March 10, 2026 • 41 mins
Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic and The Growler Podcast joined us discuss what the Bengals did on day one of the NFL's legal tampering period, the acquisitions of Bryan Cook and Boye Mafe, plus what a day of validation for the Bengals front office, and what's ahead in free agency.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You found Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
That's up.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
It's a five that for three. This is ESPN fifteen
thirty on Molegger. Thanks for listening. My thanks to Chad
Brendo for pinch hitting yesterday as well as last Thursday
and Friday. It is awesome to be back. And holy hell,
do we have a billion things to discuss. Paul Danner
Junior is here. It's day two of NFL legal tampering.
The Bengals have done stuff. What else may they do?
(00:28):
We will discuss with Paul also a little bit later
on well, we'll tackle the Hunter Green situation where he's
gonna miss fifteen seventeen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Hunter Green's hurt again having surgery, although it's not Tommy
John surgery, so that's good. We've got that to discuss.
We're actually gonna steal. We're gonna steal from since e
three to sixty. Since Tony and Austin are off tomorrow
and maybe off the rest of the week depending on
what happens with UK. We'll go to good Year and
chat with our guy Charlie Goldsmith coming up in the
five o'clock hour. We're gonna go to Seattle as well.
(01:00):
We've got our sports lawyer on Attorney Stewart W. Penrose,
on a whole bunch of different topics, and I feel
like this happens every year.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
We've got the Bearcats in the Big.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Twelve tournament while we're on the air, and so Tarn
wants to stream the entire show live on Twitter so
you can enjoy the spectacle of me living and dying
through a uc Utah game, which Paul Daanner Junior gets
to be a part of.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
He is here in studio.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Show previews also available on Twitter at Moeger Thanks to
shareff Facts Credit Union, Paul covered the Bengals for the
Athletic as well as the Growler podcast. They are doing
live reaction episodes every single night this week, or at
least four nights this week with a free agency unfolding.
You could watch last night's featuring Paul and Jay Morrison
and Charlie Goldsmith and Mark Shalafu on YouTube. Also get
(01:46):
It where you get your podcast. Paul has been very busy,
but still awesome to have him in studio. How's it going?
Speaker 4 (01:52):
One of my favorite days Every year, at least once
I get to watch you watch a game while doing this.
Show like this typically works out where I get one,
and I always I always love it because I can
always know when I need to go ahead and take
control of this. I just wait totally turned towards the TV,
and I can see the investment. I'm like, all right,
(02:13):
I'll take the next four minutes. Well, we'll see how
that goes. I will tell you this.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
I flew back yesterday and the plane hits the ground,
and I had been asleep. And the first thing that
happens is I look at the woman next to me,
and I sheepishly just kind of make that look as
if to say, I know I was snoring, yea, and
you know I was snoring. Thank you for not waking
me up. My apologies. Then I look at my phone.
I get duped by the fake Jordan Schultz. Okay, happens whatever.
(02:39):
Sometimes we all get got. And then I see, like,
you could not have bought me a better presence. We're
going to replace Geno Stone, perhaps my least favorite Bengals
player of all time, with Brian Cook not only one
of my favorite all time U SEE players, but a
guy known for doing exactly what Geno Stone couldn't do. Frankly,
(03:02):
the Bengals don't have to do anything else. Now I'm
good here.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Yeah, No, they delivered the ideal Moegger gift.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yes, I'll say.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
I mean when we were doing stuff in the run up,
I feel like we do this a lot where we'll
talk about what's your favorite fit, what do you want?
And we'll do a lot of that what would you do?
Whereas you know, I think that my feeling is I
always try to do a better job of saying what
will they do? And those things aren't normally the same.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
They kind of were here, like when we were talking
in the run up about what would be your favorite fits?
Speaker 4 (03:38):
What are the things that you want them to do?
What should they be doing? Cook and Boye Mafe were
at the top of those lists in all of our
conversations that we had, and in fact, one of the
only reasons I pushed Cook down my list was I
didn't think they would want to go all the way
up to that number at a position they've never valued before,
and here they are valuing this position.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
How about that? Yeah? Right?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
And so I think when you combine those two things
together and specifically what Cook brings, which is look, finally
just say, all right, shouldn't let Jesse Bates watch right?
We can finally have got that one, Like all right, yeah,
a three year band aid experiment.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
It needs to end.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
You need to make a real investment at this position
and find a guy who can do the things that
you needed to do and specifically play in the post
and when he comes downhill not miss the tackle.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
And I talked about this last night on the show,
but you know, in his four years in the NFL,
Brian Cook has twenty two missed tackles and last year
Gino Stone had twenty three missed tackles.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
It's unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
I mean, you are truly going from a top five
tackling safety, or from a top bottom five to a
top five tackling safety and putting him next to Jordan Battle,
who got exponentially better at that as the year went along.
I think you how can you not love that moves?
It's exactly what they need.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
What's interesting is we did the mock draft mock free
agent draft last week, and I mentioned Kobe Bryant because
I'm thinking of the V word versatility. I think Kobe's
a little bit more of a versatile player. And there's
an argument that can be made for versatility at every position,
hell in every sport. But I could certainly understand looking
at a certain thing, right, a certain bringing the guy
(05:27):
to the ground has got the ball like a certain thing.
And so my very first thought with Brian Cook was
my biggest pet peeve with this defense has been the
explosives and the inability to make tackles. Okay, well at
this one position where it's been a major red flag,
a major issue that's been rectified with one signing, and
they paid for it. They didn't try to go bargain basement.
(05:48):
They didn't go, you know what, Brian cooks, maybe a
little bit too pricey for us, Let's find a cheaper version.
They went and got the guy who's available at that
position where the guy before him couldn't do this one thing.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
The new guy doesn't sign me up.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeah, And the type of player where you have the
highest percentage chance of hitting in free agency, which is
the guy coming off of his rookie contract who's played
at a good level. I mean, you hear a lot
about the confidence that he was playing with in Kansas
City last year and plugging him into a place that
and I don't want to play up the like hometown
(06:23):
thing that's.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Very much overrated.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Sure, but there's a cool factor to that for him,
for a desire to want to play well here and
an understanding of you know, he's going to be you know,
we talk with we'll talk more about Mafe, but like
the expansion of a role can bring out so much
more in somebody. I think with Cook giving him a
little bit of leadership of hey, we're paying you to
(06:47):
be a guy, we want you to be the biggest
version of yourself here is an expansion of who he
can even be as a football player. And he was
great the last two years, last year specifically, so for
that fact, this really felt to.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Me like a.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Calculated execution of a very specific plan. You saw the
things that they felt like they were their issues, and
at that position, boom, they found the.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Perfect answer for that.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
You knew what they needed to do and to get
some pass rush and with a lot of other moves
they could make in the process. And we can talk
about a very interesting yesterday for them. They pinpointed their
the players that were in the bucket for them and
Mafe being at the top of that and again another
player who got the parallels to hendrickson twenty one signing
(07:42):
just going on can do all those things.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
But it felt purposeful.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
It felt like something they had planned, and it felt
like they went out and they executed that plan and
they did both of those things with a lot of
pivot points happening in front of them.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Yeah, it felt like, here's what we want. We're not
going to be deterred, We're not going to talk ourselves
out of things. And I forget if it was Jay
or Charlie who last night mentioned like they get accused
of times by not being very good at multitasking, most
famously last year with while we're too busy with Jason
Higgins to really do anything else, so they're in on
Franklin Myers and they don't get him, which okay, And
(08:20):
I think the way people expect this franchise to operate
is or they were so in on him that then
they got caught with their pants down with other.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Guys that did not happen. That's a step in the
right direction.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Yeah, No, I mean to not only yes, to be
able to be able to multitask is part of it,
and just to be able to have a focus, like,
let's look to say we're not going to devalue the
safety position. We're not going to say, oh that's man,
twenty million is probably too high here to just say, look,
(08:51):
it's not you need to fix the position. Yeah, you
need to do this and be and understand that you
need to be willing to be a little uncomfortable to
fix your football team.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
We we talked.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
A lot about that in the twenty twenty yeah free
agency period, where it was like, no, you don't want
to have to overpay for DJ Reader.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
You don't want to have to pay that's where you're at.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
You just had a historically bad defense that badly needs
starting level players.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
You are if you have to overpay for that, fine.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
It's the reason that you focus so much on getting
good value in other areas so when you need to
go spend the money you can, you know, I mean,
let's just take let's take Ted Carris for example, who's
whose contract looks wildly uh low compared to what this
center market has to become. He's got four million in
cash coming to him next year. Well, you're getting great
(09:44):
value here. You got you use that elsewhere, you're getting
value in picks that maybe your guys that are starting
to hit or whatever, well you use that elsewhere. They
have the money.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
That's just it.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
It's like you have the money, you have the ability
to spend fix your problems. Don't get obsessed with value
and position. Maybe it's too high, and it's an easy
thing for us to sit here and say, but we've
seen that show before here, and so to come out
here in a big day for this organization in twenty
twenty six and hit those two, you know, i'd call
(10:16):
them at least doubles. We'll see, Yeah, hit those man,
it's a good sign for where they now can go.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I think with Mafe, I could hear the alternative, which
would have been, well, you know, we did draft Shamar
Stewart and we believe in them, and we you know,
Miles Murphy came on at the end of last year,
and those things can be true. But those things do
not preclude you from going and getting somebody like this
who just you wrote about this leading up to free
agency that he fits the Trey Hendrickson mold right where
(10:47):
you kind of look at the row of numbers and
you go, okay, need some context there because of who
he's playing behind in Seattle. But there's just knowing this franchise,
it would have been unsurprising to sort of hear, well,
you know, they could have gotten Boy, but here's what
it would have cost. And so you know what, we're
gonna lean in on Shamar and Miles Murphy and then
go get bargain basement guy safety.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Same thing.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Well, it's it is safety, and it's just not a
premium position like fit man. You sucked at that position
last year and pass rush is king, so you have
to go after it.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
And they did both. Yeah, they did both on the
same day. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
I like the biggest reason that I like the Mafe
signing is I just feel like, you can really this
is them betting on their own evaluation. And I know
some people are listening being like, don't do that, but
I disagree. I think too often they don't listen to
(11:41):
their people enough on trust the evaluation and be willing
to pay for it. And if you're not gonna like
you know, if you're sitting there and your people are
saying this guy can be a guy the same way
they thought Hendrickson could be a guy, the same way
that they said him over laws in the same way
with other guys that they have bet on in free whatever.
