8/1/25 - The Mo Egger Show w/ James Ra

James Rapien of SI.com talks all things Bengals!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Details you found Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty What up.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
In welth alluding to the Malaga show. I'm James or
pen Infomo. This is ESPN fifteen thirty Happy Fridays, and
I believe it there and today's producer is obviously Tarreon Blant.
That Mo usually pops a cold michelob Ultra on these
Friday shows because it's michelob Ultra Happy our World. Sounds

(00:29):
like that might be something we have to do, Tarran.
But but between now and six o'clock you're going to
hear a lot of good stuff. You're gonna hear from
Joe Burrow. This hour we have training camp reports with
Tony Pike, the Hall of Famer, and boy oh boy,
am I excited to say that couldn't be happier for
Tea Pike and I have plenty of thoughts on the Reds,
on the Bengals, and of course we're gonna start with

(00:50):
the Bengals. I covered the Bengals daily at Bengals Talk
dot com, the Lackdown Bengals podcast in Cincinnati, Bengals Talk
on YouTube, and let's dive in because honestly, I was
thinking about this yesterday and it's kind of wild because
I spent all off season, most of the off season,
being critical of the Bengals, and rightfully so. Right the

(01:13):
tray stuff, the headache here, the headache there, the lack
of activity and free agency, their lack of movement in
key weaknesses and key areas, right, and whether it's the
secondary obviously, the offensive line, the pass rush, like all
these things that you look at it and they haven't

(01:37):
really really addressed it with proven commodities, and those question
marks are going to remain. But I was thinking to
myself yesterday as I watched Trey hendrickson coach op Shamar Stewart,
and I posted video of this on social media, so
check that out. But I was watching that, and then
I had already heard prior to practice, but everyone had

(02:01):
heard by that point that no offense was signing with
the Bengals, And I thought about that, and then I
looked at the roster and I said, man, you know what,
if they sign Trey and add a guard, I'm not
gonna have any complaints. Like all of the things that
have gone on with this Bengals team and all the
things that I've been frustrated with and annoyed with and

(02:21):
annoyed by this offseason and their lack of aggressiveness and
their lack of activity and all of these, Well, you
could sell me on this defense because this defense is
playing well right now in training camp, and I think
Shamar Stewart is going to matter. And having Trey around
as long as you resign him and give him a

(02:42):
significant pay raise, well, then this defense should be distraction
free and it should be playing free, and it should
have enough talent. What's been the fly in the ointment
of the Joe Burrow era the guard position. If you
address that, then it would be Dylan Fairchild, and it
would be a really nice young piece in Jalen Rivers,
who's been interesting, and then you'd have multiple veterans that

(03:05):
you could platoon. I don't know if the Bengals are
going to sign a guard, but ladies and gentlemen, I'll
declare it right now. And to be clear, James or
Pine INFROMO, the Bengals are two moves away from having
an a off season, an A on a scale of
A to F. If I was giving them a report card,
they can get an A. All they have to do
is sign a guard that they think can start and

(03:26):
play at a high level. Brandon Sheriff, come on down,
come on down, chase a ring here in Cincinnati. You
do that and you get Trey done. It's an a
off season. Think about that. An a off season where
you upgrade at tight end, and that's what they did
with Noah Fan where you keep your stars, Jamar t

(03:49):
and hopefully Trey. You do what you need to do
to protect Joe Burrow by adding multiple veterans and multiple
draft picks. Like you say all these things out loud,
and it's like, Oh, you get a defensive coordinator that
fits what you're doing and is going to put the
young players on defense in the best position to succeed,

(04:13):
take advantage of their versatility and their talent. I mean,
they're pretty close, ladies and gentlemen, Like, it's pretty close
as we sit here on August one. Go get a
veteran guard and let's roll. That's how I would feel
in the front office. And I was talking to someone
a couple of people this week about this. I was like,

(04:34):
do you think they know? But do you think they
know that they should just go get a guard and
go get one of these proven guards that is wanting
a ring, and maybe it's Will Hernandez, maybe it's Dalton Reisner,
or maybe again I'm gonna mention Brandon Sheriff, because if
he wants to play football this year, he should absolutely
be in stripes. Of course he should. It would make

(04:55):
a ton of sense. It's the best fit out there,
and it's the best fit out there for a guy
that's trying to win a ring. I E Noah Fan,
and that's what I keep reminding myself. It's like I
no A Fan had options and he chose Cincinnati. It's
not necessarily going to start in Cincinnati, but he's going
to matter for Cincinnati. And I can't wait to ask
Tony Pike about that coming up in a bit. But yeah, absolutely,

