January 22, 2025 • 24 mins
Tony and Austin discuss the Bengals and the idea of hiring Al Golden as their new DC with James Rapien, on ESPN 1530!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Cincy three to sixty about Cincinnati from Cincinnati, sponsored in
part by Cincy Shirts. Cincy Shirts, All Cincy, all Day.
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome back our two Cincy three sixty thanks to Cincy Shirts.
Thank you for listening on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Let's switch gears mercifully tonight. Have to talk about the
Bearcats for a few minutes and another disappointing loss last night.
Although our guests could, I'm sure easily talk Bearcats with
us for about two hours, we won't make him do that.
(00:36):
We're gonna have him talk some Cincinnati Bengals with us.
It's our good friend James Rapine joining us right now.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Hi, James, who shoots better Tony Pike or the bear Cats?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Put it on the pole, Austin, put it out on
the pole. Me write that down. Put it out on
the pole? Question, repeat?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
You should? I would actually say Tony Pike, just to
be clear.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
I don't know how everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I thought this was a good shooting team, James, That's
what I legitimately thought going into the season.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
I thought they were good. Oh, it's frushing, Booz hoodwinked.
I thought I thought I thought we were talking about nineties.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I told someone last week that I thought this was
like gonna be the the Bearcats of the nineties with
the Jordan brand, and they're just super talented, putting up
points and maybe not as good as those teams, but
really fun and ranked all year. Yeah, and I was way, way, way,
way wrong.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
A lot of people were way wrong. I I went
to the Ohio State scrimmage and I thought they were
going to go to like the elite I was like,
this is an Elite eight team. It's not even close.
And uh here we are.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Uh like Austin Elmore.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Yep, Like just seen me shoot? Like I'm watching the
Sydney Yellow Jackets. Have you ever seen me shoot?
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Oh my god, clank, I just bricklayer layer.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
I'll ask it again. I'll ask it again. Have you
ever seen me shoot?
Speaker 4 (01:54):
Oh? Hey, I've heard it that way. I've heard everyone's heard.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
The man can fill it up command mercifully, mercifully. We
can talk about the Cincinnati Bengals. Where where do we stand?
Is it as much of a shoe in as everyone
says that Al Golden will and should be the next
defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Ohie, oh yeah, yeah, that that could happen at any moment.
I don't know exactly where it's at, but it's that
that's going to get done. It's it's something that obviously
locally we've known for I would say about a week
little over a week, and so, yeah, Al Golden's going
to be the next Bengals defensive coordinator barring some really crazy,
shocking development that I don't think anyone involved in this
(02:38):
process is right now. So yeah, that's your your next
season for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
What do you say to those James that say it?
It feels like the familiar higher It feels like they
didn't cast a wide net. They they came out very early,
and they weren't interested in Dennis Allen, they weren't interested
in Robert Salah. And while Al Golden may still end
up being the guy, did you at least expect them
to be a little bit more active in this search?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I think you certainly want that, right. You want them
to talk with Dennis Allen and Robert Sala, who to
me would be the top two Matt eberfluts, because maybe
those guys say something that catches your eye. I think
they had Patrick Graham identified it early on. I know
he's got a lot of fans in the building, people
that believe in him as a coach, and obviously how
(03:25):
golden the ties are there. He was their linebackers coach
for two seasons in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one.
So I think those guys really from the jump, they
knew they wanted to talk to, they knew they were
going to interview, and outside of that, you had all
of this time, like, if you knew you were waiting
for Al Golden, why not interview other candidates?
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Right?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
So I get that. I get that logic. The pushback
would be and I think the other side of this,
the Devil's advocate, if we gave Zach Taylor truth Sam
or the Bengals truth Sam, it would be, well, we
didn't cast a white net with Dan Pincher.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Yeah, we knew that Dan was our guy.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
We were familiar with him, We knew he was ready,
we knew he was going to be at defensive coordinator
or an offensive coordinator somewhere, and we said, hey, we
wanted to be right here in Cincinnati, and with Al Golden,
I could argue in a lot of ways outside of
nil at least he's leaving as good of a job
at Notre Dame to take this defensive coordinator jud so
(04:21):
it's not like he's not qualified. So that would be
the pushback is why does that matter if you know
your guy is your guy. At the same time, I
totally get it, with so many quality defensive coordinators on
the market that head head coaching experience, why not kick
the tires a bit. So I see both sides.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
When you watch Al Golden and I'm not saying that
he's not going to adjust, but you see his style
at Notre Dame, you see a lot of man demand.
You see some of the ways in which that defense played.
When you look at that compared to the roster and
the depth chart of the Cincinnati Bengals, do you think
that that makes a good fit from a scheme standpoint
(04:57):
in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, I think he needs to be able to get
these guys to think less, play fast, all of those things.
Kind of towards the end of the season, how all
these veterans like, yeah, we're in a remo, simplify things.