(12:02):
Just you gotta trust something at some point, and I
think with Mafe you can absolutely see that, and you
can see the expansion of a role being something bigger here,
and to be willing to trust that and go for
it and not say, let's hang on to the idea
of Shamar Stewart and and and go down that road,
(12:24):
or like you said, like the half hearted insurance policy.
Maybe it's like, well, we'll draft somebody else too, and
they'll be in a rotation. But we're gonna Chamar's gonna
take that stack. He's gonna be the guy. No, put
somebody in front of him and make Shamar doing something awesome.
And if he does that, yeah, then then you're where
Seattle was right, which is where you want to be. Anyway.
(12:48):
You know, you gotta start building those waves. There's nothing
wrong with that, and so you you love the domino
effect of putting that guy in front. Now, we still
have major issues that we're going to be talking through.
Were for the millionth year in a row, going to
be talking about where does the pass rush from the
interior come from? And I think we should dip into
(13:10):
the JFM versus MAFAE decision point that they ended up
yesterday because I feel like they were at that spot
they were in on JFM, they were you know, his
number ended up being very similar to what mafees ended up, right,
and MAFAE, I think is we talked about this last night.
The better player probably you, but you can more easily
(13:35):
find another answer at edge and there's just not another
answer at defensive tackle.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
I feel like that's now Could they have gotten him?
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
He seemed pretty dead set on going to Tennessee and
playing with Jeffy Simmons aswad again, and like that's sing
to be a thing, But like if there was a
chance to go over the top of that to make
at that position, that's an interesting spot to be in
because it's just so much harder to fill that, and
they've been trying to fill that, and it just would
be much easier to who knows, maybe it is Reuben
(14:03):
Bain or whoever comes in on.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
The other side of the draft.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
That decision point to pivot off of that, not going
to try to go any further with that and move
to MAFE, I think is one that will probably look
back on especially if they can't still can't find those
answers at defensive tackle.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Paul Danner Jenior, you guys are live tonight eight o'clock
live reaction to anything that may happen between that and
see my wish is for something to happen between now
and four o'clock that we could react instantly to. Maybe
that'll happen tonight, who knows, watch that on YouTube this evening.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Though hopefully that won't be like you see falling down
five early on It's Utah.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
See, we're already this event has not yet started yet.
On my computer, it says eighteen twenty to go in
the first half.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
You know, you can't like that. Neither team has scored.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
And I've seen the turnover banner twice, so you know
there's one hundred green reds disconnect and there's one hundred
green and disconnect with as relates to the game app
that I'm supposed to watch this thing on in the
computer and I don't know, we'll figure it out during
the break.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
So what you're saying is I'm probably gonna have to
take control of the next segment.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
In all likelihood. Yes, Paul Danner Junior is here. Till
four o'clock. We are jammed between now and six. We'll
get to the hundred green stuff a little bit later
on as well. On ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
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Speaker 2 (15:42):
This report is sponsored by the Our American Stories for three.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Moelegger Paul Danner Juniors here
from The Athletic and the Growler podcast in studio at
Stay two of a legal tamper. Yes, So we found
out about the the two signings.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
A little bit less than twenty four hours ago.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
If we get to six o'clock tonight and nothing else
has happened, is that when the impatience that was starting
to settle in about two o'clock yesterday comes back.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Yeah, because you know something that everyone has been talking
about that we've been talking about as sort of the thing.
One of the things before this started that you were
most interested to see was okay, but what's their view
of linebacker going to be? And I think we have
felt like they were at.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Least they have expressed a desire to add a veteran
in there. But we've now seen a lot of the
linebackers come off of the board.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I mean, using your thing from last week as a guide,
I've got more names crossed off than I do names available,
no doubt, but the top two are still available.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Yes, And so I think there is a lot more
heat across the league on Caden Ellis right now then
there is on Leoshanal. So if that, you know, one
price is going up and I don't think the other
one is at this point, so that probably that's probably
(17:10):
more likely, But that's in the they're working on. They're
working on that position certainly, but that to me, it's
not the only one. Yeah, I mean, I think that's
the one that's in focus. And I do think that
that list has been paired down channel We've just said it.
He just feels like the perfect fit. So if they
can find a way to get that done. I think
(17:31):
that's that feels like you'll feel so good to me.
That's the one that I think if you hit that,
you check that box and you bring in him, it
feels like, Okay, you did it. Like there's other things.
The rest of it is, you're always going to have
a rest of it that is putting pieces together that
you need to find a couple of diamonds in the
(17:52):
rough or bargain players.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
That's always going to be a part of this. But
the big.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Boxes you needed to check that you probably needed to
spend on. That's the last one that I have unchecked.
And he is the perfect guy for it, and it
would be a top of the list then at all
three of the big ones on defense, I would say,
if you could do that, And so if that's to me,
one thing that hangs out there, and I'm sure if
they pick somebody else, you could talk yourself into whoever
(18:17):
that is.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
But I don't I don't see. I mean, I see
a pretty big drop off after him.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Yeah, I was gonna say n Ellis, especially if Ellis
becomes expensive.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Bobby Wagner hasn't signed yet anywhere.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
No, the next thing is that you're asking Bobby Wagner
to do are gonna be very different. I mean, you're
there's got me, green law, got let go. Uh there's
again there's directions you could go. But in terms of
boy that feels right for what they're trying to be,
he seems like the most obvious one. I I don't
(18:48):
think we talk enough about Corner. Jalen Davis is nice
and that was a fun story, but it is that
the opening day starter. There's no there's no three or four,
you know, beyond your your top two and then I
guess Davis. I think Corner is something and there's some
good vets that are out there. I love the idea
(19:10):
of bringing back Cheeto, and I know that's a like, well,
you've seen him before. You know he's a good leader
and will be a good mentor, and he played well
last year when he had an opportunity. So if he
would be willing to come in and be part of that, yeah,
I mean, you you like something there, and there's a couple
of guys in that mold out there that you would
that you would look at. I'd like to see that
(19:31):
be one of their you know, second third wave attacking
points is to just because you know, I go back
to remember asking Luanna Rumo at like multiple mile posts
of an off season, like vet corner now no corner
now no, the corner now no, And it just never
(19:52):
came right. Whether that was his decision or front office
is to be determined, but like, you don't want it
to go that way where where it's like, oh, they're
going to rely on a rookie to be the third
or like get a vet in, get a vet in there.
Don't be relying specifically on the draft to add that
spot like you. If you do, then you should be
(20:13):
doing it to supplement but that and then you know,
we'll see what happens with defensive tackle. There's just it's
just so thin.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
They're not fixing anything a defensive tackle, and free agency
they're adding depth, they're getting dudes, they're not fixing their
issue at that position.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
And nobody available now is better than BJ Hill, right
and that's where it's at. Okay, Like, if if you
put BJ Hill into this market right now, he would
be the first to go m HM. And BJ was
fine last year and you're hoping that he's got one
more year in him and that it was injury stuff.
(20:50):
But it's you know the it's still that's a but a,
it's a word. It's a concerning vet. But it's where
you're at. And a lot of teams are in these spots,
but they're in that spot. This really it feels like
it ends with a first.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Round draft pick.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
And whether that's oh, did they overdraft Peter Woods, I
don't know. It might be the same conversation of did
they overpay Boye Mafe? If you filled the spot, it
might not it might be worth it because it's been
so hard to fill that spot if.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
You really believe in the guy or whatever.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
And it feels like this ends with a pick, a
first or second round pick that's in the mix with
them there because there's not a ton of options otherwise.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
So it was interesting you guys last night and I
watched it this morning. You started to talk about like, well,
you do these things on defense, could you then use
the tenth overall.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Pick on offense? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Could you then really lean into best player available? And
I keep coming back to wait a minute, if we
all agree this class of defensive tackles a free agents
isn't very good, then you have to take a defensive tackle, but.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Not necessarily at ten I mean, I think when you
hear a lot about this draft, you hear a lot
about this middle day too, defensive tackle group being a
deep one where there's there's a lot to light there.