(05:20):
I'm totally in on adding Noah Fan. And Trey's around now,
like it, get it done, Get that over the finish line.
Because as I was watching Trey coach up Shamar Stewart
and then I'm watching Shamar Stewart and how big of
a physical freak he is, and man, he is the
physical freakiest of the freaks. I mean, Trey Hendrickson is

(05:42):
a really good athlete, a high end athlete. Chamar is
on another planet. And so I think about this team.
I think about what they've done. I think about all
the drama. I think about the months and months and
months that and I'm not sure there's anyone in town, honestly,
anyone in town that talks rights and commentates on Bengals moves,

(06:02):
what they could do, what they couldn't do. And a
few months ago we did the report card here on
ESPN fifteen thirty when I was in from and I said,
ce minus, I did it on my show and at
the Jungle on the YouTube channel Cincinnati Bengals Talk, and
is C minus he has an average offseason, and that's
with keeping team in jamar, which it's pretty hard to

(06:24):
do to be average when you make those moves because
they're huge moves. But they've slowly worked their way into
getting into a territory now because Trey isn't getting traded.
I think they get something done with Trey. They've really
added to their tight end room. I can't understate or overstate.

(06:47):
Excuse me, I can't overstate how important I think no
offam could mean at times this season. And we'll have
plenty of time today to discuss that. And so I
look at that I look at the tight end room,
I look at how Joe and You're gonna hear from
Joe Burrow in just a few minutes on that entire unit,
on his confidence in the offense, his confidence in the defense,

(07:10):
And honestly, I'm looking at the coaches and how these
guys have responded to Al Golden responded to Scott Peters,
and it's so interesting because the Al Golden move that
they make the Al Golden move, and then he keeps
the safeties coach in Jordan Kovax, he keeps the cornerbacks coach,

(07:30):
and Chuck Burke's I know those guys had options. They
opted to stay. And so when I think about all
of that and I put it all together, and I
look at it, and I'm like, man, man, oh man,
this secondary is responding. Joe Burrow praised them, Jordan Battle
looks as confident as he's ever looked, and they're making

(07:53):
plays against T Higgins and against Jamar Chase and Andre
Josavash and guys that are established or all pros or
pro or high end players in this league. I'm like,
I think the Bengals have a chance to get an
A this offseason, get two more moves to make one.
A lot of people expect you to make resigned. Trey Hendrickson,

(08:14):
he's in camp, he's there, get the deal done. But
the other one, I do wonder, I do wonder do
they know? Do they know that this is something they
should do? Maybe maybe they do, maybe they don't. We
will see. But it is mighty mighty interesting. I'm James Orpen,
I'm in from all. I'm with you till six o'clock
to day. I'm really excited to be here. It's always

(08:36):
fun jumping on ESPN fifteen thirty. I have thoughts on
Noah Fant that we're going to get to. I have
some thoughts on the Reds that we're going to get to.
I also have some thoughts on Tony Pike. I'm hoping
to fit all of this in between now and six o'clock.
I'm hoping Tarn and we can do that, that we
can have our happy hour as well Little Mick Ultra

(08:58):
happy hour, and and we'll see, we'll see if we
can fit all of it in between now and six o'clock.
But what I do know is we're gonna talk plenty
of Bengals. What I do know is that Joe Burrow
seems pleased with how things are going. I have thoughts
on Joe. I have thoughts on what he had to
say this week. You're going to hear from Joe, and
I'm going to react as well that as we roll on.

(09:22):
But here from Joe Burrow. Coming up next, I'm James
Rapine Informoh and this is ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
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Call five one three nine three nine two two sixty three.
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Speaker 2 (10:08):
Welcome back to Cincinnati's ESPN at fifteen thirty. I'm James
Rupine Infomo. I'm with you till six o'clock. And Joe
Burrow to me is having his most consistent training, his
most consistent day in and day out when I watch him,
And I've watched every every Joe Burrow training camp pass.

