever the results are this year,
it's a messed up Seaton, kindof like the Bengals in twenty twenty three,

(57:05):
very similar in that regard. It'sbeen disjointed from the get go.
Does Nick Crawl say, I'm notjudging David Bell on this season. I'm
just not going to do that.I want to see what he does with
a full complement of players. Somy knee jerk reaction would be this needs
to be if nothing else, hasto be a conversation. I don't think
they can just blindly brush it asideand say David's the guy next year,

(57:30):
understanding whatever happens in the two months, good or bad, might might change
that conversation. I think we're allaware of that, but I do think
it's something they've got to talk aboutat least now. I will say this,
and to your point, for whatthis team has had this year,
with handcuffed by some by injuries,by suspensions, by whatever it is.

(57:51):
I was talking to Sam Lecuur lastnight and Sam made the point that the
unfair thing for this team, andthis is, and people might roll their
eyes when they hear this, hesaid, it's unfair to hold this team,
the current team, to the expectationthey had at the start of the
year because this is not that team. And look, we can name all

(58:14):
the names, right, we cansay the freedoles and the eighty games for
Marte and the season long injury forMcClain, nick Lodolo in and out of
the lineup, and all those thingssounds like they sound like excuses, but
it's part of the explanation, andI think that has to be part of
the conversation. So to try tohold this team which just is not itself
because of those reasons to that expectation. I think Sam made a good point.

(58:36):
I think that's unfair. Also,we go back to last year.
Now you can look at last year, and it's interesting because it depends on
the Red span you talked to.It was last year a success and does
David Bell get credit for that?Or was last year a missed opportunity and
does David Bell get dinged for that? So it's interesting what the front office
thinks of last year and what heaccomplished when he had more of a whole

(59:00):
group and they were quote unquote ayear ahead of schedule, but also had
a chance to make the playoffs anddid not because of a It was not
a collapse in the second hand,but it didn't play good baseball in the
final two months. So I thinkthere's a lot to unpack with the David
Bell question. I think that theheadline and what should be underlined is depending
on what happens in the next twomonths drags. I think it needs to

(59:22):
be at least a conversation from thedecision makers within the Reds. Look,
here's how I answer that. Iwant the if I'm a fan, I
want to hear the message from themanager of accountability, and I want to
hear that, the message that we'renot going to tolerate these mistakes happening over

(59:43):
and over and over. It's likewith Trent Grisham in New York, Aaron
Boone didn't dress him down the lastgame of the Red Series, the Red
sweep. As a matter of fact, in New York, he you know,
lolly gag that single that turned intoa double. I don't know if
it was Stuart Fairchild. Somebody tooksecond base, and I forget who it
was, but that just sent theYankee fan base into a rage. And

(01:00:08):
Aaron Boone's response to it was,well, you don't understand. You know,
he was you know, giving him, he was trying his best and
he just lost control of the ball. And I'm like, that's not what
the fan wants to hear. Andthe fan is paying to watch this team
and support this team both, youknow, fiscally and emotionally. That's not
what the fan wants to hear.Well, I apply that here in Cincinnati.

(01:00:31):
I think the fan wants to hearDavid Bell say we have to clean
things up. You know, wemay not win the game, but if
the players are held accountable, thenthat's all that will satisfy and satiate.
I love that word satiate the Cincinnatifan and that to me that that is

(01:00:51):
really I think where a lot ofthe angst you hear out there for David
Bell em and it's from that's wherethat's where the genesis all of that is.
I think it's a very smart point, Drags, and I think you're
correct that if David Bell would saythat, it would satiate the fan base.
Now the question is, is hismessage that he's sending to the fan

(01:01:14):
base the same message that he's givingbehind closed doors, And I would argue
it might be different, And Ithink I think that's important to at least
think about that. The guy doesn'twant to publicly throw someone under the bus
for whatever mistake that person's making,be it a physical or mental mistake,
and we've seen both this year,so maybe that's his way of policing it

(01:01:37):
handling it. I think you andI would would probably both guests that the
message we are getting to the media, whether it's on TV, whether it's
in print, is probably around thesame message that he's giving the team.
That that's just kind of what Iwould guess, knowing his personality, knowing
the way he manages, and thenif that's the case, i'm the message

(01:02:00):
has to be different. If themessage isn't different, then the messenger needs
to be different. I'm not allthe way there just yet, but I
do think it's important to at leastthink about that. A lot of times
what the coach says to the mediaisn't always what they say to the team
or to this specific player, Sothat's something also to keep in mind here

(01:02:21):
in this debate. But I dothink it's a smart point that I think
the fan base wants that. Ithink they want someone to flip a table
or kick over a gatorade jug.I don't even want that show chair he
did do that. I don't evenwant that though. I want the message
to the fans from the organization.Yeah, we see what's going on,

(01:02:44):
and we have a problem with it, and it will be corrected. That's
all. And I think David Bellis one of the five bright and I
will get crucified on X for this. I think he's one of the five
the six brightest guys managing in baseball, and I think because he doesn't always
hold guys verbally and publicly accountable.That that gets lost and people think that

(01:03:08):
he's not bright. They think he'sdumb, he doesn't know what he's doing.
Games too fast for him. Butanyway, that's my rant on the
messaging somewhat from David Bell, butthe organization in general. I want to
get to Joe Dannon what he hasin store for Fox nineteen viewers tonight as

(01:03:30):
you wrap up media, Dad.Okay, So I am standing outside of
Pai Horse Stadium right now where itis a blazing hot on a guy.
Look, we got to dress upfor this thing today, right We have
to wear a suit, so Ican't wear my golf shirt and be out
here in the warm heat. SoI'm out here in a suit, just
just dying in the heat to deliverfive and six. It's okay, It's

(01:03:53):
okay, hey, But I willsay this to the fan base. We
do have two thirty minute specials comingup Wednesday night, opening day of camp
six thirty to seven on Fox nineteen, and then next Monday as well,
the twenty ninth, six thirty toseven, So two thirty minute specials in
the first week of training camp togive Bengals a really good look Bengals fan