We've heard that before and I don't always hit, so
there's I think you could see it ending up. I
(22:13):
think at ten you're still I think you are open
and well again, I think that they'll do a couple
more things that will make it feel even more open.
I'm open to that, but positional value will matter, and
defensive tackle scarcity will be part of that conversation, specifically
depending on what their internal evaluation of a guy like
(22:36):
Peter Woods is, which, as we're learning now, is all
over the map. With teams everybody that I talk to,
the one thing they say when I ask about him
is man, I hear a lot of different stuff in
terms of where they have him from very high to
maybe not in the first round, and so which makes
me think he's gonna go very high because it only
(22:58):
takes one so you don't need census for a guy
to go high. But that said, that's gonna be a
big part of that conversation when we do get to
the draft, and I think that was. That's been emphasized
now because they didn't end up really landing any of
the major free agent players, not that there were a
lot of them.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
This isn't going well so far in Kansas City. Don't
just let it go. Just take a breath. It's early
two for eight from the field, three turnovers. It's not
a good start. The Bearcats trail thirteen to six. Just look,
they're just trying to get their legs under you know. Yeah,
that high Kansas City altitude, it's hard.
Speaker 4 (23:35):
You know, that's being on the road. You got to adjust.
You got this led court you got you never played
on that before. You got a Probably maybe they need
new shoes.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
It could be almost anything. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
It is early twelve and a half to go. The
Bearcats are now down. No, they're down thirteen to six.
Sports Headlines More with Paul Danner Junior from the Athletic
dot Com and The Growler Podcast Live reaction show tonight
at eight o'clock.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Watch that on you Tube.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
You can catch last night's episode on YouTube as well
as wherever you get your podcast. This is ESPN fifteen
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transformative whole person well being backed by Science Register For
classes now visit ucehealth dot com. Rothbound seventy five at
Paddock Road. A disabled semi now cleared away from the
right lane. That's a fifteen minute delay. Still though, back
from Mitchell In southbound fourth seventy one disabled vehicle on
(24:54):
the entrance ramp from Grand Avenue. Police are partially blocking
off that ramp on that e with traffic.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
This report is spot Chevrolet home of lifetime powertrain protection
and guarantee credit approval from their family the Yours for Life,
kelseyschev dot com. Day two of the NFL's legal tampering period.
No hard Bengals news today. Meanwhile, we do have hard
Reds news, and it's not great. Hunter Green's gonna have
bone chips removed from his elbow. It's not maybe as
(25:22):
bad of a news item as perhaps we feared. It's
not season ending surgery, but he is going to be
expected to make his season debut in July. Meanwhile, Brandon
Williams going to get the ball today for the Reds
as they take on the iraqis a talking stick. First
pitch of that one coming up at four to five
Big Twelve Tournament first round in Kansas City. Approaching the
midway point of the first half, Utah leads Cincinnati by
(25:45):
a score of fifteen to nine. Earlier in that event,
Arizona State knocked off Baylor eighty three to seventy nine.
There are some other teams playing today that if you're
a Bearcat fan you're keeping an eye on. One of
them is Stanford playing in the ACC Tournament. The Cardinal
Trail hit fifty nine to fifty six with just under
four minutes to go. SMU plays against Syracuse later today,
(26:06):
and Virginia Tech will take on Wake Forest. SMU and
vod Tech, along with Stanford, would be fellow double team
bubble teams, not double teams bubble teams, and the Blue
Jackets played tonight against Tampa Bay twenty away from four o'clock.
Paul Danner Junior from The Athletic and the Growler podcast
is here. Who's going to be the backup quarterback? It's
(26:30):
a good question. I have an idea.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
Okay, So I feel like I've come up with something
right and we have to dip into another sport to execute.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Okay, but Hunter Green, Nope, no, no Premier League Okay, okay, okay. So,
Zach Taylor and Clint Kubiak are friends.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
They go all the way back to like a closet
at Texas A and m as grad assistants together, longtime friends.
Clint Kubiak would not like Fernando Mendoza to be the
arder immediately for the Raiders. Sure, he would like him
to be be able to sit for a little bit.
The Bengals would like to have Joe Flacco available to
them if they need him. This is a loan situation.
(27:11):
The Bengals signed Joe Flacco, loan him to the Raiders
and just say you could have Joe Flacco until we
need him. Okay, So, and then they can have whoever
their third quarterback is.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Technically the backup quarterback here taking reps. Okay, but Flacco
is available so they don't have to worry about like
a trade or so maybe and there's a deferral of
costs for however long he stays in one place first
the other.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
He plays for the Raiders until if you know, knock
on the wood there. If something were to happen and
he were needed in Cincinnati, it's over. Flaco's back to Cincinnati.
He's a Bengal again.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
We know he can just step in and play. Is
this allowed? I do not believe? So it needs to be,
And why can't we just sort of skirt around some rules.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
And make this it maybe just call it a trade.
But you promise to trade us to him under the table,
you know, scribble on a napkin agreement, promise to trade
him to us if we need him. But you can
have him and just have a little gentleman's agreement there.
And that way Flacco gets to go play. He wants
to play. He keeps his arm fresh, keeps his bike.
(28:26):
He's in it right. And then if he does happen
to be needed for a couple of weeks or you know, whatever,
comes back, Cincinnati starts throwing at Jamar and t again
and drinks his coffee and eats by himself.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
I love this idea. Now.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
The thing is, though, in life, people do break promises.
Hey we'll give him back to you, no problem, cantel
like he's playing well, or there's a hiccup in Mendoza's
development behind the scenes, and then it's like, hey, we
need Joe flaccoback. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like tom Brady's
to stand up that. Yeah and Tom Brady, tom Brady's
(29:04):
gonna the most competitive human being of all time is
gonna be like, stand God, no problem at all.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Here, have Joe Flacco back. No, you got it. We
promised if there were I mean, look, if we I
think that the NFL should start allowing this.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
Oh yes, let's interesting, let's put it in writing. I
just feel like this is a good way to solve.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Two teams problems at once. Why can't you do that?
I I love the idea. I'm not a CBA expert.
That's as close as I have to a good backup
quarterback solution, is what I'm saying. Okay, in the absence
of that, what do we got? There's there's not a
ton of great options.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
I mean, you know, it's not out of the question
that Flacco is back here because the starting jobs are limited.
Although I do look at the Raiders and and that
does seem like that he would be a good bridge
option for them, But there's others that will be competing
for those jobs. So it's not out of the question
that Flacco looks and doesn't see any jobs that he's
(30:08):
really even competing for, especially now that Tua has kind
of landed in Atlanta and it looks like Kyler's going
to be the guy in Minnesota. And does he want
to go play for the Browns right? Maybe? I guess
he probably does. He has gone there before, but you
know what happens there. Kirk Cousins is out there, Aaron
(30:29):
Rodgers potentially coming back to the Steelers, which you've always
said he could complete the s nor circle over there.
So the jobs are limited, they're getting more limited, so
it's not impossible that he could still just he could
end up being the answer, but it's going to be,
you know, a career backup type or one of these
(30:51):
discarded former starters that that could be around, but there's
not It's on a long list.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
I don't want to do this, but I feel like
we have to, so I'm just give you the little
visual we're we're gonna talk about Trey.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Oh there is okay, smiling. I thought, what do you what?
I really thought you were gonna do. You're going to
know how hard this is.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
I really thought you were going to turn your computer
towards me and show me a picture of Andy Dalton,
because I was going to be like, yes.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Yeah, we did that last week, I know.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
But then then instead I get the picture of Trey
looking back at me.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Yeah what yeah, okay, let's do it. Best free agent available.
Doesn't seem like he's getting what he's looking for. No, stop,
huh no, what are you saying? Trey Hendrickson hasn't agreed
to terms with a team yet. No, okay, it's not happening.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
What do you mean. No, I don't want him back.