And by the way, I don't necessarily think that he
should have to simplify things. I think that this defense
(05:19):
should figure it out. Neo Stone shouldn't have problems playing
fast in any defense.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
He isn't a rookie.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
At the same time, the man demand scheme, could it work? Yeah,
I think at the same time, you're and you know this,
you're not playing Manda Man ever snap in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
You just can't.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
It's different than in college, and so they'll have to
have to adjust that.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
I'm sure that's one of.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
The many things that Al Golden will discuss with Bengals brass.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
I'm sure some of that.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
A lot of that's probably already happened. You know, how
these things go. You were on the bear catchman Brian
Kelly bolted, so I will say that too. Is I
think this has been handled about as well as possible,
considering it's felt inevitable, you know, on the back end.
But yeah, I do think that it can work. He's
got NFL coaching experience. He knows what is going to
(06:10):
play and what's not going to play. And I think
he had a pretty significant role on this defense when
he was here, which led to him getting that defensive
coordinator job at Notre Dame, which obviously he had a
lot of success with over the past three season.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
What should be his first priority, his first thing to
do on his to do list once he takes.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Over, finishing his evaluation of who's on the roster and
saying all right, he fits he doesn't fit like. And
this could honestly be being discussed today, Like I would ask,
all right, well, what do you think about fifty seven?
What do you think about your main pratt Because if
(06:49):
you're the Bengals, you could save.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Significant money there.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
You have Logan Wilson, and maybe you go all in
on rebuilding this defense by maximizing the catch that you
do have. They would say, if you gave the coaches,
if you ask the questions on record, I'm sure they'll say, well,
that's up to the front office and all of those things.
But the thing that Al Golden needs to do the
(07:12):
most that Lou didn't is make sure he's in lockstep
with the front office. They have to have the same vision,
they have to have the same fit, They have to
have the same mindset when it comes to these guys,
because if you draft a first round defensive player seventeenth overall,
and then that guy can't get on the field for
(07:33):
whatever reason, something's wrong, and that for sure was the
case with back Hill.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
They could have found snaps for him, they didn't.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Trey Flowers played more defensive snaps than Bill and so
Jordan battle this year. I would say, Miles Murphy and
Josephi side this year with Sam Hubbard like that was
an issue, and so you need to make sure that
whatever the case is, that the front office and that
Al Golden and Zach Terror obviously the vision fits owl.
(08:02):
It fits together because they're going to have to rebuild
this defense and it's really really hard to do when
you have the front office on one page and the
coaching staff viewing it a different way, especially in the
regular season when you're game planning week the week.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I would say the same thing ways true for Scott Peters,
the new offensive line coach for the Cincinnati Bengals. This
unit needs help developing. They've missed on draft picks. They've
also missed on some free agent signings. They were terrible
at both guard positions. It is a very important time
for the Bengals organization. It's extremely important on that offensive
(08:38):
line to finally figure out a way to protect Joe Burrow.
What was your instant reaction when Scott Peters was named
as the old line coach.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, I think the first thing you do, and it
would be the same with a defensive coordinator, or be
the same thing with defensive line coach in any of
the defensive coaches that they replaced.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
It's like, all right, well, you know.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Did you get to know him? It's not like I
knew that that hire was happening. And the more you learn,
I do think, the more you like. You're talking about
a guy in his mid forties that has NFL experience,
that has a pretty unique path to being an offensive
line coach. And yeah, he's got the Callahan tie where
he's worked with one of the best in the game,
(09:22):
and Bill Callahan for at least five years might be
more than that, but for me having the Jim McNally tie.
And you were talking about the Bengals and the best
offensive line coach in Bengals history was the Bengals offensive
line coach fro nineteen eighty to nineteen ninety four. Obviously
was a consultant up until a couple of years ago
through the twenty twenty two season, and Jim McNally is
(09:45):
an elite evaluator, elite technique teacher, and for him to
give the stamp of approval that he's given for Scott Peters.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
It's hard for me to push back. Now.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I don't know if the hire is going to be
a good one, but when you say it out loud
and you say, all right, well, he's got NFL experience.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
They played for.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Seven seasons, played on multiple teams, worked his way up
and into coaching. It's not like he just got into
it right afterwards. I mean, we were talking about a
jiu jitsu world champion that's doubled into jiu jitsu and
understands leverage and hand fighting and all of those things.
And then you have top evaluators in the offensive line world,
in the NFL community, like Bill Callahan, like Jim McNally
(10:29):
that have done more than give their stamp up approval.
For me, it's hard to not like it right now.
I don't know if it's going to work, but I
see the vision and the key thing for me. Everyone's
going to be focused Tony on the past protection part
of it. And obviously it goes without saying right, you
got to keep Joe.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Burrow up right.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
I think part of what Scott Peters needs to bring
alongside Zach Taylor and Dan Pitcher, is the marriage between
the past game and the run game. If Joe Burrow
has that too on his tool belt, where he can
trust the run and trust the scheme and trust that
he can go to the run on the six.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Yard line or the three yard line, or with.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Four minutes to last in the Bengals up to and
not wanting to punt the ball back. I think that's huge,
and I'm not sure he's really had that consistently since
he's been here, and so I think Scott Peters helping
that cause even though he doesn't have the title run
game coordinator, he'll be part of that. I think that's
a huge factor in whether or not this is going
to be a good hire.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I'm intrigued in the sense that last year it kind
of surprised folks when training camp came around and all
of a sudden, the Jamar Chase situation went down, and
it immediately became a distraction for so much a training camp,
and it took away what was going on on the field.