(01:04:14):
a good look if they can't getdown here to training camp practice. There
is not a better reporter in thecity of Cincinnati than one Joe Danoman.
Please tune in to him, theofficial station of Bengals coverage, Fox nineteen.
Joe, thanks for joining me anytime. Trag, thanks for having me
all right. He's Joe Daniman.My name is Trags. We ran a
little bit long here, but gladlyso. You are listening to Cincinnati's ESPN

(01:04:39):
fifteen thirty. Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC healthcas Everybody and
his Trags. Mike Petrellia back withyou on the Mowager Radio program. Cincinnati's
ESPN fifteen thirty. The number tocall in five one three seven nine,

(01:05:00):
fifteen thirties five one three seven fournine, fifteen thirty. You can follow
me on x at Trags Trags clnsSinc dot com. If you are online,
you can also follow my podcast,the Jungle War Podcast. We have
je Morrison on tomorrow. We'll bedropping that sometime a midday tomorrow. Wrapping

(01:05:25):
up today's Bengals media session, Lookingof course, ahead to the opening of
training camp on Wednesday at pay CourseStadium. You can follow that podcast YouTube
dot com slash at Jungle War pod. I also host the Code reds Since
podcast and that it can be foundon our clns Sinc dot com page.

(01:05:47):
Next up here on the program,I want to bring in one of my
very favorite people on the University ofCincinnati Beat and he does a terrific job
cover all things Bearcats basketball and footballand football training camp Alex Frank is going
to be opening on July thirty first. I got that right, correct.

(01:06:12):
I'll tell you I can't wait forthat, And yes, I'm looking forward
to July thirty first and July twentyfourth for Bengals training camp and drags.
I just want to tell everybody outthere listening that your podcasts are fantastic.
Global War to come Bred. Theyare fantastic, great listens and your episode
with Dan Horror talking Bearcats was veryvery good about it two weeks ago,

(01:06:34):
you know, speak of the Devil. I love Dan Horde and went golfing
with him last week. Thanks Dan, by the way for allowing me to
whack the ball around the course alittle bit. We were talking about Dante
Corleone and I think the Bengals.Bearcats kind of dodged a bullet here.

(01:06:55):
It was scary when the first storycame out of a blood clot in his
lung. He came to the Bearcatsathletic director for sports medicine, Aaron Himmler,
with reports of chest pain. Buthe's recovered pretty quickly. The hope
is, I guess Alex Frank thathe can recover in time, and you
know, maybe he misses one ortwo games at the start of the season,

(01:07:19):
maybe they have him back for thebeginning of the year. Do you
have the latest on Dante Corleone.Yeah, And it's interesting in Trags that
you bring that up because if ScottStanderfield talked about this at Big twelve media
days last week out in Las Vegas, that Dante has been working out with
the team, which you and Dantalked about. So hopefully we don't know

(01:07:40):
when he's going to be able topractice, but the fact that he's been
working out with the team, andthat Saderfield says if he hasn't it,
or if he was not going tobe dealing with this issue right now,
he would have been in media days, which is obviously a very encouraging sign.
We don't know how many games,if any, he will miss,
but the hope is because he hasbeen working out that he is going to

(01:08:01):
play and going to play a majorityof the games this season, which would
obviously be very beneficial to the CincinnatiBearcats given to the Big Twelve. And
I think a lot of people maynot realize how many teams in the conference
Mike are very good at running thefootball. Right, you have to have
a big body in the middle ofyour defensive line to stop the running game.

(01:08:24):
I mean, particularly the Bearcats don'tface him this season. Ali Gordon
down in Oklahoma State Big twelve preseasonOffensive Player of the Year, and the
Bearcats struggled against him and the Cowboyslast year. But when you face teams
that are going to run the footballin the Big Twelve, you have to
have a plan to stop the runninggame. And Dante Corleone is a big

(01:08:45):
and it's the focal part of that, you know. And I think what
really Scott Saderfield wants to see fromthe Bearcats is for them to get off
to a hot start. They werein the midst of doing that, and
then they of course blew that gameat home to Miami of Ohio last year,
and it really you know, ittalked about this with Tony Pike last
week. It flipped. It feltlike, not only flipped the entire twenty

(01:09:10):
twenty three season his first, butlike the program really took a step back,
and I think it shocked the program, and I think what the Bearcats
need to do this year. Theyplayed Towson in the season opener on August
thirty. First, then they playedPitt at Knippert on September seventh. Of
course, they won at Pitt lastyear, and then they were two to

(01:09:32):
zero and then lost that game toMiami. This year, the Miami game
is at Jaeger Stadium, and thenthey have the Houston Cougars again that's at
Knippert. So three of their firstfour games are at home, and certainly
some hay could be made if theBearcats get off to a hot start.
Absolutely, this schedule is very favorable. I remember when it came out.

(01:09:56):
I remember thinking, Okay, theydon't face Utah, who was picked to
win the Big Twelve in the preseasonmedia pool. They don't face other teams
at the top of the conference.They don't face Arizona, and they,
as you said, their schedule atthe front of it is very favorable.
Yeah, they go to Miami,but I would have to think, given

(01:10:17):
the history of the Bearcats program,and given how much success and domination they
had over Miami prior to last season, that they go to that game with
something to prove and a revenge mindset, but facing talisand you think that's going
to be a win pitt at home. Last year, they went in.
The Bearcats went into Pittsburgh, theywin, They run the ball straight down

(01:10:39):
their throats. I remember thinking thisteam might be better than I expected them
to be, and you're one ofthe Big twelve. But when they lost
to Miami last season, I rememberit. It was a Saturday night,
obviously it was Week three, andyou could feel something. Even from a
far you could feel that, oh, they just lost to Miami. They're
in the Big twelve. They're playingOklahoma next week. It's on Big New

(01:11:00):
Kickoff. They were supposed to bethree and oh they were receiving votes in
the Tap twenty five at the timeafter winning a pit and then for as
competitive as they were against Oklahoma andBYU and even against teams like Baylor and
then Central Florida, it never feltthe same. It felt like there's all
there. I mean, sometimes inseasons there's always one game that doesn't go

(01:11:24):
your way and it just casts thatdark cloud. Oh my gosh, what
are we doing? And it neverit never feels the same. You start
pressing, you don't play like youknow how to play and or want to
play. And I mean, look, this season, they have to be
and I remember reading comments on Twitterand talking to people in the offseason,

(01:11:46):
Mike, the feeling is they shouldbe four and oh the Bearcats because the
great thing is they don't play agame outside of the state of Ohio until
Week five when they go to TexasTech. If you can be four,
oh, you have a chance toreally Can you have a chance to really

(01:12:06):
set yourself up to get to aBowl game? Let me ask you,
Okay, I think we can safelyassume, at least at the start of
training camp that Brendan Sorosby, thetransfer out of Indiana, is going to
be your starting quarterback. Correct.Can we go on that assumption or do
you want to throw Brady Lichtenberg inthere and say he's got a shot.