(10:28):
I'm making sure, but I believe I have. Literally since
he started, I haven't missed a practice. I've been there
every day. So every training camp pass he's ever thrown,
essentially outside of some of the warm up throws when
I'm watching other positions, but every team drove all of that.
I've been there, watched it. Most consistent training camp he's
ever had, and he talked about that this week. But

(10:51):
that doesn't really surprise you, does it. I mean, it
doesn't surprise me. He had a healthy offseason. He was
arguably the best to back in football last year through
for an NFL leading and career high forty nine hundred
and eighteen yards. Believe it was without looking terran. You
can fact check that if you want to. Forty three
touchdowns also led the NFL and set a career high

(11:14):
and completion percentage as well, over seventy percent of his passes,
most completions in the NFL. Like all these things, and
so the further remove removed he gets from the wrist,
you would think it would get better you would think
he'd be smarter, he would have seen more, he'd be stronger, bigger, faster,
those adjectives that he always mentions in news conferences, And
I think all of that is true. Like it's a
surprise that Joe Burrow is having a great drink. He

(11:37):
should Joe Burrows twenty eight years old, he should be
entering his prime right now. He's healthy, he's moving well,
and I do think that that is great to see
what He had an off platform throat, off platform throw
yesterday and I posted it on social media. But he
had to step on the step up in the pocket,
launched it deep downfield. Really a perfect ball to Jermaine
Burton and Jordan Battle with some sticky coverage. Jermaine got

(12:00):
one hand on it didn't get too You could say, oh, well,
it's like a foot too far. It's about as good
of a ball as you could get in that situation.
And it's just like man Joe, like he's just playing well.
So that probably doesn't surprise you. But what might surprise
you is how well his receivers behind Jamar Chase and

(12:21):
t Higgins are playing, whether it's Andre Josavash or Jermaine
Burton or Isaiah Williams or Charlie Jones and Mitchell Tinsley
as well getting a shout out from Joe. It's how
competitive training camp practice has been. I mean, the defense
has gotten its fair share of stops. The defense has
gotten its fair share of Nah, you're not gonna get that,

(12:44):
and they let you know about it. And that's what
I love. I love that Jordan Baddo is gonna sit
there and look Jeremar Chase in his face and say
catch the ball. Catch the ball in front of everybody.
And obviously that clip went viral and you have that play,
you have all these other plays where the defense is talking.

(13:05):
They're letting the offense know, and I think it's great
because they're getting stops, they're playing at a high level,
even though Joe Burrow is playing at a high level,
and it's going to make the Bengals offense better. A
competitive practice that's back and forth every day, and that's
what these practices have been. They've truly been back and forth.
I've covered training camp for a really long time. These

(13:25):
are the most back and forth that I've seen.

Speaker 4 (13:29):
Play to play.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
Most of the time, it's day to day offense gets
the edge on the defense and then they just kick
the crap out of the defense for most of practice,
or on the other side, it's the defense has the
edge and then that's it. No, this is play to play.
Things can change very very quickly. It's been a lot
of fun to watch, and Joe Burrow has certainly taken notice.
He talked about the defense this week. He also talked

(13:51):
about Andre Josabash, who continues to develop, continues to grow.
Here's what Joe Burrow had to say about Andre Josvah
when asked about his development.

Speaker 5 (14:01):
Yeah, he's having a great camp, and everybody knows the
I'm gonna throw a number one at number five, you know.
But there's a lot of teams that do a really
good job of, you know, taking those two guys away.
And when you have a guy like Andre, you have
a guy like Mike man Chuck both really stepping up

(14:22):
this camp. You know, we're we're as deep as we've
been at the receiver position since.

Speaker 6 (14:27):
I've been here.

Speaker 5 (14:29):
And then you have guys like Mitch Ands and Isaiah
having great camps as well.

Speaker 6 (14:38):
You know, we.

Speaker 5 (14:40):
Somebody goes down, you can put somebody right there that
we have a lot of faith in and has executed
really well in training camp. Obviously, you know some of
those guys don't have a ton of game reps yet,
but you know when they continue to make plays in
practice when they we haven't had a ton of mental
errors that receive ones or twos this this camp either,

(15:02):
and that's very rare. I think the young guys are
doing a great job studying the playbook, studying the script,
knowing their jobs, and so you know, I feel great
about where where that room is. And you know there's
going to be injuries. Guys are going to go down,
and we have guys that we can ployed right in.

Speaker 6 (15:20):
It's easier to make those back shoulders and those scene
throws to a guy with Andreke's body type and size.

Speaker 5 (15:26):
Yeah, he's doing a great job of locating it, finding
it and making an aggressive play on the ball. And
I would say when he got here that was not
his strong student. He's worked really hard at that to
make it a stronger area of his game, and so
he continues to show that in practice. He's going to
continue to get opportunities for that in the game. And

(15:48):
you you build that trust and then you're going to
get those opportunities. So he's going to keep keep doing that,
and I'm going to keep trying to get the ball.