You don't have to worry about any of that this year,
because you know what needs to be done from Jamar
Chase to T Higgins. The wide receiver unit is going
(11:54):
to be under a microscope this offseason. How quickly can
a Jamar Chase you'll get done? And how confident are
you that a T. Higgins deal gets done?
Speaker 4 (12:05):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
I mean how quickly. I think it could come together
pretty quick. If the Bengals wanted to be aggressive and
get it done.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
Wouldn't that be the best?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Like get that out of the way and then you
can see how much you have to spend and what
roster moves you need to make.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Absolutely, And I think the thing that I won't accept
and that would really irk me.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
And I'm not sure that they would say this line.
But the last thing I want to.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Hear is, oh, well, we're still working on the Jamar deal.
That's why we didn't go after the top free agents
in March. Like, I don't want to hear that because
it's just not It's one they can make. They can
clear so much cap space. Cap space is not an issue.
Then this is going to tie into the tea question
that you had as well. But this idea that cap
space or cash flow whatever, I'm not not buying the
(12:53):
cash flow thing. Every date in that stadium a sponsored.
They have so many sponsors that I can't count. They
have cash and cap wise, you can manipulate it. You
can find ways to all well, T Higgins's cap hit
in his first year isn't going to be super high,
but Jamar's is going to go up or it's going
to go down. I think a long term extension that
Jamar would most likely lower his cap hit. It's going
(13:16):
to be twenty two million dollars this year, and so
why not get it done sooner to your point, and
hopefully it does because if they get that done, then
I mean, that's the big fish, that's the one that
it's going to get more than any free agent that's
out there. He's going to get more than any possible
T Higgins deal or any free agent that you're going
to find. So yeah, that would be ideal. Plus he's
(13:39):
your second best player, right, so we'll see. But if
you do that, then great. It does give you the
the ability, but I think they have that ability anyway
in free agency, and then as far as T goes
in a weird way, I might try to get Te
done just as quickly because it's I think it's a
(13:59):
pretty simple deal like I would probably just call on
T Higgins and say, hey, here's four for one hundred
with I don't know the first two fifty two and
a half million dollars guaranteed, basically the first two years guaranteed.
Take it or we're going to tag you and you
know and go that route, and it might just it
(14:20):
might just get done. And so if that gets done,
then it makes it easier too. So I expect them
to get both done. I think that's what fans should feel,
because if not, I think number nine is going to
be really frustrated.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
And that's the last thing you want.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
After the season he had, Jamar should already be done.
I get t who was weird with his agent while
he changed agents. He didn't change agents to go to
Jacksonville or Tennessee. He changed agents to stay here. So
get it done.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I caught myself this weekend just with that, that sobering
reminder of how hard it is to be the last
team standing in the National Football League, And unbelieve year
from Detroit they come up short. The Ravens have a
great team, they come up short. One of the two
between Buffalo and Kansas City is going to come up short.
And so many of the key pieces of so many
of these teams are around for the foreseeable future. The
(15:13):
same thing we say about the Joe Burrow window is
the same thing they say about Lamar and Josh Allen
and Patrick Mahomes. With where things stand today, James, is
this team further away in your opinion of getting back
to that game or are they closer to getting back
to that game? With what you know about their roster
and the rest of the AFC as a whole.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
They never could fully buy into the Lions, not because
I didn't think they were the best team the best roster,
because I did think.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
That they were a high end roster. Obviously.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Three They're literally had three head coaches on their roster
right with Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn and obviously Ben Johnson,
who just got introduced as the Bears head coach. Glen's
probably going to get that Juts job. But I couldn't
mind a gair Golf. And that's why as bad as
as bad as it feels right now, where it does
feel like man roster wise, they are just not even
(16:07):
close to Detroit. They're not even close to some of
these teams. You have a guy that can go anywhere
and win.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
So they aren't. They aren't that far off. Now.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
They have a lot of things they need to fix.
They need to be aggressive. They can't create a hole
on offense by letting T Higgins walk out the door
unless you're bringing in a stud. Right, It's one thing
that goes like, oh, you let T Higgins walk and
then you're bringing in a mom ros Saint Brown.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
But you're not doing that, so you don't want to
create that hole.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
But no, I think they can get back there very quickly.
But they need a twenty twenty to twenty twenty one
like offseason. When you think about what they did in
those off seasons, whether it's in free agency and or
the draft, they got instant impact. And this free agency
class isn't as great. But if you can find a
(17:00):
Larry Ogunjobi, you know it doesn't have to be. I'm
not saying go find the next Tray Hendrickson. It's hard
to do that, I get it. But find a Larry
Ogunjobi and a Mike Hilton in a couple of pieces
on defense, not necessarily at slot corner, but pieces that
can make an impact on defense and free agency, and
then you get the draft right with some impact guys,
(17:20):
it can change really quickly. Obviously, they have to get
these coaching hires right. Those have to fit. But no,
I don't think that they're that far off, because you
can win a Super Bowl with a flawed team. If
the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl, they will
have won despite being a flawed team, just like they
did last year. They were flawed and they still won.