(01:12:27):
I would say that Brendan Sorosby isthe leader in the clubhouse right now.
But I want to rule it out. And Cuderfield's talked about this before,
that they use multiple quarterbacks throughout theseason. I would say Soorsby, though,
is going to get the majority ofthis net. You and I have
talked about this. He has themost experienced, he has some upside.
What's interesting to me, though,is whoever is the starting quarterback? Soorsby

(01:12:48):
Lichtenberg, They're going to have ahuge advantage of playing behind an offensive line
that returns all five starters from lastseason that I cannot tell you. Yeah,
how beneficial that is to any quarterback. You also have Corey Kiner in
the backfield to hand the ball offtoo, And I would think the Bearcats,
I believe they are going to bea run first team. That's what

(01:13:10):
centerfield offes are built off of.You saw how well they ran the ball
at Louisville in his four seasons andeven last year. What gets lost in
the shuffle is Corey Kiner averaged fiveand a half yards to carry and had
over one thousand yards. Did theynot have two one thousand yard rushers last
year? I don't think they did. I don't believe they did. Cory
Kiner had a thousand yards, andI can't remember how many yards the next

(01:13:34):
closest running back had, but CoreyKiner had a thousand yards rushing last season.
That might get lost because the endof the season it was just the
Bearcats were getting blown out in almostevery game. But I think going into
this season, the fact that youhave a quarterback in source fet that has
played in the Big Ten, whichI consider a plus. You have an

(01:13:56):
offensive line that returns all five startersand has a year of experience under their
belt, and I just think thesecond season always should be better than the
first when you're in a situation likethe Bearcats are in new conference, new
head coach. I know there's alot of people that I talk to that
don't really know a lot about Scottcenterfield. They think it may be the
wrong higher, But I'm like,let's see how this season plays out.

(01:14:19):
Favorable schedule, as you just mentioned, Corey Kinner, returning Brandon Soresby transfer
from Indiana who has played in someBig Ten games and has performed well.
You have some intriguing options at quarterback, you have some intriguing offensive pieces.
Let's see how this season plays outwith a Scott centerfield offense that I have

(01:14:39):
seen be really good and really prolificin terms of yards and points. Give
me sixty seconds on a player thathas always been of interest to the Cincinnati
sports fan. He's making the movefrom quarterback to wide receiver the exposition Evan
Prater out of Wyoming. What areyour thoughts on him as a potential starting

(01:15:01):
wide receiver in this Scott sanderfield offense. I'm excited because the one thing I've
always thought about Evan Brader and havereally liked about him is his athleticism and
wide receiver, you need to bean athletic player, but you have a
guy with speed and athleticism at theex position, you have option, you
have the ability to make your ofsferendsmore dynamic. Here's the thing. The

(01:15:27):
Bearcats have lost a lot of receiversover the past two seasons, whether it
be to the transfer portal or theNFL Draft. But you get Xavier Henderson,
who had a really good first seasonas a Bearcab last year averaged over
thirteen yards to catch, and nowyou get Evan Brader, who did show
some flashes last season a wide receiver. The one thing I've always thought about
him, Mike is he was ahigh commit coming out out of Wyoming High

(01:15:50):
School. He was highly touted.I was so excited for him to finally
get a chance to play quarterbacks.Ultimately, we know it didn't really work
out, and I wish it wouldhave for him. I wish it would
have for Bearcats fans because I sawthe potential. But just like you see
with a pitcher converting to an outfielderlike Rick Yankeeldy for an example, or

(01:16:13):
an outfielder converting to a pitcher,you can see that maybe there is potential
there with Evan Prader, I'm excitedto see what he can do in a
sadderfield offense. We've seen players movefrom quarterback to wide receiver. I'll give
you an NFL example. You probablyremember this name, Antoine Randall. L
played quarterback in college, then wenton to the NFL and had a really
good career with the Steelers. SoI know I'm all him in sixty seconds

(01:16:36):
right now, but I'm excited towatch Evan Prader the position Alex where can
people really quick follow your stuff?They can go on TWSN don Nett,
I'm a writer for the Right WaySports. Nemorgan Malik right shout out to
him, and they can also goto Cincy Jungle and a Sea of Blue,
part of SB Nation, and ofcourse the Front Office News and Chatterbox

(01:16:58):
Sports. Mike, it is alwaysa pleasure talking to you, and I
know you're getting ready for your busiesttime of season. But so those of
you out there that are looking forBengals content, CLNS media is your place
to go. I appreciate it.Alex, we got to run here.
Brenneman on Baseball is next. You'relistening to Cincinnati ESPN fifteen thirty. Mike

(01:17:23):
Petralia Trags here with you for ournumber three, the third and final hour
of the Moegger Radio Show. Ona Monday afternoon, July twenty second,
it was Bengals Media Day down atpay Corpse Stadium, and we are going
to in a few moments talk withLaurel Failure. She covers Bengals for the

(01:17:45):
Dayton Daily News as well as coveringFC the slumping Orange and Blue FC Cincinnati
for a Queen City Press. Butagain, my name is Mike Petralia Trags.
You can follow me on x atTrags t r Ags. Of course,
follow my work online Clssinc dot com. This week I will have the

(01:18:06):
first of my several training camp rosterprojections for the Cincinnati Bengals. Of course,
you can follow my two podcasts,the Code Reds podcast covering everything Reds
Baseball here in the city of Cincinnati, as well as the Jungle Rar Pod
that can be followed on YouTube dotcom slash at Jungle Roar Pod. Now