No no, no, no, no, no, no no no, like the
Bengals got it right. Yes, that's that's where I'm going
with it.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
I thought you were No no, no, not even me.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
No, Like I've got new toys to play with.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Okay, Brian Cook will allow me to make fun of
Gino's Stone for the next four years.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
I'm good time, I have something. I am fine, sweating.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
Yeah, no, no, no, I don't want Trey back, but look, man,
the best free agent available, right, the guy that the
Bengals had no twenty twenty six plans for. Now we
can go back and say they should have traded him,
and accurately so. But you talk about like being pseudo vindicated, here,
it's the Bengals as it relates to Trey Hendrickson, because
(32:21):
it feels like the entire league is like, yeah, man,
we're not giving you what the Bengals wouldn't give you either.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
I would argue this has been the most vindicating twenty
four hours of pr for the Bengals front office in years,
between one the activity that they had yesterday and how
they did go after a free agency while everyone was
yelling him about you know, they're not going to do
anything and they're dumb and cheap and all that stuff
that's been being yelled, and then the rest of the
(32:49):
league and sort of the public now having a broader
view of the disconnect between the negotiation with Trey Hendrickson
right and value there. Now, I do think that discussion
has changed this year compared to what it was in
previous I mean, injury another year older, but yeah, this
(33:14):
is This is the I think been their point is
that we've been trying to get a longer deal done
with Trey.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
You know, this was what they were.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Saying at least, and they didn't see his value the
same way he does. And now the rest of the
league is saying we don't see his value the same
way he does.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
And out.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
I don't want to come across as I mean whatever,
as a Trey hater here on this, but like the
league understands when they just when you're you're just out
to get sacks and you're not doing much, you're not
a well rounded player. They see where it hurts the
(33:54):
team when all it is is sacks and there's nothing
really happening in the run game and there it in
whatever's all the other stuff that happens, right, Like they
see that and they know that, and there's the age
factor is so huge in this, Like they're just not
gonna key, especially when there's an injury involved now that
(34:16):
you're counting on somebody coming back from there's it's the
league is too smart to think that you're gonna pull
the wool over their eyes and just yell seventeen and
a half sacks like they're just that's just not how
it operates. Trey is a really good player.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
He is exceptional at rushing the passer, exceptional, and that is.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
A skill worth paying. But there are a lot of
other variables that take you from getting paid off a
lot to getting paid the top of the market. And
I think there's you know, where that conversation is landing
in between him and what was the Bengals and now
is the rest of the league.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
We'll see, We'll see where it ends up. But obviously
there's gonna be some kind of a compromise, and I
don't think that the league is gonna come to work.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I mean, my take on this all along was having
full appreciation for what Trey did. It was going to
be if and when he hits the open market, we're
going to know instantly whether or not the Bengals kind
of got this right right, and we do. He'll play
in the NFL, He'll get paid handsomely. I oh, you
play as well. But like, I only bring it up
because I feel like this thing that I think a
(35:27):
lot of folks were waiting to pounce on the Bengals
for getting wrong. I agree they should have traded him
a year ago. Right now, all signs are indicating that
they got it right.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Now. Here's what I predict is going to happen.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
He's gonna sign with a team, and probably I don't know,
what would you think, maybe in the ballpark of twenty
five mil a year, in that roughness somewhere, Probably he'll
sign that contract. The league year starts tomorrow and he'll
sign that deal, and then he'll hold out in June and.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
Just hey, I need more money. Yeah this is not enough.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
Literally just signed the contract. Yeah, but I'm gonna need
I don't know. I'm just I don't know. Talk to
my wife, thought about it a lot. So Yeah, I
got my golf shirt on. I don't know if I'm
gonna come to practice, and and then and then another
host in another city is gonna get a chance to
have as much fun with Trey as I have a
minute each. Your thoughts on what the Ravens have done
(36:24):
where they trade two first round picks for Max Crosby
and then like everybody else leaves and they screw up
this Tyler Lindenbaum situation.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
I don't know that they I mean, if they screwed
up the Linderbaum situation, I mean I don't think anybody
was gonna pay him that much money. When they signed Crosby,
I thought, if I'm the Ravens, my first thought isn't
how awesome is this for our defense?
Speaker 2 (36:45):
It's what does this mean for our offensive line?
Speaker 4 (36:47):
They already had to worry about that, and now it
basically crossed off having linderbomb back. They're just they already
were gonna kind of have to be building their their
trenches back up, specifically their offensive line, and they weren't
going to be able to spend. They now took a
first round pick to help fill that off the board
as well, and that just gets a lot more difficult.
(37:08):
And it goes to show one that things are I
don't know if they're changing or or a sense of desperation,
which I don't. I guess despiration is the wrong word
because it's a new coach, but like a sense of
something very different happening in Baltimore to do something that
they've literally never done. They've never traded a first round
pick for a veteran player, and they just traded to how.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
The Steelers had a good tampering period. Who's their quarterback?
Speaker 2 (37:36):
Correct? Like? I can't. I'm sorry it doesn't matter. It
just it feels like it's like talking about how good
the Browns defense is.
Speaker 5 (37:43):
Cool.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
It feels like this Steelers free agency is the same
as the last six. Yeah, we're saying this early, but
it's the question for going back to Ben's last couple
of years, is who you got behind sennes still another quarterback?
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Right And until they fix that, we can say whatever
you want to about the rearranging the pieces and oh
they oh they have Michael Pittman. Now like that's great, Like, I,
who's your quarterback? I just can't.
Speaker 4 (38:09):
I can't care as much about the rest of it
if that's still the same problem.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
But the Browns very quiet. I mean, we know who
their quarterbacks are. We know who their quarterbacks are. But
I think the conjecture coming out of Cleveland has been
that this is not going to be a very note
for a franchise that has made a lot of noise
this week for years, not a ton of noise coming
from Cleveland. And if I'm a Browns fan, I don't
know that upsets me all that much.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
Yeah, No, I mean they can do whatever they want.
This this screams.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
We're here for the twenty twenty seven draft and to
try to get our quarterback.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
There all right tonight at eight o'clock, Yes, eight to nine,
eight to nine, we will be there, you guys reacting
to now, what if nothing happens between now and we've
got a.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
Lot that we got a lot to talk about that
we didn't totally dive into from yesterday. And there's still
some more topics I think we've got. We're gonna do
a little bit more you.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
On the show, you know, just flushed out that Joe
Flacco scenario.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
Is that it's on the list because we did. I
wanted to get to that last night, but we were,
you know, busy talking about we have.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Been signing and then holding out as a more likely
I think there's a pretty good chance that we can
trot out the trays of our Lives graphic one last
time tonight to talk about him.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
That will be a topic.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
And plus we the chats rolling, so we just kind
of whenever we run out of things, we just kind
of turned to the question. So if people want to
come in and ask them questions, just drop on it
and send them to us.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
All right, So you have that tonight, tomorrow and Thursday,
last Night's is available if you want to watch it,
and we'll talk to you next week. I asked you.
I'm off next Tuesday, so can we talk to you
on Monday.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
I'd love to talk to you on Monday. It sounds
great start the week.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
Yeah, I'll have you know what you'll have ye mock draft.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
I don't know if you have time for this.
Speaker 4 (39:53):
They they outlawed the use of the dot os on us.
Really athletic, Yes, really, And I like to think I
played a role in this with my zero point five Shenanigans.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Sew up at the New York Times. Right, I'm the
only one that was properly using the decimal system to
make it mean something, and now it's been taken away.
Speaker 3 (40:13):
So we'll see if I can if I can get
it back. Bearcats are on a ten to run here.
They've pulled within a point five minutes to go eighteen
to seventeen in favor of the utes you were so
downs a second ago. They're about to take the lead here. Sure,
beat Utah win tomorrow, shock Arizona.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Then you can watch them in Dayton. Fine by me. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Paul Danner Junior The Athletic dot Com read his work
on the Bengals and again the Live Growler podcast tonight.
The show starts at eight o'clock goes till nine tonight,
tomorrow and Thursday. Paul, thank you as always appreciate it.
It is a six away from four o'clock. We'll get
to the Hunter Green scenario which has sort of taken
on a Trey Hendrickson bene off its own. Next on
(40:56):
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.
Speaker 5 (41:03):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. The new uc Ohsuer
Wellness Suite is a home for transformative whole person well
being backed by Science. Register for classes now visit u
sehealth dot com. Northbound seventy five at Paddock Road. A
disabled semi now cleared away from the right lane. That's
a fifteen minute delay. Still go back from Mitchell In
(41:24):
southbound four to seventy one. Disabled vehicle on the entrance
ramp from Grand Avenue. Police are partially blocking off that
ramp on that ezelic with traffic
You found Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
That's up.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
It's a five that for three. This is ESPN fifteen
thirty on Molegger. Thanks for listening. My thanks to Chad
Brendo for pinch hitting yesterday as well as last Thursday
and Friday. It is awesome to be back. And holy hell,
do we have a billion things to discuss. Paul Danner
Junior is here. It's day two of NFL legal tampering.
The Bengals have done stuff. What else may they do?
(00:28):
We will discuss with Paul also a little bit later
on well, we'll tackle the Hunter Green situation where he's
gonna miss fifteen seventeen thirty.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (00:37):
Hunter Green's hurt again having surgery, although it's not Tommy
John surgery, so that's good. We've got that to discuss.
We're actually gonna steal. We're gonna steal from since e
three to sixty. Since Tony and Austin are off tomorrow
and maybe off the rest of the week depending on
what happens with UK. We'll go to good Year and
chat with our guy Charlie Goldsmith coming up in the
five o'clock hour. We're gonna go to Seattle as well.