(17:40):
The Bengals could be in that mix as well. You
don't need to have a perfect roster to win a championship.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
There's also been changes to the defensive staff outside of
just Louey and Arumo. What are you hearing about filling
those roles left by Marion Hobby, Luisiaffi, Mark Duffner, do
you think that's something that will be delegated with Al
Golden er the Bengals still working on that now.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Well, I'm sure it's been being worked on behind the scenes,
to be quite honest, you know, I think again, I
think Al Golden, notre Dame, Zach Taylor, the Bengals. I
think everyone's handled this about as well as possible to
not be a distraction. Al Golden in his quest of
winning a national championship, which is how it should go.
(18:23):
But you can't not make those plans. You can't pause everything.
You have to spend a little bit of time getting
a staff together or getting some plans together. So I'm
sure they've had those talks. I'm sure those things will
happen pretty quickly after Al Golden is signed, sailed, and delivered.
Would not shot, but it doesn't mean all of those
(18:44):
roles are going to get filled. But I think the
big ones you're talking about, defensive line linebackers, I think
that those will will probably get filled in the near
future once Golden is announced.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Black last question for you, James. On Monday night, Al
Golden decided to go one on one against the best
wide receiver in the country. Why did he do that?
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Yeah, yeah, that beats me.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
I think at that in that situation, given who your
quarterback is, and I say you as an Ohio State fan,
I definitely want Will Howard reading the coverage. I want
him having to pause, not worry about the blitz because
the blitz might not get there. It's not like they've
gotten there all night, So I would have gone the
lu An Arumo route. As ironic as that is and
(19:28):
I would have dropped. I would have dropped, and I
would have said, all right, will let's see you, let's
see a big dog.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
And by the way, I might have been wrong.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
It's it's a really tough spot to be in. But
I wouldn't have gone one on one with Jeremiah Smith.
At the same time, can you stay within a few
yards of him? I mean, that was the easiest throw,
And if you're going to blitz, you got to make
sure someone gets there to disrupt it a little bit.
I mean it was that was a Honestly, that was
(19:59):
an od he's throw. I mean it didn't even feel
like anyone wants Will Howard, Yeah, it's easy. That's exactly
what it was. Tony Pike makes that through.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Thank you, James, Thank you James. H before I before I.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Let me just complimenting times before I let you go.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Something Austin threw up our revived Fitness Systems dot com
pole question today, let me ask you, uh, which is
more likely to happen in the next ten years. You
see football wins a college football playoff game, or you
see basketball goes to the Elite eight oh.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
Oh oh a college football playoff See I'm one game.
Oh boy, that's tough. When's the last time the Bearcats.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Made the Elite Eight?
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Tell me about it, longtime, James, I need.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
No it went then? Was it ninety two?
Speaker 5 (20:50):
I think Terry Nelson squad. Terry Nelson squad was it?
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Yeah? They only got the Sweet sixteen with How do
you so? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:56):
I mean you're talking it might be a college football
playoff game, which is insane.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Nineteen ninety six was the last Elite Eight?
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yeah, okay, so I was five, board was barely born.
I was five.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Unreal to age myself. But the real answer is I
don't feel good about either one. Like I I so
better I would feel put it like this, I think
that the Reds are closer to winning a playoff series.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
Wow, well, I don't think anyone is crazy. No, I
don't think that's a hot take. I mean that's pretty
obvious at least. I think.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I don't know if the Reds are going to make
the playoffs this year. But I do think that you
see it's closer. What you see is nowhere close to anything.
They're just there. Which the entire athletic which one happens
first is your allegiate or you see elidate.
Speaker 5 (21:56):
I trust Jon Miller more than west Miller. You see
e Lade eight.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
Like I'm not doing this.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
I will not go there. James.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Uh, you're a gentleman, You're a scholar. Your Bengals coverage
is also second to none. What's the easiest way to
follow along with everything you got going on here of
a very important and very busy offseason.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Ooh boy, it is a busy busy one.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Khalil Mack free agent? Should they go after him? That's
much much more at Bengals Talk dot com, Cincinnati Bengals
Talk on YouTube and The Lockdown Banglther.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Podcast, The Injury.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Yes, by the way, thank you.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
I don't care if he's older than me.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
I agree, James. Thanks guys, Thank you typical James. Anybody
becomes a free agent, Yes, they should get him. Let's
go time.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Except Austin elmore except Austin.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
Asked jump shot? Thank you, James have a great guy,
can fill it up? God, that's James. He's gone. Talkbacks
are next ESBN fifteen thirty Cincinnati sports station. Thanks to
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That's quotas enter it now.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
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This is ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Welcome back our two Cincy three sixty thanks to Cincy Shirts.
Thank you for listening on ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Let's switch gears mercifully tonight. Have to talk about the
Bearcats for a few minutes and another disappointing loss last night.
Although our guests could, I'm sure easily talk Bearcats with
us for about two hours, we won't make him do that.