(01:18:30):
on to my next guest here onthe Moegger Radio program for a Monday.
As I mentioned, Laurel Failure coversall things Cincinnati Bengals for the Dayton Daily
News. Laurel, thanks for joiningme. How you doing. I'm doing
well. We missed you at themedia luncheon today though. Yeah. As
I told, I think it wasCharlie Clifford in our number one. It

(01:18:54):
was planes, trains and automobiles toget back here from Philadelphia. I saw
my older daughter Jay, she wasout there, and I actually made a
trip, quick, quick trip,an excursion if you will, up to
New Haven or New Canaan, Connecticutto see her. And then I made
it back to Philly and I thoughtI was out smarting the travel system and

(01:19:15):
then all help procluse over the weekendand had to drive back this morning,
but it made it back for theradio program, but not in time for
Media day down at pay Corps Stadium. What was your biggest takeaway or perhaps
two or three biggest takeaways from today? Joe Burrow being cleared for full contact.
I would assume that's in your topthree of takeaways for today. Yeah,

(01:19:39):
definitely. You know, it's notlike we didn't expect that, but
to hear it is always good.You never know what happened during the little
break that we get between off seasonand training camp, so the fact that
he's fully cleared and gonna be readyto go is always a good sign.
Obviously, Jamar Chase's contact was abig talking point with Duke Tobin and Mike

(01:20:01):
Brown. You know, it soundslike that's, as expected, a top
priority for the organization right now andjust kind of a matter of figuring out
what he wants and how they canwork it all out. So, you
know, another one would be just, you know, just the evolution of

(01:20:23):
the offense. That's something that cameup with you know, Dan Pitcher and
Zach Taylor and so a lot ofexcitement, exciting things to watch for coming
into the training camp. I wasasking Joe Daniman this and I think this
is going to be a subject ofconstant conversation Laurel leading up to the first

(01:20:43):
preseason game. Is how much doesJoe Burrow need to be on the field
to truly get ready. We hearlike you said that Burrow has been cleared
for full contact. He should beable to throw the ball without any hesitation
and really do everything that he needsto do to get ready for game action.
The question is going to be shouldhe be playing in the preseason,

(01:21:05):
And I think a lot of fansare going to be I think anxious to
see him at least get in,get in maybe one or two or three
series in the preseason, and thensee that and go, Okay, he's
going to be ready to go,whereas some fans will be like, I
don't want to see him anywhere closeto a football field game competition, that

(01:21:28):
is, until the regular season beginsagainst the New England Patriots in the second
week of September. Yeah. Imean, we heard players talk about it
going into last year, where youknow they all sat not oh, but
a lot of the leaders in thelocker room. We're talking about how they
felt like they needed that, andwe saw the defensive starters last year play
preseason games and not so much theoffense, which would Burrow out. It

(01:21:50):
didn't really make a whole lot ofsense to go on and risk the other
starters when they weren't going to bewith their regular quarterback anyway. I don't
know what, you know, Ithink I'm kind of one of those people
on the fence about it because,uh, you know, you you like
to see how it all and thisyear I feel like maybe it is more
necessary just with you know, they'vegot a lot going on with the offense

(01:22:13):
that you know, new running backs. It sounds like they're gonna use their
tight ends a little bit differently thisyear. You know, there's no Tyler
Boyd, so they're still trying tofigure out that third receiver spot, so
maybe it would benefit them. ZachTaylor did say that they do intend to
play the starters, and he wasspecifically asked does that include Joe Burrow and
he said yes, so you know, it might not be a whole lot

(01:22:38):
of snaps that he'll get. Buthe also pointed out, you know,
they do have the practices that they'rewith. Uh, let's see the Bears
and now I'm like the cult.Yeah, so that that's something. You
know, those practices are a littlemore intense, and so maybe they treat
that kind of as those preseason gamesif if they don't really want them out

(01:23:00):
on the field for games, butthere'll be plenty of opportunities to get him
ready. It's just what's that goingto look like? We don't know.
Well, I'm fascinated to see howsome of the rookies are worked into the
offensive skill positions, namely, ofcourse, Jermaine Burton. I think everybody
wants to see what he looks likeout on the field with T Higgins and

(01:23:23):
Jamar Chase, which is one ofthe big reasons I think it was so
significant for t Higgins to sign thatfranchise tag and not take the Jesse Bates
route of twenty twenty two and waittill the end of the preseason sign it
and then get, you know,hop right into game action. That's not
what is going to happen with thiswide receiver corps. And I think that's

(01:23:44):
good for Joe Burrow, don't you. Yeah for sure. And that was
something that Zach Taylor said today thathe really did appreciate that and you know,
when they have these changes coming tothe offense, it is important to
have your big weapons. We didn'tsee Higgins or Chase during the off season
workout program, although Chase was therefor many camps, but not participating in

(01:24:04):
anything side the installs. He wasa coach. He was a glorified coach
when he was when he attended inthe second week in June, which you
know, the young receivers can stillbenefit from seeing him out there in some
form in the coaching role, asyou say. But yeah, for them
to be together throughout training camp andkind of really see what everything is going

(01:24:27):
to look like, I think that'simportant for sure. What was the tenor
of Mike Brown? Was it thesame Mike Brown that we have seen in
years past? Respectful? And Imentioned this in our number one of the
program today. One of my favoritequotes today was from Mike Brown on being

(01:24:48):
asked about Evan McPherson. We're talkingto Evan. We'll see how it goes.
Then he just flawlessly segues into wedid sign a Marius Moon's today.
Nobody bothered to ask. I justlove it. And you've known and you've
been around Mike Brown long enough Laurelthat when he throws a dig like that,

(01:25:10):
it means to me that he's stillalert, aware, and even sensitive
to all of all that is beingreported about his team. To me,
I appreciate that. You yeah,And I wouldn't say he was fired up,
but some of his responses kind ofmade you feel like he was.
Yeah, like you said, kindof give me a little digs. He