Speaker 7 (15:55):
You talked a little bit about it for earlier, the
defense and the younger guys in the tendency the red
zone obviously you decoyat or trying to turn out was
a struggle last year. Offensively, What did you see in
the first one week or solid camp with that scheme
and the way they plays standing.

Speaker 4 (16:11):
Out to you early on about that year.

Speaker 5 (16:13):
They seem very confident in what they're doing, and you
know they're not having a ton of mental errors either
on that side of the ball.

Speaker 2 (16:20):
And you know, with a.

Speaker 5 (16:22):
New defense, a complicated defense and young players, you know
you're usually going to see that, but really not the
dbs are understanding the nuances of the coverage really well,
understanding where their help is, where their help isn't playing
their leverages really sound. And then you know defensive line,
the I think Miles and Joseph are having a really

(16:44):
good camp.

Speaker 4 (16:45):
T J.

Speaker 5 (16:46):
Sliding is going to be a great player for us.
The energy he brings, the fiscality he brings, and I'm
really excited to watch that on Sundays. And then the games,
the stunts, the things that they're doing on the defensive
side of the ball to create pressure has It's something
that you know, I've gone against for the last several years,

(17:09):
and I know how hard that is to deal with
from a quarterback quarterbacking perspective. Uh, And they're doing it
at a at a high level. So that's exciting to
see too. So then when we roll ninety one back
out there, I think it's it's got a chance to
be a special year.

Speaker 2 (17:24):
I was just about to ask you about that.

Speaker 8 (17:25):
I mean, how much do you think about the fact
that when with all those guys playing as well as
they have support, have adding train that makes how much
do you does that cross your mind as we kind
of think about the season.

Speaker 5 (17:34):
Yeah, I mean when when they're when they're doing what
they are right now up up front without without him
out there, you know, it's just gonna go up another
level when he does.

Speaker 4 (17:44):
You know, he brings to the table.

Speaker 9 (17:45):
Joe, you said you like with the teams that to
start the press conference, it's part of that, like just
a raised standard, raising the standard across the organization. And
where does that start and are you a big part
of raising that standard as well, I.

Speaker 5 (17:58):
Try sep a standard every day with my preparation, with
my play, with my discipline, my process, weight room, training room, everything.
I just try to be as consistent and as disciplined
as I can trying to set that standard and try
to be a resource for some of the guys that
are trying to get to that point. And you know,

(18:19):
there's a lot of guys that you can tell are
hungry to achieve. And so that's when you have guys
that are hungry like that, I want to take in information,
want to create their own process to be great. You know,
usually it's going to work out for guys like that.

Speaker 2 (18:35):
Really good stuff there, really really good stuff there. I
thought it was worth playing that. That snippet there, four
minutes or so of Joe Burrow, whether it's on the defense,
whether it's on really a wide receiver corps that I
do think is six deep. I mean, you have six locks.
Jermaine Burton looks like he's dialed in, focused and ready

(18:57):
to do what they need him to do, and he
has no chance at wide receiver three. It's so funny that,
like I because I'll still I'll get tweets like how's
the wide receiver three battle, and I'm like, what wide
receiver three battle. There's no wide receiver three battle. He's
battling for that wide wide receiver four spot. And I
think he's got a firm lead there and he'll be that.

(19:18):
But that's a great problem to have because if Jermaine
Burton's wide receiver four and dialed in and playing well
and able to give you that deep element, and then
you have guys behind him that can return and help
you on special teams but also then play a different
variety of different roles. And Charlie Jones and Isaiah Williams
feel pretty good about that room. I know I do,
and I know that Joe Burrow does. Speaking of Joe Burrow,

(19:44):
let's talk about the latest edition to the Bengals offense,
Noah Fant. We will do that as we roll on.
James Erpine in FROMO. This is ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (19:59):
Cincinnati. He's ESPN fifteen thirty traffic from the UC.

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(20:27):
remaining there on scene in slow traffic on two seventy
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Speaker 2 (20:36):
This report is sponsored by Rapid Radios. Rapid Welcome back
to Cincinnati's DsCN fifteen thirty The Training Care Report, Tony
up in just a bit, the Hall of Famer. I'm
James Peen Inframo racily with you until six o'clock and
let's talk. Let's talk about it. Terry, you want to

(20:57):
talk about it, Let's talk about it. Noah. The Bengals
added a guy that's going to matter for them this year.
Noah Fan is going to matter signing him. I get it.
On the surface, a lot of people are gonna say, oh,
tight end, tight end, tight end, Yeah, tight end, tight end,
and he's going to matter. Look at the Bengals tight ends.