(00:36):
We're gonna have him talk some Cincinnati Bengals with us.
It's our good friend James Rapine joining us right now.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Hi, James, who shoots better Tony Pike or the bear Cats?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Put it on the pole, Austin, put it out on
the pole. Me write that down. Put it out on
the pole? Question, repeat?
Speaker 4 (00:52):
You should? I would actually say Tony Pike, just to
be clear.
Speaker 5 (00:56):
I don't know how everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I thought this was a good shooting team, James, That's
what I legitimately thought going into the season.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
I thought they were good. Oh, it's frushing, Booz hoodwinked.
I thought I thought I thought we were talking about nineties.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
I told someone last week that I thought this was
like gonna be the the Bearcats of the nineties with
the Jordan brand, and they're just super talented, putting up
points and maybe not as good as those teams, but
really fun and ranked all year. Yeah, and I was way, way, way,
way wrong.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
A lot of people were way wrong. I I went
to the Ohio State scrimmage and I thought they were
going to go to like the elite I was like,
this is an Elite eight team. It's not even close.
And uh here we are.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Uh like Austin Elmore.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Yep, Like just seen me shoot? Like I'm watching the
Sydney Yellow Jackets. Have you ever seen me shoot?
Speaker 3 (01:46):
Oh my god, clank, I just bricklayer layer.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
I'll ask it again. I'll ask it again. Have you
ever seen me shoot?
Speaker 4 (01:54):
Oh? Hey, I've heard it that way. I've heard everyone's heard.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
The man can fill it up command mercifully, mercifully. We
can talk about the Cincinnati Bengals. Where where do we stand?
Is it as much of a shoe in as everyone
says that Al Golden will and should be the next
defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Ohie, oh yeah, yeah, that that could happen at any moment.
I don't know exactly where it's at, but it's that
that's going to get done. It's it's something that obviously
locally we've known for I would say about a week
little over a week, and so, yeah, Al Golden's going
to be the next Bengals defensive coordinator barring some really crazy,
shocking development that I don't think anyone involved in this
(02:38):
process is right now. So yeah, that's your your next
season for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
What do you say to those James that say it?
It feels like the familiar higher It feels like they
didn't cast a wide net. They they came out very early,
and they weren't interested in Dennis Allen, they weren't interested
in Robert Salah. And while Al Golden may still end
up being the guy, did you at least expect them
to be a little bit more active in this search?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
I think you certainly want that, right. You want them
to talk with Dennis Allen and Robert Sala, who to
me would be the top two Matt eberfluts, because maybe
those guys say something that catches your eye. I think
they had Patrick Graham identified it early on. I know
he's got a lot of fans in the building, people
that believe in him as a coach, and obviously how
(03:25):
golden the ties are there. He was their linebackers coach
for two seasons in twenty twenty and twenty twenty one.
So I think those guys really from the jump, they
knew they wanted to talk to, they knew they were
going to interview, and outside of that, you had all
of this time, like, if you knew you were waiting
for Al Golden, why not interview other candidates?
Speaker 4 (03:44):
Right?
Speaker 3 (03:45):
So I get that. I get that logic. The pushback
would be and I think the other side of this,
the Devil's advocate, if we gave Zach Taylor truth Sam
or the Bengals truth Sam, it would be, well, we
didn't cast a white net with Dan Pincher.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
Yeah, we knew that Dan was our guy.
Speaker 3 (04:01):
We were familiar with him, We knew he was ready,
we knew he was going to be at defensive coordinator
or an offensive coordinator somewhere, and we said, hey, we
wanted to be right here in Cincinnati, and with Al Golden,
I could argue in a lot of ways outside of
nil at least he's leaving as good of a job
at Notre Dame to take this defensive coordinator jud so
(04:21):
it's not like he's not qualified. So that would be
the pushback is why does that matter if you know
your guy is your guy. At the same time, I
totally get it, with so many quality defensive coordinators on
the market that head head coaching experience, why not kick
the tires a bit. So I see both sides.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
When you watch Al Golden and I'm not saying that
he's not going to adjust, but you see his style
at Notre Dame, you see a lot of man demand.
You see some of the ways in which that defense played.
When you look at that compared to the roster and
the depth chart of the Cincinnati Bengals, do you think
that that makes a good fit from a scheme standpoint
(04:57):
in Cincinnati.
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, I think he needs to be able to get
these guys to think less, play fast, all of those things.
Kind of towards the end of the season, how all
these veterans like, yeah, we're in a remo, simplify things.
And by the way, I don't necessarily think that he
should have to simplify things. I think that this defense
(05:19):
should figure it out. Neo Stone shouldn't have problems playing
fast in any defense.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
He isn't a rookie.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
At the same time, the man demand scheme, could it work? Yeah,
I think at the same time, you're and you know this,
you're not playing Manda Man ever snap in the NFL.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
You just can't.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
It's different than in college, and so they'll have to
have to adjust that.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
I'm sure that's one of.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
The many things that Al Golden will discuss with Bengals brass.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
I'm sure some of that.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
A lot of that's probably already happened. You know, how
these things go. You were on the bear catchman Brian
Kelly bolted, so I will say that too. Is I
think this has been handled about as well as possible,
considering it's felt inevitable, you know, on the back end.