(01:00):
We've got our sports lawyer on Attorney Stewart W. Penrose,
on a whole bunch of different topics, and I feel
like this happens every year.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
We've got the Bearcats in the Big.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Twelve tournament while we're on the air, and so Tarn
wants to stream the entire show live on Twitter so
you can enjoy the spectacle of me living and dying
through a uc Utah game, which Paul Daanner Junior gets
to be a part of.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
He is here in studio.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Show previews also available on Twitter at Moeger Thanks to
shareff Facts Credit Union, Paul covered the Bengals for the
Athletic as well as the Growler podcast. They are doing
live reaction episodes every single night this week, or at
least four nights this week with a free agency unfolding.
You could watch last night's featuring Paul and Jay Morrison
and Charlie Goldsmith and Mark Shalafu on YouTube. Also get
(01:46):
It where you get your podcast. Paul has been very busy,
but still awesome to have him in studio. How's it going?
Speaker 4 (01:52):
One of my favorite days Every year, at least once
I get to watch you watch a game while doing this.
Show like this typically works out where I get one,
and I always I always love it because I can
always know when I need to go ahead and take
control of this. I just wait totally turned towards the TV,
and I can see the investment. I'm like, all right,
(02:13):
I'll take the next four minutes. Well, we'll see how
that goes. I will tell you this.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
I flew back yesterday and the plane hits the ground,
and I had been asleep. And the first thing that
happens is I look at the woman next to me,
and I sheepishly just kind of make that look as
if to say, I know I was snoring, yea, and
you know I was snoring. Thank you for not waking
me up. My apologies. Then I look at my phone.
I get duped by the fake Jordan Schultz. Okay, happens whatever.
(02:39):
Sometimes we all get got. And then I see, like,
you could not have bought me a better presence. We're
going to replace Geno Stone, perhaps my least favorite Bengals
player of all time, with Brian Cook not only one
of my favorite all time U SEE players, but a
guy known for doing exactly what Geno Stone couldn't do. Frankly,
(03:02):
the Bengals don't have to do anything else. Now I'm
good here.
Speaker 4 (03:05):
Yeah, No, they delivered the ideal Moegger gift.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yes, I'll say.
Speaker 4 (03:11):
I mean when we were doing stuff in the run up,
I feel like we do this a lot where we'll
talk about what's your favorite fit, what do you want?
And we'll do a lot of that what would you do?
Whereas you know, I think that my feeling is I
always try to do a better job of saying what
will they do? And those things aren't normally the same.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
They kind of were here, like when we were talking
in the run up about what would be your favorite fits?
Speaker 4 (03:38):
What are the things that you want them to do?
What should they be doing? Cook and Boye Mafe were
at the top of those lists in all of our
conversations that we had, and in fact, one of the
only reasons I pushed Cook down my list was I
didn't think they would want to go all the way
up to that number at a position they've never valued before,
and here they are valuing this position.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
How about that? Yeah? Right?
Speaker 4 (04:03):
And so I think when you combine those two things
together and specifically what Cook brings, which is look, finally
just say, all right, shouldn't let Jesse Bates watch right?
We can finally have got that one, Like all right, yeah,
a three year band aid experiment.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
It needs to end.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
You need to make a real investment at this position
and find a guy who can do the things that
you needed to do and specifically play in the post
and when he comes downhill not miss the tackle.
Speaker 5 (04:29):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (04:29):
And I talked about this last night on the show,
but you know, in his four years in the NFL,
Brian Cook has twenty two missed tackles and last year
Gino Stone had twenty three missed tackles.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
It's unbelievable.
Speaker 4 (04:45):
I mean, you are truly going from a top five
tackling safety, or from a top bottom five to a
top five tackling safety and putting him next to Jordan Battle,
who got exponentially better at that as the year went along.
I think you how can you not love that moves?
It's exactly what they need.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
What's interesting is we did the mock draft mock free
agent draft last week, and I mentioned Kobe Bryant because
I'm thinking of the V word versatility. I think Kobe's
a little bit more of a versatile player. And there's
an argument that can be made for versatility at every position,
hell in every sport. But I could certainly understand looking
at a certain thing, right, a certain bringing the guy
(05:27):
to the ground has got the ball like a certain thing.
And so my very first thought with Brian Cook was
my biggest pet peeve with this defense has been the
explosives and the inability to make tackles. Okay, well at
this one position where it's been a major red flag,
a major issue that's been rectified with one signing, and
they paid for it. They didn't try to go bargain basement.
(05:48):
They didn't go, you know what, Brian cooks, maybe a
little bit too pricey for us, Let's find a cheaper version.
They went and got the guy who's available at that
position where the guy before him couldn't do this one thing.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
The new guy doesn't sign me up.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
Yeah, And the type of player where you have the
highest percentage chance of hitting in free agency, which is
the guy coming off of his rookie contract who's played
at a good level. I mean, you hear a lot
about the confidence that he was playing with in Kansas
City last year and plugging him into a place that
and I don't want to play up the like hometown
(06:23):
thing that's.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Very much overrated.
Speaker 4 (06:25):
Sure, but there's a cool factor to that for him,
for a desire to want to play well here and
an understanding of you know, he's going to be you know,
we talk with we'll talk more about Mafe, but like
the expansion of a role can bring out so much
more in somebody. I think with Cook giving him a
little bit of leadership of hey, we're paying you to
(06:47):
be a guy, we want you to be the biggest
version of yourself here is an expansion of who he
can even be as a football player. And he was
great the last two years, last year specifically, so for
that fact, this really felt to.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Me like a.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
Calculated execution of a very specific plan. You saw the
things that they felt like they were their issues, and
at that position, boom, they found the.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Perfect answer for that.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
You knew what they needed to do and to get
some pass rush and with a lot of other moves
they could make in the process. And we can talk
about a very interesting yesterday for them. They pinpointed their
the players that were in the bucket for them and
Mafe being at the top of that and again another
player who got the parallels to hendrickson twenty one signing
(07:42):
just going on can do all those things.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
But it felt purposeful.
Speaker 4 (07:46):
It felt like something they had planned, and it felt
like they went out and they executed that plan and
they did both of those things with a lot of
pivot points happening in front of them.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Yeah, it felt like, here's what we want. We're not
going to be deterred, We're not going to talk ourselves
out of things. And I forget if it was Jay
or Charlie who last night mentioned like they get accused
of times by not being very good at multitasking, most
famously last year with while we're too busy with Jason
Higgins to really do anything else, so they're in on
Franklin Myers and they don't get him, which okay, And
(08:20):
I think the way people expect this franchise to operate
is or they were so in on him that then
they got caught with their pants down with other.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
Guys that did not happen. That's a step in the
right direction.
Speaker 4 (08:30):
Yeah, No, I mean to not only yes, to be
able to be able to multitask is part of it,
and just to be able to have a focus, like,
let's look to say we're not going to devalue the
safety position. We're not going to say, oh that's man,
twenty million is probably too high here to just say, look,
(08:51):
it's not you need to fix the position. Yeah, you
need to do this and be and understand that you
need to be willing to be a little uncomfortable to
fix your football team.
Speaker 5 (09:01):
Right.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
We we talked.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
A lot about that in the twenty twenty yeah free
agency period, where it was like, no, you don't want
to have to overpay for DJ Reader.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
You don't want to have to pay that's where you're at.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
You just had a historically bad defense that badly needs
starting level players.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
You are if you have to overpay for that, fine.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
It's the reason that you focus so much on getting
good value in other areas so when you need to
go spend the money you can, you know, I mean,
let's just take let's take Ted Carris for example, who's
whose contract looks wildly uh low compared to what this
center market has to become. He's got four million in
cash coming to him next year. Well, you're getting great
(09:44):
value here. You got you use that elsewhere, you're getting
value in picks that maybe your guys that are starting
to hit or whatever, well you use that elsewhere. They
have the money.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
That's just it.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
It's like you have the money, you have the ability
to spend fix your problems. Don't get obsessed with value
and position. Maybe it's too high, and it's an easy
thing for us to sit here and say, but we've
seen that show before here, and so to come out
here in a big day for this organization in twenty
twenty six and hit those two, you know, i'd call
(10:16):
them at least doubles. We'll see, Yeah, hit those man,
it's a good sign for where they now can go.
Speaker 3 (10:25):
I think with Mafe, I could hear the alternative, which
would have been, well, you know, we did draft Shamar
Stewart and we believe in them, and we you know,
Miles Murphy came on at the end of last year,
and those things can be true. But those things do
not preclude you from going and getting somebody like this
who just you wrote about this leading up to free
agency that he fits the Trey Hendrickson mold right where
(10:47):
you kind of look at the row of numbers and
you go, okay, need some context there because of who
he's playing behind in Seattle. But there's just knowing this franchise,
it would have been unsurprising to sort of hear, well,
you know, they could have gotten Boy, but here's what
it would have cost. And so you know what, we're
gonna lean in on Shamar and Miles Murphy and then
go get bargain basement guy safety.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Same thing.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
Well, it's it is safety, and it's just not a
premium position like fit man. You sucked at that position
last year and pass rush is king, so you have
to go after it.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
And they did both. Yeah, they did both on the
same day. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
I like the biggest reason that I like the Mafe
signing is I just feel like, you can really this
is them betting on their own evaluation. And I know
some people are listening being like, don't do that, but
I disagree. I think too often they don't listen to
(11:41):
their people enough on trust the evaluation and be willing
to pay for it. And if you're not gonna like
you know, if you're sitting there and your people are
saying this guy can be a guy the same way
they thought Hendrickson could be a guy, the same way
that they said him over laws in the same way
with other guys that they have bet on in free whatever.