(01:25:32):
knows what he knows, exactly whathe knows what talked about. Yeah,
and he laughed. And you know, he had been asked about Chase and
Higgins and Evan, you know,all those contracts, and he's like,
well, what about I'm Arrius menSo yeah, I mean he's definitely alert
and aware. And you know,his non answers about the stadium lease I

(01:25:55):
actually found pretty interesting because he talkedabout how this is a happy moment,
like this is a great He lovedthis time of year. He loves being
the roster come together. He lovesto see how the new pieces are gonna,
you know, get worked in andhow the veterans are going to bring
them along and all that. Heloves that. And you see him every
day out at practice. You don'tsee that with every team. So for

(01:26:19):
for him to say that this isa happy moment I don't want to talk
about the least kind of makes youfeel like maybe those negotiations aren't going as
well as he would hope at thispoint. But I can also see not
wanting you know, he doesn't wantto air all that out over that's to
me what it is. Yes,not to interrupt you, but I think

(01:26:40):
Mike Brown looks at this as aceleb celebratory time of the year where we're
getting training camp going, We're goingto be talking about all football want focused
being on football. Yes, theremight be contractual negotiations going on here and
there with star players, but forthe most part, this is all about
football. He doesn't necessarily enjoy doingthe contracts with Hamilton County or the City

(01:27:05):
of Cincinnati, but he knows thathas always been for better or worse.
You know what, he does verywell, and you know that is the
sticky part of his job and thejob of Katie Blackburn obviously, is to
deal with those least negotiations as theycome up. But they're not going to
talk publicly about it because like withJoe Burrow's contract negotiation, it does them

(01:27:29):
no good to do, so yes, and I mean he said, this
isn't the time, and we allkind of laugh because like it's really the
only time we get him. Buttotally, you know, we've heard those
kinds of things in the past,and he has opened up a little bit
more about the contract stuff, whereasthere were four situations the past where the
team was like, no, we'rejust not going to talk about that.

(01:27:51):
So, I mean, he washe was very open about everything else.
He answered all, you know,a wide range of questions and had a
lot of good things to say,which I actually just published the story.
I think they got it on thewebsite. I kind of highlighted from the
topics that he talked about on there, so you just check that out at

(01:28:12):
seatondaily news dot com. I'll tellyou what. Another one of my favorite
quotes today when he was asked aboutthe idea of hard knocks. You were
there for this, right, Laurel. Yes, and he says, quote,
there is probably no one in theNFL that says, oh, we're
on hard knocks, hot dog.Just the imagery of Mike Brown saying hot

(01:28:33):
dog. I'm going back like fouror five decades when I hear that quote
in my headphones right now, andI just it makes me laugh. I
don't know why it does, butit definitely makes me laugh. I you
know, the reason I think Ilike this time of year is it does
show the human side of Mike Brownand the wry sense of humor, the

(01:28:57):
droll sense of humor that the Bengalsowner still has. Yeah, and then
there was the willy nilly, wecan't fine all these willy we can't fine
every player. Willy nilly, Willynilly came up in something. I can't
remember the exact quote, but yeah, you just get you got to appreciate
the lingo that he used. Butthe hot dog. I was actually surprised

(01:29:19):
the hot The hard knocks discussion cameup with Zach Taylor too, and you
kind of almost expect the coach tosay that, oh, you know,
it's gonna be I mean, he'smaybe not going to say it's a distraction,
but he seemed really excited about it. And uh, I could see
behind the scenes maybe some you know, reservations about it, but they all

(01:29:41):
seem pretty excited. Here's here's howI felt that way. Here's how I
feel about that, Laurel. Ithink Zach Taylor wants to create a culture
where if these cameras are in thelocker room, we don't want everybody freezing
up and not doing what they're accustomedto doing. Embrace the cameras and to
a degree to use common sense.Of course, don't be telling them our
plays and our strategy and you knowhow we go about practice and everything behind

(01:30:08):
the scenes. But embrace the partof the show that's supposed to be entertaining.
And I think that's the way ZachTaylor wants his team to react.
He doesn't want them tightening up,right. He's always been one that wants
his team playing loose, playing free, and I think that's what it's about.
You know, a team that's notplaying loose and free right now,

(01:30:29):
Laurel the other team you cover.So I go back to the Saturday,
July thirteenth game at TQL and itwas two to one Charlotte, and it
looked like Cincinnati had the equalizer,and I forget who scored it, forgive
me, but it looked like itwas two to two. It was taken
off the board, Charlotte won,and that game has started a three game

(01:30:54):
slide. What is up with FCCincinnati right now. Yeah, you know,
I wrote, So I was atthe game this past Saturday at New
York Red Bulls. I was actuallycoming back from vacation myself, so made
a detour through New Jersey and wentto the game, and yeah, you
know, I kind of recapped justthe week because you know, two weeks

(01:31:15):
prior, they beat Miami six toone, and so all of a sudden,
they're on a three game losing Jake. They haven't had that since twenty
twenty one, and it just feelslike, you know, all hikes breaking
loose. So when you kind oftake a step back, you have to
realize, like, yes, theyhave these significant injuries on their back line.

(01:31:36):
On top of that, you know, they had Alvis Powell, who's
a backup that can play center back, can play wing back. He was
suspended because of a red card.Luco Acosta and Luca both their wing backs,
Luco Areano and Jamila sad We're bothon the bench to start that game
Saturday. They were playing those thirdgame in eight days, so we see

(01:32:00):
some rotation. When you take astep back, you have to realize,
like that was a tough week forthem. You know, they had come
off that high of the win againstMiami. You know, they managed to
overcome their injuries in that game andput up a really impressive performance, and
then all of a sudden they're losingthese games. I don't think it's gonna

(01:32:21):
be while they they do need tomake improvements. They need to take advantage
of the summer transfer window that isnow open. They need to make some
additions to that back line in particular. I don't think that they're just gonna
fall apart. This is a teamthat still has talent and you know,
putting everyone on the field that theycan when they aren't rotating and you know,

(01:32:45):
hopefully aren't dealing with suspensions. Ithink that that's more indicative of what
the team is capable of. Andthen hopefully they do improve the roster over
these next few weeks so they getbetter. So on August they don't play
until August Firks first again a PMat TQL, and that's in League's Leagues