But yeah, I do think that it can work. He's
got NFL coaching experience. He knows what is going to
(06:10):
play and what's not going to play. And I think
he had a pretty significant role on this defense when
he was here, which led to him getting that defensive
coordinator job at Notre Dame, which obviously he had a
lot of success with over the past three season.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
What should be his first priority, his first thing to
do on his to do list once he takes.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Over, finishing his evaluation of who's on the roster and
saying all right, he fits he doesn't fit like. And
this could honestly be being discussed today, Like I would ask,
all right, well, what do you think about fifty seven?
What do you think about your main pratt Because if
(06:49):
you're the Bengals, you could save.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Significant money there.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
You have Logan Wilson, and maybe you go all in
on rebuilding this defense by maximizing the catch that you
do have. They would say, if you gave the coaches,
if you ask the questions on record, I'm sure they'll say, well,
that's up to the front office and all of those things.
But the thing that Al Golden needs to do the
(07:12):
most that Lou didn't is make sure he's in lockstep
with the front office. They have to have the same vision,
they have to have the same fit, They have to
have the same mindset when it comes to these guys,
because if you draft a first round defensive player seventeenth overall,
and then that guy can't get on the field for
(07:33):
whatever reason, something's wrong, and that for sure was the
case with back Hill.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
They could have found snaps for him, they didn't.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Trey Flowers played more defensive snaps than Bill and so
Jordan battle this year. I would say, Miles Murphy and
Josephi side this year with Sam Hubbard like that was
an issue, and so you need to make sure that
whatever the case is, that the front office and that
Al Golden and Zach Terror obviously the vision fits owl.
(08:02):
It fits together because they're going to have to rebuild
this defense and it's really really hard to do when
you have the front office on one page and the
coaching staff viewing it a different way, especially in the
regular season when you're game planning week the week.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I would say the same thing ways true for Scott Peters,
the new offensive line coach for the Cincinnati Bengals. This
unit needs help developing. They've missed on draft picks. They've
also missed on some free agent signings. They were terrible
at both guard positions. It is a very important time
for the Bengals organization. It's extremely important on that offensive
(08:38):
line to finally figure out a way to protect Joe Burrow.
What was your instant reaction when Scott Peters was named
as the old line coach.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, I think the first thing you do, and it
would be the same with a defensive coordinator, or be
the same thing with defensive line coach in any of
the defensive coaches that they replaced.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
It's like, all right, well, you know.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Did you get to know him? It's not like I
knew that that hire was happening. And the more you learn,
I do think, the more you like. You're talking about
a guy in his mid forties that has NFL experience,
that has a pretty unique path to being an offensive
line coach. And yeah, he's got the Callahan tie where
he's worked with one of the best in the game,
(09:22):
and Bill Callahan for at least five years might be
more than that, but for me having the Jim McNally tie.
And you were talking about the Bengals and the best
offensive line coach in Bengals history was the Bengals offensive
line coach fro nineteen eighty to nineteen ninety four. Obviously
was a consultant up until a couple of years ago
through the twenty twenty two season, and Jim McNally is
(09:45):
an elite evaluator, elite technique teacher, and for him to
give the stamp of approval that he's given for Scott Peters.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
It's hard for me to push back. Now.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
I don't know if the hire is going to be
a good one, but when you say it out loud
and you say, all right, well, he's got NFL experience.
Speaker 4 (10:05):
They played for.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
Seven seasons, played on multiple teams, worked his way up
and into coaching. It's not like he just got into
it right afterwards. I mean, we were talking about a
jiu jitsu world champion that's doubled into jiu jitsu and
understands leverage and hand fighting and all of those things.
And then you have top evaluators in the offensive line world,
in the NFL community, like Bill Callahan, like Jim McNally
(10:29):
that have done more than give their stamp up approval.
For me, it's hard to not like it right now.
I don't know if it's going to work, but I
see the vision and the key thing for me. Everyone's
going to be focused Tony on the past protection part
of it. And obviously it goes without saying right, you
got to keep Joe.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Burrow up right.
Speaker 3 (10:48):
I think part of what Scott Peters needs to bring
alongside Zach Taylor and Dan Pitcher, is the marriage between
the past game and the run game. If Joe Burrow
has that too on his tool belt, where he can
trust the run and trust the scheme and trust that
he can go to the run on the six.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
Yard line or the three yard line, or with.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Four minutes to last in the Bengals up to and
not wanting to punt the ball back. I think that's huge,
and I'm not sure he's really had that consistently since
he's been here, and so I think Scott Peters helping
that cause even though he doesn't have the title run
game coordinator, he'll be part of that. I think that's
a huge factor in whether or not this is going
to be a good hire.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I'm intrigued in the sense that last year it kind
of surprised folks when training camp came around and all
of a sudden, the Jamar Chase situation went down, and
it immediately became a distraction for so much a training camp,
and it took away what was going on on the field.