(12:02):
Just you gotta trust something at some point, and I
think with Mafe you can absolutely see that, and you
can see the expansion of a role being something bigger here,
and to be willing to trust that and go for
it and not say, let's hang on to the idea
of Shamar Stewart and and and go down that road,
(12:24):
or like you said, like the half hearted insurance policy.
Maybe it's like, well, we'll draft somebody else too, and
they'll be in a rotation. But we're gonna Chamar's gonna
take that stack. He's gonna be the guy. No, put
somebody in front of him and make Shamar doing something awesome.
And if he does that, yeah, then then you're where
Seattle was right, which is where you want to be. Anyway.
(12:48):
You know, you gotta start building those waves. There's nothing
wrong with that, and so you you love the domino
effect of putting that guy in front. Now, we still
have major issues that we're going to be talking through.
Were for the millionth year in a row, going to
be talking about where does the pass rush from the
interior come from? And I think we should dip into
(13:10):
the JFM versus MAFAE decision point that they ended up
yesterday because I feel like they were at that spot
they were in on JFM, they were you know, his
number ended up being very similar to what mafees ended up, right,
and MAFAE, I think is we talked about this last night.
The better player probably you, but you can more easily
(13:35):
find another answer at edge and there's just not another
answer at defensive tackle.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
I feel like that's now Could they have gotten him?
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
He seemed pretty dead set on going to Tennessee and
playing with Jeffy Simmons aswad again, and like that's sing
to be a thing, But like if there was a
chance to go over the top of that to make
at that position, that's an interesting spot to be in
because it's just so much harder to fill that, and
they've been trying to fill that, and it just would
be much easier to who knows, maybe it is Reuben
(14:03):
Bain or whoever comes in on.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
The other side of the draft.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
That decision point to pivot off of that, not going
to try to go any further with that and move
to MAFE, I think is one that will probably look
back on especially if they can't still can't find those
answers at defensive tackle.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
Paul Danner Jenior, you guys are live tonight eight o'clock
live reaction to anything that may happen between that and
see my wish is for something to happen between now
and four o'clock that we could react instantly to. Maybe
that'll happen tonight, who knows, watch that on YouTube this evening.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Though hopefully that won't be like you see falling down
five early on It's Utah.
Speaker 3 (14:42):
See, we're already this event has not yet started yet.
On my computer, it says eighteen twenty to go in
the first half.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
You know, you can't like that. Neither team has scored.
Speaker 3 (14:50):
And I've seen the turnover banner twice, so you know
there's one hundred green reds disconnect and there's one hundred
green and disconnect with as relates to the game app
that I'm supposed to watch this thing on in the
computer and I don't know, we'll figure it out during
the break.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
So what you're saying is I'm probably gonna have to
take control of the next segment.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
In all likelihood. Yes, Paul Danner Junior is here. Till
four o'clock. We are jammed between now and six. We'll
get to the hundred green stuff a little bit later
on as well. On ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic.
Speaker 5 (15:23):
A new accident in northbound seventy five at Shepherd Lane.
Also northbound seventy five, A disabled semi blocking the right
lane at Paddock Roade up to a five minute to
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Ronald Reaken Highway and the Norwood Lateral. I'm at ezelic
with traffic.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
This report is sponsored by the Our American Stories for three.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
This is ESPN fifteen thirty Moelegger Paul Danner Juniors here
from The Athletic and the Growler podcast in studio at
Stay two of a legal tamper. Yes, So we found
out about the the two signings.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
A little bit less than twenty four hours ago.
Speaker 3 (16:01):
If we get to six o'clock tonight and nothing else
has happened, is that when the impatience that was starting
to settle in about two o'clock yesterday comes back.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Yeah, because you know something that everyone has been talking
about that we've been talking about as sort of the thing.
One of the things before this started that you were
most interested to see was okay, but what's their view
of linebacker going to be? And I think we have
felt like they were at.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Least they have expressed a desire to add a veteran
in there. But we've now seen a lot of the
linebackers come off of the board.
Speaker 3 (16:43):
I mean, using your thing from last week as a guide,
I've got more names crossed off than I do names available,
no doubt, but the top two are still available.
Speaker 4 (16:50):
Yes, And so I think there is a lot more
heat across the league on Caden Ellis right now then
there is on Leoshanal. So if that, you know, one
price is going up and I don't think the other
one is at this point, so that probably that's probably
(17:10):
more likely, But that's in the they're working on. They're
working on that position certainly, but that to me, it's
not the only one. Yeah, I mean, I think that's
the one that's in focus. And I do think that
that list has been paired down channel We've just said it.
He just feels like the perfect fit. So if they
can find a way to get that done. I think
(17:31):
that's that feels like you'll feel so good to me.
That's the one that I think if you hit that,
you check that box and you bring in him, it
feels like, Okay, you did it. Like there's other things.
The rest of it is, you're always going to have
a rest of it that is putting pieces together that
you need to find a couple of diamonds in the
(17:52):
rough or bargain players.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
That's always going to be a part of this. But
the big.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Boxes you needed to check that you probably needed to
spend on. That's the last one that I have unchecked.
And he is the perfect guy for it, and it
would be a top of the list then at all
three of the big ones on defense, I would say,
if you could do that, And so if that's to me,
one thing that hangs out there, and I'm sure if
they pick somebody else, you could talk yourself into whoever
(18:17):
that is.
Speaker 2 (18:18):
But I don't I don't see. I mean, I see
a pretty big drop off after him.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Yeah, I was gonna say n Ellis, especially if Ellis
becomes expensive.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Bobby Wagner hasn't signed yet anywhere.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
No, the next thing is that you're asking Bobby Wagner
to do are gonna be very different. I mean, you're
there's got me, green law, got let go. Uh there's
again there's directions you could go. But in terms of
boy that feels right for what they're trying to be,
he seems like the most obvious one. I I don't
(18:48):
think we talk enough about Corner. Jalen Davis is nice
and that was a fun story, but it is that
the opening day starter. There's no there's no three or four,
you know, beyond your your top two and then I
guess Davis. I think Corner is something and there's some
good vets that are out there. I love the idea
(19:10):
of bringing back Cheeto, and I know that's a like, well,
you've seen him before. You know he's a good leader
and will be a good mentor, and he played well
last year when he had an opportunity. So if he
would be willing to come in and be part of that, yeah,
I mean, you you like something there, and there's a couple
of guys in that mold out there that you would
that you would look at. I'd like to see that
(19:31):
be one of their you know, second third wave attacking
points is to just because you know, I go back
to remember asking Luanna Rumo at like multiple mile posts
of an off season, like vet corner now no corner
now no, the corner now no, And it just never
(19:52):
came right. Whether that was his decision or front office
is to be determined, but like, you don't want it
to go that way where where it's like, oh, they're
going to rely on a rookie to be the third
or like get a vet in, get a vet in there.
Don't be relying specifically on the draft to add that
spot like you. If you do, then you should be
(20:13):
doing it to supplement but that and then you know,
we'll see what happens with defensive tackle. There's just it's
just so thin.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
They're not fixing anything a defensive tackle, and free agency
they're adding depth, they're getting dudes, they're not fixing their
issue at that position.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
And nobody available now is better than BJ Hill, right
and that's where it's at. Okay, Like, if if you
put BJ Hill into this market right now, he would
be the first to go m HM. And BJ was
fine last year and you're hoping that he's got one
more year in him and that it was injury stuff.
(20:50):
But it's you know the it's still that's a but a,
it's a word. It's a concerning vet. But it's where
you're at. And a lot of teams are in these spots,
but they're in that spot. This really it feels like
it ends with a first.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Round draft pick.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
And whether that's oh, did they overdraft Peter Woods, I
don't know. It might be the same conversation of did
they overpay Boye Mafe? If you filled the spot, it
might not it might be worth it because it's been
so hard to fill that spot if.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
You really believe in the guy or whatever.
Speaker 4 (21:20):
And it feels like this ends with a pick, a
first or second round pick that's in the mix with
them there because there's not a ton of options otherwise.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
So it was interesting you guys last night and I
watched it this morning. You started to talk about like, well,
you do these things on defense, could you then use
the tenth overall.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Pick on offense? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (21:42):
Could you then really lean into best player available? And
I keep coming back to wait a minute, if we
all agree this class of defensive tackles a free agents
isn't very good, then you have to take a defensive tackle, but.
Speaker 4 (21:53):
Not necessarily at ten I mean, I think when you
hear a lot about this draft, you hear a lot
about this middle day too, defensive tackle group being a
deep one where there's there's a lot to light there.