(01:33:05):
Cups Action match Day two of three, and then they play a League Cup
again, group stage on August fifth. They don't return to MLS play at
correct me if I'm wrong, butI believe this is right until August twenty
fourth, when they go to enterMiami for the rematch, that is going
to be yeah, go ahead,suck. I mean, that's kind of

(01:33:29):
what I'm looking at, is likethis League's Cup. Like while the team
is not going to downplay the importanceof any kind of competition, it's really
that's really an opportunity for them toget healthy, kind of work on some
of the things that they need towork on. I mean, if you
look at this last week, itkind of seems like a team that's trying
to find its identity again. Evenin the attack, they moved some things

(01:33:50):
around. You know, they hadto with Luto. He was unavailable for
last Wednesday's game against Chicago and thenplayed the second half against New York Red
Bulls. But you know, whenhe's not in there, the offense is
gonna look different. But even whenhe was, they were kind of tinkering
with different formations and how to usedifferent players. So it kind of feels

(01:34:10):
like they're searching for an identity alittle bit. Of course, once they've
got some of their pieces back,they can figure that out. But Leake's
Cup is also a chance to kindof give the guys that aren't getting as
many minutes opportunities. It seems likethat's going to be something that they take
advantage of. And then I thinkthey also learned from last year where they
kind of put everything into every competition, they ended up kind of not fizzling

(01:34:35):
out because they obviously made it prettyfar into the playoffs. They made it
to the Eastern Conference Final, butthey didn't perform in that game and felt
like they could have won Cup thatyear. So I think they're gonna try
to balance, you know, keepingguys fresh and also ready to go.
So we'll see what happens with thatin League's Cup. But this is definitely

(01:34:58):
an opportunity to kind of not reset, but you know, just kind of
get back on track and heal upand then make that push over the last
nine games of the regular season comingup at the end of August. She
is Laurel Failer does a great jobcovering both the Cincinnati Bengals for the Dayton
Daily News and FC Cincinnati for QueensCity Press. Laurel A, you're working

(01:35:21):
on anything else that our listeners shouldbe in the audience should be looking for.
So I would be working on allkinds of things tracks because I've got
you know, we don't have trainingcamp till Wednesday, but the MLS All
Star Game, there's events going ontomorrow and then the game on Wednesday.
So I'm going to be traveling backand forth between Cincinnati and Columbus the next

(01:35:43):
couple of days. So we've gotLuco Acosta and Luca Oriano will be participating
in the All Star events these nextcouple days and then yeah, be back
out at training camp Wednesday, andit's busy, busy, busy from here
it is. I look forward tocatching up with you in person on Wednesday
for the first day of Bengals trainingcamp down at pay Corpse Stadium. Laurel

(01:36:08):
Failure, thanks so much for joiningus. Thanks for having me anytime.
Trags. All right, Laurel,have a good one. You are listening
to Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Cincinnati'sESPN fifteen thirty fifteen Mike Petralia Trags back

(01:36:31):
with you for the final half hourof this three hour Moegger Radio extravaganza.
This is Trags filling in for Moeggeron this Monday afternoon, July twenty second,
on Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Stilltime, get in on those phone
lines five one three, seven,four nine fifteen thirty five one three,

(01:36:53):
seven, four nine fifteen thirty takingyou up to the top of the hour,
and then ESPN Network programming take onthese very airwaves. I want to
quickly preview the Reds game coming uptonight in Atlanta. The Reds need to
obviously get their act together and getit together quick. I thought it was

(01:37:13):
very interesting that on Brenneman and Jonesthey discussed the schedule that the Reds are
facing, and in the midst ofthis is the only team with a winning
record among the nine teams they areplaying. After the All Star break,
we saw what happened in Washington,a complete and utter disaster, losing all

(01:37:33):
three games there. But tonight,can they get back on track against a
winning team, A team or teamsthat they've done pretty well against this year.
Everybody knows about the three games sweepof the Yankees in New York.
The Reds obviously have winning records thisyear against the Philadelphia Phillies and the LA
Dodgers. Can they get back ontrack in Atlanta at Truist Field. Rinaldo

(01:37:58):
Lopez seven and three one point eighteight R ninety five strikeouts on the year.
He is opposed by the Reds HunterGreen six and four, three thirty
four R one hundred and twenty sixstrikeouts. Of course, he is coming
off that All Star defeat to theAmerican League. He took the loss,

(01:38:19):
giving up the two run homer toJaron Duran, And it'll be interesting to
see how hunter Green responds to that. You know, a lot of people
may say, it's just the AllStar Game, it doesn't count, doesn't
mean anything. Well, some picturesgive up a home run like that in
a moment like that on the nationalstage, after really being hidden in the
spotlight all year, or hidden fromthe spotlight, I should say, and

(01:38:43):
they don't handle it well. Ithink hunter Green has matured a lot both
on and off the field this year. I think he'll be just fine.
He realizes that, you know,he gets paid to playing games that matter,
and tonight certainly is one of thosethat matter if he wants to prove
that he is a stop and stopthis well four game losing streak. If
you go back to the game beforethe All Star Break against Miami, the

(01:39:06):
Reds have dropped four straight games.They need to get back on track.
Here's the lineup Jonathan India batting leadoff, playing second base, Elie de la
Cruz batting second, playing short,jaymer Candelario bat's third. He's the d
H. Spencer Steer bats cleanup.He is playing first base. Catching tonight

(01:39:27):
is Tyler Stevenson in the five hole. In the sixth hole, it's Jake
Fraley playing right field. Noelve Marteis playing third base and batting seventh.
Batting eighth and playing center field isStuart Fairchild. And batting ninth and playing
left field is Will Benson. Sothat's the lineup tonight in the opener of
a three game set against the AtlantaBraves. They'll have Thursday off and then

(01:39:50):
finish up the nine game three cityroad trip in Saint Petersburg Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays. We have more coming up in
the final half hour of the MoeggerRadio program for a July twenty second.
It is Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen third andthis ball is hitting the air and deep

(01:40:11):
to left field. That goes Benson. He looks up it has gone a
three run home run for James Wood. Just a second home run breaks the
two to two tie. It isfive to two Nationals. You can hear
the disappointment and the dejection in TommyThrall's voice there on the call yesterday.