You don't have to worry about any of that this year,
because you know what needs to be done from Jamar
Chase to T Higgins. The wide receiver unit is going
(11:54):
to be under a microscope this offseason. How quickly can
a Jamar Chase you'll get done? And how confident are
you that a T. Higgins deal gets done?
Speaker 4 (12:05):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
I mean how quickly. I think it could come together
pretty quick. If the Bengals wanted to be aggressive and
get it done.
Speaker 5 (12:12):
Wouldn't that be the best?
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Like get that out of the way and then you
can see how much you have to spend and what
roster moves you need to make.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Sure.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
Absolutely, And I think the thing that I won't accept
and that would really irk me.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
And I'm not sure that they would say this line.
But the last thing I want to.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
Hear is, oh, well, we're still working on the Jamar deal.
That's why we didn't go after the top free agents
in March. Like, I don't want to hear that because
it's just not It's one they can make. They can
clear so much cap space. Cap space is not an issue.
Then this is going to tie into the tea question
that you had as well. But this idea that cap
space or cash flow whatever, I'm not not buying the
(12:53):
cash flow thing. Every date in that stadium a sponsored.
They have so many sponsors that I can't count. They
have cash and cap wise, you can manipulate it. You
can find ways to all well, T Higgins's cap hit
in his first year isn't going to be super high,
but Jamar's is going to go up or it's going
to go down. I think a long term extension that
Jamar would most likely lower his cap hit. It's going
(13:16):
to be twenty two million dollars this year, and so
why not get it done sooner to your point, and
hopefully it does because if they get that done, then
I mean, that's the big fish, that's the one that
it's going to get more than any free agent that's
out there. He's going to get more than any possible
T Higgins deal or any free agent that you're going
to find. So yeah, that would be ideal. Plus he's
(13:39):
your second best player, right, so we'll see. But if
you do that, then great. It does give you the
the ability, but I think they have that ability anyway
in free agency, and then as far as T goes
in a weird way, I might try to get Te
done just as quickly because it's I think it's a
(13:59):
pretty simple deal like I would probably just call on
T Higgins and say, hey, here's four for one hundred
with I don't know the first two fifty two and
a half million dollars guaranteed, basically the first two years guaranteed.
Take it or we're going to tag you and you
know and go that route, and it might just it
(14:20):
might just get done. And so if that gets done,
then it makes it easier too. So I expect them
to get both done. I think that's what fans should feel,
because if not, I think number nine is going to
be really frustrated.
Speaker 4 (14:36):
And that's the last thing you want.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
After the season he had, Jamar should already be done.
I get t who was weird with his agent while
he changed agents. He didn't change agents to go to
Jacksonville or Tennessee. He changed agents to stay here. So
get it done.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
I caught myself this weekend just with that, that sobering
reminder of how hard it is to be the last
team standing in the National Football League, And unbelieve year
from Detroit they come up short. The Ravens have a
great team, they come up short. One of the two
between Buffalo and Kansas City is going to come up short.
And so many of the key pieces of so many
of these teams are around for the foreseeable future. The
(15:13):
same thing we say about the Joe Burrow window is
the same thing they say about Lamar and Josh Allen
and Patrick Mahomes. With where things stand today, James, is
this team further away in your opinion of getting back
to that game or are they closer to getting back
to that game? With what you know about their roster
and the rest of the AFC as a whole.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
They never could fully buy into the Lions, not because
I didn't think they were the best team the best roster,
because I did think.
Speaker 4 (15:45):
That they were a high end roster. Obviously.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
Three They're literally had three head coaches on their roster
right with Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn and obviously Ben Johnson,
who just got introduced as the Bears head coach. Glen's
probably going to get that Juts job. But I couldn't
mind a gair Golf. And that's why as bad as
as bad as it feels right now, where it does
feel like man roster wise, they are just not even
(16:07):
close to Detroit. They're not even close to some of
these teams. You have a guy that can go anywhere
and win.
Speaker 4 (16:14):
So they aren't. They aren't that far off. Now.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
They have a lot of things they need to fix.
They need to be aggressive. They can't create a hole
on offense by letting T Higgins walk out the door
unless you're bringing in a stud. Right, It's one thing
that goes like, oh, you let T Higgins walk and
then you're bringing in a mom ros Saint Brown.
Speaker 4 (16:32):
But you're not doing that, so you don't want to
create that hole.
Speaker 3 (16:36):
But no, I think they can get back there very quickly.
But they need a twenty twenty to twenty twenty one
like offseason. When you think about what they did in
those off seasons, whether it's in free agency and or
the draft, they got instant impact. And this free agency
class isn't as great. But if you can find a
(17:00):
Larry Ogunjobi, you know it doesn't have to be. I'm
not saying go find the next Tray Hendrickson. It's hard
to do that, I get it. But find a Larry
Ogunjobi and a Mike Hilton in a couple of pieces
on defense, not necessarily at slot corner, but pieces that
can make an impact on defense and free agency, and
then you get the draft right with some impact guys,
(17:20):
it can change really quickly. Obviously, they have to get
these coaching hires right. Those have to fit. But no,
I don't think that they're that far off, because you
can win a Super Bowl with a flawed team. If
the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl, they will
have won despite being a flawed team, just like they
did last year. They were flawed and they still won.