We've heard that before and I don't always hit, so
there's I think you could see it ending up. I
(22:13):
think at ten you're still I think you are open
and well again, I think that they'll do a couple
more things that will make it feel even more open.
I'm open to that, but positional value will matter, and
defensive tackle scarcity will be part of that conversation, specifically
depending on what their internal evaluation of a guy like
(22:36):
Peter Woods is, which, as we're learning now, is all
over the map. With teams everybody that I talk to,
the one thing they say when I ask about him
is man, I hear a lot of different stuff in
terms of where they have him from very high to
maybe not in the first round, and so which makes
me think he's gonna go very high because it only
(22:58):
takes one so you don't need census for a guy
to go high. But that said, that's gonna be a
big part of that conversation when we do get to
the draft, and I think that was. That's been emphasized
now because they didn't end up really landing any of
the major free agent players, not that there were a
lot of them.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
This isn't going well so far in Kansas City. Don't
just let it go. Just take a breath. It's early
two for eight from the field, three turnovers. It's not
a good start. The Bearcats trail thirteen to six. Just look,
they're just trying to get their legs under you know. Yeah,
that high Kansas City altitude, it's hard.
Speaker 4 (23:35):
You know, that's being on the road. You got to adjust.
You got this led court you got you never played
on that before. You got a Probably maybe they need
new shoes.
Speaker 2 (23:43):
It could be almost anything. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (23:45):
It is early twelve and a half to go. The
Bearcats are now down. No, they're down thirteen to six.
Sports Headlines More with Paul Danner Junior from the Athletic
dot Com and The Growler Podcast Live reaction show tonight
at eight o'clock.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Watch that on you Tube.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
You can catch last night's episode on YouTube as well
as wherever you get your podcast. This is ESPN fifteen
thirty Cincinnati sports station. Here at since three sixty, there's
no shortage of things to talk about, whether it's the
Bengals search for a quarterback, the Bearcats search for supremacy,
or the Red search for offense. Listen to Sincy three
(24:21):
sixty weekdays at noon on ESPN fifteen thirty.
Speaker 1 (24:26):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC Health Traffic Center.
Speaker 5 (24:33):
The new uc Ohcher Wellness Suite is a home for
transformative whole person well being backed by Science Register For
classes now visit ucehealth dot com. Rothbound seventy five at
Paddock Road. A disabled semi now cleared away from the
right lane. That's a fifteen minute delay. Still though, back
from Mitchell In southbound fourth seventy one disabled vehicle on
(24:54):
the entrance ramp from Grand Avenue. Police are partially blocking
off that ramp on that e with traffic.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
This report is spot Chevrolet home of lifetime powertrain protection
and guarantee credit approval from their family the Yours for Life,
kelseyschev dot com. Day two of the NFL's legal tampering period.
No hard Bengals news today. Meanwhile, we do have hard
Reds news, and it's not great. Hunter Green's gonna have
bone chips removed from his elbow. It's not maybe as
(25:22):
bad of a news item as perhaps we feared. It's
not season ending surgery, but he is going to be
expected to make his season debut in July. Meanwhile, Brandon
Williams going to get the ball today for the Reds
as they take on the iraqis a talking stick. First
pitch of that one coming up at four to five
Big Twelve Tournament first round in Kansas City. Approaching the
midway point of the first half, Utah leads Cincinnati by
(25:45):
a score of fifteen to nine. Earlier in that event,
Arizona State knocked off Baylor eighty three to seventy nine.
There are some other teams playing today that if you're
a Bearcat fan you're keeping an eye on. One of
them is Stanford playing in the ACC Tournament. The Cardinal
Trail hit fifty nine to fifty six with just under
four minutes to go. SMU plays against Syracuse later today,
(26:06):
and Virginia Tech will take on Wake Forest. SMU and
vod Tech, along with Stanford, would be fellow double team
bubble teams, not double teams bubble teams, and the Blue
Jackets played tonight against Tampa Bay twenty away from four o'clock.
Paul Danner Junior from The Athletic and the Growler podcast
is here. Who's going to be the backup quarterback? It's
(26:30):
a good question. I have an idea.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
Okay, So I feel like I've come up with something
right and we have to dip into another sport to execute.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Okay, but Hunter Green, Nope, no, no Premier League Okay, okay, okay. So,
Zach Taylor and Clint Kubiak are friends.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
They go all the way back to like a closet
at Texas A and m as grad assistants together, longtime friends.
Clint Kubiak would not like Fernando Mendoza to be the
arder immediately for the Raiders. Sure, he would like him
to be be able to sit for a little bit.
The Bengals would like to have Joe Flacco available to
them if they need him. This is a loan situation.
(27:11):
The Bengals signed Joe Flacco, loan him to the Raiders
and just say you could have Joe Flacco until we
need him. Okay, So, and then they can have whoever
their third quarterback is.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
Technically the backup quarterback here taking reps. Okay, but Flacco
is available so they don't have to worry about like
a trade or so maybe and there's a deferral of
costs for however long he stays in one place first
the other.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
He plays for the Raiders until if you know, knock
on the wood there. If something were to happen and
he were needed in Cincinnati, it's over. Flaco's back to Cincinnati.
He's a Bengal again.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
We know he can just step in and play. Is
this allowed? I do not believe? So it needs to be,
And why can't we just sort of skirt around some rules.
Speaker 4 (28:02):
And make this it maybe just call it a trade.
But you promise to trade us to him under the table,
you know, scribble on a napkin agreement, promise to trade
him to us if we need him. But you can
have him and just have a little gentleman's agreement there.
And that way Flacco gets to go play. He wants
to play. He keeps his arm fresh, keeps his bike.
(28:26):
He's in it right. And then if he does happen
to be needed for a couple of weeks or you know, whatever,
comes back, Cincinnati starts throwing at Jamar and t again
and drinks his coffee and eats by himself.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
I love this idea. Now.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
The thing is, though, in life, people do break promises.
Hey we'll give him back to you, no problem, cantel
like he's playing well, or there's a hiccup in Mendoza's
development behind the scenes, and then it's like, hey, we
need Joe flaccoback. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like tom Brady's
to stand up that. Yeah and Tom Brady, tom Brady's
(29:04):
gonna the most competitive human being of all time is
gonna be like, stand God, no problem at all.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
Here, have Joe Flacco back. No, you got it. We
promised if there were I mean, look, if we I
think that the NFL should start allowing this.
Speaker 4 (29:18):
Oh yes, let's interesting, let's put it in writing. I
just feel like this is a good way to solve.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Two teams problems at once. Why can't you do that?
I I love the idea. I'm not a CBA expert.
That's as close as I have to a good backup
quarterback solution, is what I'm saying. Okay, in the absence
of that, what do we got? There's there's not a
ton of great options.
Speaker 4 (29:47):
I mean, you know, it's not out of the question
that Flacco is back here because the starting jobs are limited.
Although I do look at the Raiders and and that
does seem like that he would be a good bridge
option for them, But there's others that will be competing
for those jobs. So it's not out of the question
that Flacco looks and doesn't see any jobs that he's
(30:08):
really even competing for, especially now that Tua has kind
of landed in Atlanta and it looks like Kyler's going
to be the guy in Minnesota. And does he want
to go play for the Browns right? Maybe? I guess
he probably does. He has gone there before, but you
know what happens there. Kirk Cousins is out there, Aaron
(30:29):
Rodgers potentially coming back to the Steelers, which you've always
said he could complete the s nor circle over there.
So the jobs are limited, they're getting more limited, so
it's not impossible that he could still just he could
end up being the answer, but it's going to be,
you know, a career backup type or one of these
(30:51):
discarded former starters that that could be around, but there's
not It's on a long list.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
I don't want to do this, but I feel like
we have to, so I'm just give you the little
visual we're we're gonna talk about Trey.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
Oh there is okay, smiling. I thought, what do you what?
I really thought you were gonna do. You're going to
know how hard this is.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
I really thought you were going to turn your computer
towards me and show me a picture of Andy Dalton,
because I was going to be like, yes.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
Yeah, we did that last week, I know.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
But then then instead I get the picture of Trey
looking back at me.
Speaker 3 (31:20):
Yeah what yeah, okay, let's do it. Best free agent available.
Doesn't seem like he's getting what he's looking for. No, stop,
huh no, what are you saying? Trey Hendrickson hasn't agreed
to terms with a team yet. No, okay, it's not happening.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
What do you mean. No, I don't want him back.
No no, no, no, no, no, no no no, like the
Bengals got it right. Yes, that's that's where I'm going
with it.
Speaker 4 (31:45):
I thought you were No no, no, not even me.
Speaker 2 (31:49):
No, Like I've got new toys to play with.
Speaker 3 (31:50):
Okay, Brian Cook will allow me to make fun of
Gino's Stone for the next four years.