(01:40:38):
That was the home run by JamesWood with two runners aboard in the bottom
of the athof Justin Wilson that poweredthe Washington Nationals to a five to win,
completing a three game series sweep ofthe Red Legs down at Nationals Park.
Both Washington and Cincinnati after that gamestand forty seven and fifty three.

(01:41:00):
What was once a chance for theReds to make some hay, like Breneman
and Jones noted, playing a seriesof teams with losing records turned into really
not what you want to see comingout of the All Star Break. And
you know, when you take alook at these Cincinnati Reds, and I
made this point certainly with Joe Danemanof Fox nineteen, the message is what

(01:41:26):
you want to hear. They maynot be good enough in the end,
they may not be good enough tomake the postseason, but you want to
hear the message that the team needsto improve in certain areas fundamental base running,
situational awareness, things that have costthem dearly in one run games.
And they of course, are thesecond worst one run team in all of

(01:41:49):
baseball at eight and eighteen, andif you look back on the season,
you win half those games. Ifyou win twelve of those games, for
instance, you're in wild card position, and the Reds have not been able
to do that. They have notbeen able to execute the little things,
and it's really come back to bitethem. I have a hard time really

(01:42:13):
killing Elie de la Cruz for alot of the aggressive mistakes on the base
pass. If you get thrown outgoing for the extra base, I can
understand it to a degree, butnot when you're going to third base with
nobody out in the let's say,bottom of the eighth inning and you're down
by one run. Those mistakes arethe ones that cannot happen. And after

(01:42:38):
a mistake like that, the messagefrom the club, and obviously David Bell
leads that messaging, has to bethat we're not going to accept anything less
than great execution. We may notwin the game, but we want to
execute to the best of our bill, and that's what the Reds have not

(01:43:01):
been able to do. And Ithink you can get away with doing this
if you're David Bell saying, Ifully support our players. They give me
everything they have, but in certainsituations we need more, We need them
to be more aware of the situation. Certainly, Noelle ve Marte is in
the same boat. Very young player, but he needs to start growing up.

(01:43:25):
And just because you're young, thatcannot be a fallback excuse for the
Reds not to execute properly on thefield. It's a poor reflection, frankly,
of the fundamentals being taught by thecoaching staff, or at least how
they're being received. They may bevery well being taught by the likes of

(01:43:48):
j. R. House and Companyand Derek Johnson the pitching coach, but
you've got to see the execution duringgames, and too many times this year
the Reds have failed in that regard. And after the game yesterday again,
David Bell was left to try andexplain what went wrong in a game that

(01:44:10):
was there for the taking but gotaway late. David, First, Sandra,
we're getting six orders? Or whatdid you like specifically about the way
you threw the bolt today? Yeah, no one nowhere. Druns just really
doesn't get any better than that,and he does it in a lot of
different ways. You know, hedidn't necessarily have a pitch to put guys

(01:44:31):
away with today. But he's stillhad good stuff in the zone and I
believe you only had one strikeout,so to still be able to make pitches
like that and locate in the zoneand just get out to any way you
can. I mean, that's whatit's all about. He had chances to
win yesterday and today. What doyou think the most frustrating part of this
series was? I mean, atthis point to pick ourselves up with so

(01:44:54):
much to play for and so muchfind one ahead of us that we that
that's focus now. So obviously youlearned and uh to have to find a
ways to prove especially when things aren'tgoing well or when they are going well,
and you know that there will beour focus overnight. But then we've

(01:45:15):
got to pick ourselves out in theout, uh find you know, find
a way to take it one pitchat a time and not There's there's nothing
else that we need to be thinkingabout right now is winning winning every single
pitch. And that's what I'm talkingabout. David Bell is not telling any
lies in that no lies detected inDavid Bell's post game. The problem is

(01:45:36):
when a fan hears that well,when anybody hears that, whether it's a
fan, whether it's a player,there's no harsh accountability for the error.
For instance, noelve Marte made thatallowed that led to the two unearned runs
that Andrew Abbott gave up on theday. Andrew Abbot might be their ace

(01:45:57):
right now. He may be poundfrom pound the red most reliable best picture.
We'll see what happens tonight with HunterGreen in Atlanta. Certainly he is
in the conversation as well when he'sfully healthy. Nick Lodolo is also in
that conversation. But Andrew Abbott,when you take a look at his numbers
over the course of the year sofar, he's nine and six three nineteen

(01:46:19):
ERA. He's made twenty starts sofar this year, and that leads your
Cincinnati Red Legs. Hunter Green ismaking his twentieth start tonight in Atlanta,
but he has a team leading twentygames started, does Andrew Abbot, and
he's thrown one hundred and thirteen innings. Again, that leads the pitching staff.

(01:46:43):
A Hunter Green would presumably pass thattonight, we hope. So he
has one hundred and ten and athird inning, So if he goes four
innings. He'll pass Andrew Abbott inthat category. But you know, when
you take a look at the numbersinside the numbers, Andrew Abbott's numbers are
really outstanding. Is eighty seven strikeoutsand forty three walks in the one hundred

(01:47:06):
and thirteen innings. Yes, youcould certainly say that he could knock that
walk number down to maybe the midtwenties, and that would be even better.
And that's probably a goal of his. He's giving up. He's given
up a staff high eighteen home runs. That's the other area he gets into
trouble when he gives up the homeruns with runners on. But I don't

(01:47:29):
have the number in front of me. A majority of those eighteen are solo
shots. And if you're going togive up a home run and you're going
to try and limit your pitch count, give up the home runs with nobody
on base, and usually you canpitch around him. And that's why when
you see the eighteen home run numberand you see Zra is three point one

(01:47:51):
nine, that's what that points to. Coming up in the final homestrection in
the next fifteen minutes, we'll havemore reds run reaction. Look ahead to
tonight in Atlanta as the Reds tryto snap a four game losing streak.
My name is Mike Petralia Trags.You can follow me on x at trags

(01:48:11):
of course, follow me online atCLNS sinci dot com. You are listening
to the Moegger Radio Show on Cincinnati'sESPN fifteen thirty. When employers like seven
hundred, double one one and MarteHammerson high and deep to left field,
what is back on the track?Looks up? It is gone into the
back of the Reds bullpen. NOELB. Marte gets the Reds on the board.