(17:40):
The Bengals could be in that mix as well. You
don't need to have a perfect roster to win a championship.
Speaker 5 (17:44):
There's also been changes to the defensive staff outside of
just Louey and Arumo. What are you hearing about filling
those roles left by Marion Hobby, Luisiaffi, Mark Duffner, do
you think that's something that will be delegated with Al
Golden er the Bengals still working on that now.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
Well, I'm sure it's been being worked on behind the scenes,
to be quite honest, you know, I think again, I
think Al Golden, notre Dame, Zach Taylor, the Bengals. I
think everyone's handled this about as well as possible to
not be a distraction. Al Golden in his quest of
winning a national championship, which is how it should go.
(18:23):
But you can't not make those plans. You can't pause everything.
You have to spend a little bit of time getting
a staff together or getting some plans together. So I'm
sure they've had those talks. I'm sure those things will
happen pretty quickly after Al Golden is signed, sailed, and delivered.
Would not shot, but it doesn't mean all of those
(18:44):
roles are going to get filled. But I think the
big ones you're talking about, defensive line linebackers, I think
that those will will probably get filled in the near
future once Golden is announced.
Speaker 5 (18:54):
Black last question for you, James. On Monday night, Al
Golden decided to go one on one against the best
wide receiver in the country. Why did he do that?
Speaker 4 (19:02):
Yeah, yeah, that beats me.
Speaker 3 (19:06):
I think at that in that situation, given who your
quarterback is, and I say you as an Ohio State fan,
I definitely want Will Howard reading the coverage. I want
him having to pause, not worry about the blitz because
the blitz might not get there. It's not like they've
gotten there all night, So I would have gone the
lu An Arumo route. As ironic as that is and
(19:28):
I would have dropped. I would have dropped, and I
would have said, all right, will let's see you, let's
see a big dog.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
And by the way, I might have been wrong.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
It's it's a really tough spot to be in. But
I wouldn't have gone one on one with Jeremiah Smith.
At the same time, can you stay within a few
yards of him? I mean, that was the easiest throw,
And if you're going to blitz, you got to make
sure someone gets there to disrupt it a little bit.
I mean it was that was a Honestly, that was
(19:59):
an od he's throw. I mean it didn't even feel
like anyone wants Will Howard, Yeah, it's easy. That's exactly
what it was. Tony Pike makes that through.
Speaker 5 (20:07):
Thank you, James, Thank you James. H before I before I.
Speaker 3 (20:10):
Let me just complimenting times before I let you go.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Something Austin threw up our revived Fitness Systems dot com
pole question today, let me ask you, uh, which is
more likely to happen in the next ten years. You
see football wins a college football playoff game, or you
see basketball goes to the Elite eight oh.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
Oh oh a college football playoff See I'm one game.
Oh boy, that's tough. When's the last time the Bearcats.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Made the Elite Eight?
Speaker 5 (20:44):
Tell me about it, longtime, James, I need.
Speaker 4 (20:47):
No it went then? Was it ninety two?
Speaker 5 (20:50):
I think Terry Nelson squad. Terry Nelson squad was it?
Speaker 4 (20:54):
Yeah? They only got the Sweet sixteen with How do
you so? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (20:56):
I mean you're talking it might be a college football
playoff game, which is insane.
Speaker 5 (21:01):
Nineteen ninety six was the last Elite Eight?
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Yeah, okay, so I was five, board was barely born.
I was five.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Unreal to age myself. But the real answer is I
don't feel good about either one. Like I I so
better I would feel put it like this, I think
that the Reds are closer to winning a playoff series.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
Wow, well, I don't think anyone is crazy. No, I
don't think that's a hot take. I mean that's pretty
obvious at least. I think.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
I don't know if the Reds are going to make
the playoffs this year. But I do think that you
see it's closer. What you see is nowhere close to anything.
They're just there. Which the entire athletic which one happens
first is your allegiate or you see elidate.
Speaker 5 (21:56):
I trust Jon Miller more than west Miller. You see
e Lade eight.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
Like I'm not doing this.
Speaker 5 (22:03):
I will not go there. James.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Uh, you're a gentleman, You're a scholar. Your Bengals coverage
is also second to none. What's the easiest way to
follow along with everything you got going on here of
a very important and very busy offseason.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Ooh boy, it is a busy busy one.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Khalil Mack free agent? Should they go after him? That's
much much more at Bengals Talk dot com, Cincinnati Bengals
Talk on YouTube and The Lockdown Banglther.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Podcast, The Injury.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Yes, by the way, thank you.
Speaker 4 (22:32):
I don't care if he's older than me.
Speaker 5 (22:33):
I agree, James. Thanks guys, Thank you typical James. Anybody
becomes a free agent, Yes, they should get him. Let's
go time.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
Except Austin elmore except Austin.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
Asked jump shot? Thank you, James have a great guy,
can fill it up? God, that's James. He's gone. Talkbacks
are next ESBN fifteen thirty Cincinnati sports station. Thanks to
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