Speaker 2 (31:56):
I'm good time, I have something. I am fine, sweating.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
Yeah, no, no, no, I don't want Trey back, but look, man,
the best free agent available, right, the guy that the
Bengals had no twenty twenty six plans for. Now we
can go back and say they should have traded him,
and accurately so. But you talk about like being pseudo vindicated, here,
it's the Bengals as it relates to Trey Hendrickson, because
(32:21):
it feels like the entire league is like, yeah, man,
we're not giving you what the Bengals wouldn't give you either.
Speaker 4 (32:26):
I would argue this has been the most vindicating twenty
four hours of pr for the Bengals front office in years,
between one the activity that they had yesterday and how
they did go after a free agency while everyone was
yelling him about you know, they're not going to do
anything and they're dumb and cheap and all that stuff
that's been being yelled, and then the rest of the
(32:49):
league and sort of the public now having a broader
view of the disconnect between the negotiation with Trey Hendrickson
right and value there. Now, I do think that discussion
has changed this year compared to what it was in
previous I mean, injury another year older, but yeah, this
(33:14):
is This is the I think been their point is
that we've been trying to get a longer deal done
with Trey.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
You know, this was what they were.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Saying at least, and they didn't see his value the
same way he does. And now the rest of the
league is saying we don't see his value the same
way he does.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
And out.
Speaker 4 (33:32):
I don't want to come across as I mean whatever,
as a Trey hater here on this, but like the
league understands when they just when you're you're just out
to get sacks and you're not doing much, you're not
a well rounded player. They see where it hurts the
(33:54):
team when all it is is sacks and there's nothing
really happening in the run game and there it in
whatever's all the other stuff that happens, right, Like they
see that and they know that, and there's the age
factor is so huge in this, Like they're just not
gonna key, especially when there's an injury involved now that
(34:16):
you're counting on somebody coming back from there's it's the
league is too smart to think that you're gonna pull
the wool over their eyes and just yell seventeen and
a half sacks like they're just that's just not how
it operates. Trey is a really good player.
Speaker 2 (34:32):
He is exceptional at rushing the passer, exceptional, and that is.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
A skill worth paying. But there are a lot of
other variables that take you from getting paid off a
lot to getting paid the top of the market. And
I think there's you know, where that conversation is landing
in between him and what was the Bengals and now
is the rest of the league.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
We'll see, We'll see where it ends up. But obviously
there's gonna be some kind of a compromise, and I
don't think that the league is gonna come to work.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
I mean, my take on this all along was having
full appreciation for what Trey did. It was going to
be if and when he hits the open market, we're
going to know instantly whether or not the Bengals kind
of got this right right, and we do. He'll play
in the NFL, He'll get paid handsomely. I oh, you
play as well. But like, I only bring it up
because I feel like this thing that I think a
(35:27):
lot of folks were waiting to pounce on the Bengals
for getting wrong. I agree they should have traded him
a year ago. Right now, all signs are indicating that
they got it right.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
Now. Here's what I predict is going to happen.
Speaker 3 (35:39):
He's gonna sign with a team, and probably I don't know,
what would you think, maybe in the ballpark of twenty
five mil a year, in that roughness somewhere, Probably he'll
sign that contract. The league year starts tomorrow and he'll
sign that deal, and then he'll hold out in June and.
Speaker 2 (35:59):
Just hey, I need more money. Yeah this is not enough.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
Literally just signed the contract. Yeah, but I'm gonna need
I don't know. I'm just I don't know. Talk to
my wife, thought about it a lot. So Yeah, I
got my golf shirt on. I don't know if I'm
gonna come to practice, and and then and then another
host in another city is gonna get a chance to
have as much fun with Trey as I have a
minute each. Your thoughts on what the Ravens have done
(36:24):
where they trade two first round picks for Max Crosby
and then like everybody else leaves and they screw up
this Tyler Lindenbaum situation.
Speaker 4 (36:31):
I don't know that they I mean, if they screwed
up the Linderbaum situation, I mean I don't think anybody
was gonna pay him that much money. When they signed Crosby,
I thought, if I'm the Ravens, my first thought isn't
how awesome is this for our defense?
Speaker 2 (36:45):
It's what does this mean for our offensive line?
Speaker 4 (36:47):
They already had to worry about that, and now it
basically crossed off having linderbomb back. They're just they already
were gonna kind of have to be building their their
trenches back up, specifically their offensive line, and they weren't
going to be able to spend. They now took a
first round pick to help fill that off the board
as well, and that just gets a lot more difficult.
(37:08):
And it goes to show one that things are I
don't know if they're changing or or a sense of desperation,
which I don't. I guess despiration is the wrong word
because it's a new coach, but like a sense of
something very different happening in Baltimore to do something that
they've literally never done. They've never traded a first round
pick for a veteran player, and they just traded to how.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
The Steelers had a good tampering period. Who's their quarterback?
Speaker 2 (37:36):
Correct? Like? I can't. I'm sorry it doesn't matter. It
just it feels like it's like talking about how good
the Browns defense is.
Speaker 5 (37:43):
Cool.
Speaker 3 (37:44):
It feels like this Steelers free agency is the same
as the last six. Yeah, we're saying this early, but
it's the question for going back to Ben's last couple
of years, is who you got behind sennes still another quarterback?
Speaker 2 (37:55):
Right And until they fix that, we can say whatever
you want to about the rearranging the pieces and oh
they oh they have Michael Pittman. Now like that's great, Like, I,
who's your quarterback? I just can't.
Speaker 4 (38:09):
I can't care as much about the rest of it
if that's still the same problem.
Speaker 3 (38:12):
But the Browns very quiet. I mean, we know who
their quarterbacks are. We know who their quarterbacks are. But
I think the conjecture coming out of Cleveland has been
that this is not going to be a very note
for a franchise that has made a lot of noise
this week for years, not a ton of noise coming
from Cleveland. And if I'm a Browns fan, I don't
know that upsets me all that much.
Speaker 4 (38:34):
Yeah, No, I mean they can do whatever they want.
This this screams.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
We're here for the twenty twenty seven draft and to
try to get our quarterback.
Speaker 3 (38:43):
There all right tonight at eight o'clock, Yes, eight to nine,
eight to nine, we will be there, you guys reacting
to now, what if nothing happens between now and we've
got a.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
Lot that we got a lot to talk about that
we didn't totally dive into from yesterday. And there's still
some more topics I think we've got. We're gonna do
a little bit more you.
Speaker 3 (39:01):
On the show, you know, just flushed out that Joe
Flacco scenario.
Speaker 4 (39:06):
Is that it's on the list because we did. I
wanted to get to that last night, but we were,
you know, busy talking about we have.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
Been signing and then holding out as a more likely
I think there's a pretty good chance that we can
trot out the trays of our Lives graphic one last
time tonight to talk about him.
Speaker 2 (39:22):
That will be a topic.
Speaker 4 (39:22):
And plus we the chats rolling, so we just kind
of whenever we run out of things, we just kind
of turned to the question. So if people want to
come in and ask them questions, just drop on it
and send them to us.
Speaker 3 (39:31):
All right, So you have that tonight, tomorrow and Thursday,
last Night's is available if you want to watch it,
and we'll talk to you next week. I asked you.
I'm off next Tuesday, so can we talk to you
on Monday.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
I'd love to talk to you on Monday. It sounds
great start the week.
Speaker 4 (39:46):
Yeah, I'll have you know what you'll have ye mock draft.
Speaker 2 (39:51):
I don't know if you have time for this.
Speaker 4 (39:53):
They they outlawed the use of the dot os on us.
Really athletic, Yes, really, And I like to think I
played a role in this with my zero point five Shenanigans.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Sew up at the New York Times. Right, I'm the
only one that was properly using the decimal system to
make it mean something, and now it's been taken away.
Speaker 3 (40:13):
So we'll see if I can if I can get
it back. Bearcats are on a ten to run here.
They've pulled within a point five minutes to go eighteen
to seventeen in favor of the utes you were so
downs a second ago. They're about to take the lead here. Sure,
beat Utah win tomorrow, shock Arizona.
Speaker 2 (40:32):
Then you can watch them in Dayton. Fine by me. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (40:35):
Paul Danner Junior The Athletic dot Com read his work
on the Bengals and again the Live Growler podcast tonight.
The show starts at eight o'clock goes till nine tonight,
tomorrow and Thursday. Paul, thank you as always appreciate it.
It is a six away from four o'clock. We'll get
to the Hunter Green scenario which has sort of taken
on a Trey Hendrickson bene off its own. Next on
(40:56):
ESPN fifteen thirty Cincinnati Sports Station.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty Traffic.
Speaker 5 (41:03):
From the UC Health Traffic Center. The new uc Ohsuer
Wellness Suite is a home for transformative whole person well
being backed by Science. Register for classes now visit u
sehealth dot com. Northbound seventy five at Paddock Road. A
disabled semi now cleared away from the right lane. That's
a fifteen minute delay. Still go back from Mitchell In
(41:24):
southbound four to seventy one. Disabled vehicle on the entrance
ramp from Grand Avenue. Police are partially blocking off that
ramp on that ezelic with traffic
Mo Egger News
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