(01:48:36):
It's the first hit of the afternoonand makes it one nothing Reds on
Marte's second home run of the year. Who says we're not capable of talking
some positivity here on ESPN fifteen thirty, filling in for Moeger. My name
is Mike Petralia Trags, as Iam so called on x formerly known as

(01:49:00):
Twitter. Follow me on x attrags trags, follow my work on seal
on s SINCY with a y dotcom. That was Tommy Thrall with the
call on our sister station and theflagship station of Cincinnati Breads Baseball WLW from
Sunday afternoon. In dc top ofthe second inning, Noel V. Marte's

(01:49:24):
second home run of the season thatgave the Reds a or a one nothing
lead, and it looked like goodvibes were starting to finally hit the Reds.
But lest I remind you that NoelA. Marte committed the error in
the bottom of the third inning.He takes or he gives, and then

(01:49:44):
he takes away in the very nextinning. That's kind of been the story,
right with Noel J. Marte acquiredin the Luis Castillo deal from Seattle,
he does have all the potential inthe world. He has a very
powerful bat. He can hit whenhe's on his game, and I think
he will be later in this seasonand perhaps next year when the Reds look

(01:50:08):
to twenty twenty five. He canstill be a very valuable offensive piece of
this lineup. But he has gotto come around both in base running and
in fielding. He's got to bemore consistent throwing the baseball. Of course,
he had a miscach yesterday, buthis biggest problem has been throwing the
ball from third base across the diamondto first base, and he's got to

(01:50:30):
work on that. But that Look, that's what you get when you get
a very talented but still raw developingplayer in neuelleve Marte. He's hitting one
seventy six this year. As wementioned, that was just his second home
run, and he has just sevenRBIs and he's played so far in twenty
games back from his suspension for pedpositive test in spring training. So nouelbe

(01:50:56):
Marte is somebody that keep a closeeye on with the Reds. Not necessarily
for the trade deadline, although certainlynothing's off the table when you're a team
like the Reds approaching the July thirtiethtrade deadline. If a team has the
right package and the Reds like whatthey see in return, you know,
he could be gone. I mean, we assume at this time of year

(01:51:17):
with a team like the Reds,that the Reds are exclusively talking about dealing
just their veteran players. Well,if a team offers the Reds a couple
of young prospects, but to getthat young prospector two or three, it
requires them throwing in a player likeNoel ve Marte. I think at this
point in time, the Reds certainlywould listen to any and all offers.

(01:51:42):
I mentioned before, the break thatthe Reds are forty seven and fifty three
on the season, in a deadheat right now with the Washington Nationals.
That's why that sweep over the weekendin DC hurt so much. The Reds
were three games clear of the Nationalsin the wildcard race, and they could
have put some distance between themselves andWashington just by winning two of three,

(01:52:05):
and then you're talking about a twogame lead over the Nets, and that's
not what happened. And now theReds find themselves in a dogfight with Washington
trying to climb up the ladder inthe National League. Here's what the wildcard
race looks like right now. TheAtlanta Braves team the Reds are playing tonight,

(01:52:26):
fifty four and forty four. Theyare nine games behind the Philadelphia Phillies
in the National League East. Certainlywould appear the Phillies are headed towards the
division title, so it would beAtlanta. Saint Louis Cardinals are number two
in the wildcard chase, fifty twoand forty seven, and the Mets,
who had that horrible start to theseason, they are fifty and forty eight.

(01:52:48):
They have a winning record. Arizonahas a winning record. At fifty
one and forty nine, they arein a virtual tie for the third and
final wildcard spot along with the SanDiego Padres. So it's essentially three teams
tied for that third and final spot, much like it was last year.
At this time, Padres are fiftytwo and fifty The Pirates are only a

(01:53:12):
half game out of the third andfinal wildcard position at fifty and forty nine.
Then it's the Giants, then it'sthe Cubs, and then you're Cincinnati
Reds. The Reds just have somany teams to leap frog right now.
The total number of games they're behindisn't that overwhelming at four games. But
has this Reds team shown you anythingthis year so far to convince you that

(01:53:36):
they're capable of putting together a runto leap that many teams. You're talking
about one, two, three,four, five, six teams you have
to leap frog to get into playoffpositions. I don't see it. I
don't see the Reds putting together thatkind of consistency in the final let's say

(01:53:56):
sixty three games of the regular season, like just sixty two two games of
the regular season. I don't seeit. And you know, I'm sure
Nick Crawl and company are going tohave to have make some tough decisions as
July thirtieth and the trade deadline approaches. I want to thank a lot of
people who contributed to this program mademy day a lot easier. A lot

(01:54:18):
of you heard my whining and complainingabout what kind of effort it took,
in part because of all of thetravel delays that have hit across the country
and the globe. But a lotof people made this day a lot easier
for me, and I want tothank them all. Charlie Clifford of Channel
five, Joe Danoman, sports directorat Fox nineteen, Alex Frank, and

(01:54:41):
Laurel Failure. She does a greatjob covering the Bengals for the Dayton Daily
News and the Orange and Blue FCCincinnati for the Queens City Press. I
also want to thank my terrific andhardworking producer board operator Sean McMahon. He
is be on the ball on themoney all afternoon long. Hey, Sean,

(01:55:03):
I appreciate you, my man.Trags always enjoy doing it with you.
Man. Let's do it again soon. That soon would be I don't
know if you're here, Sean,but that would be tomorrow, same time,
same bat channel night. Well then, yeah, that's soon enough for
me. I'll be here again.There we go, Sean and I will
be reunited tomorrow. I beat thealmost, beat the bad music. But

(01:55:25):
I want to thank Sean for makinglife very easy today. Until tomorrow,
same time, same channel, Cincinnati'sESPN fifteen thirty. My name is Mike
Petralia. Have a great night.This report is sponsored by me SE's Backstage

(01:56:00):
Shot, Macy's Backstage Today form