(21:18):
It's so funny to me. No one is confident in
the Bengals tight end room. Are that confident? People make
fun of Drew sample. People say Mike is sick, He's
just a receiver. No one is really in on Tanner
Hudson and Tanner McLaughlin can't get on the field. And
with that said, there are still people pushing back on

(21:39):
the Noah fan thing, at least somewhat. No, the Bengals
got better this week. They did. It's funny. I was
thinking about the Reds and the trade deadline, and ultimately
they were aggressive. They got better. They improved their team.
Even if it wasn't in the way you wanted or
I wanted, and it damn sure wasn't the way I wanted,
they did improve their team. And so I get that.

(22:01):
And so with the Bengals, and I opened up, and
I've talked multiple times during the show about the guard spot,
and I'm gonna ask Tony Pike about the guard spot
coming up. But just because you have a need elsewhere
doesn't mean you can't get better at a spot where
Noah fan comes in and is a borderline starter, like
he's going to play a lot for you. Is not

(22:22):
like some people are gonna say, oh, he's tight end three.
It's like, no, not really, Like do you think Eric
always tight end three last year by midyear, like no
is going to Matt He's going to play. And I
think that the Bengals had a clear role for him
and they sold him on that during the visit. Otherwise
I'm not sure he comes here even with the Joe
Burrow effect. I think it's role, offense, the ability, all

(22:45):
of those things rolled into one, and he was like, hell, yes,
sign me up, I'm in. That's what I think. And
I think it's also a reminder that yes, the Joe
Burrow effect is real. Yes, the Bengals are a destination,
and yes they need to use that to the advantage,
not take it for granted, but use it to their advantage.
We'll see if they can do that. But Noah Fan

(23:06):
is a Bengal. I'm hoping we hear from Noah Fhant tomorrow.
I had that Saturday night practice. By the way, I
know we do a lot of broadcasting here from the
Holy Grail here on ESPN fifteen thirty. I will be
at the Holy Grail after that practice at eight thirty,
So come say hi. If you don't know who I am,
that's fine. I'm James Rpenengals Talk dot Com The Life
on Bengals podcast Infra Mode today. Also Cincinnati Bengals talk

(23:29):
on YouTube. Noah Fan is going to matter, and I'm
going to twist this and talk a little bit about
the Reds because the Reds they make three trades. They
make three trades, and I'm like, all right, if you
would have told me two days ago they're gonna make
three trades, I would have laughed at you. And I

(23:49):
don't think many people expected them to make a ton
of moves, but they made moves, and I'll take it.
I'll take it. It doesn't mean I have to be
the most excited about it. Obviously, you would have wanted
a bigger bat on everyday bat, an outfield bat. I
did it. They were never going to do that. The
payroll limitations that they put on themselves are part of that.

(24:14):
It's the same thing with the Bengals, just in a
different way. The Bengals put themselves in a different cap
category than the rest of the NFL because they focus
on the way structures of certain deals are and they
don't want to do it any other way because they
want to keep cat flexibility in the future at the max,

(24:36):
like to the max, not some cat flexibility. Cat flexibility
to the max and the Reds they operate in a
different way, but they put themselves in their own well,
we have to salary match, we have to operate this way.
We can't do that. We're not gonna be able to outspend.
We're not gonna in fine whatever, Like, there's gonna be
plenty of other people that want to talk about this

(24:57):
for hours and hours and hours and hours and hours.
And I get it. But if that's your limitation, which
I don't accept, and I don't think you accept, but fine,
if that's your limitation, all right, So what are you
getting with that limitation? And I do think the Reds
got better, they upgraded their roster. Is it where I
would want to go? Like what I Sometimes you just

(25:18):
got to say things out loud, And I'm a big
believer in that. It's just say it out loud. Do
you want to commit to a third basement that can't
hit for the next five years? Crickets, crickets tearing crickets.
There are crickets in the studio, So that's tough, and
in so it's tough. I'm not mad about it. I

(25:43):
liked that they made a move. Is it my favorite move?

Speaker 3 (25:47):
No.

Speaker 2 (25:47):
Did they get better? Yes, that's it, And so I
think there are some people that may feel that way
about the Noah fan move. Is it your favorite move? No,
because you probably wanted to guard or another pass rush
or another this or another that safety corner. Fine, But
did the Bengals get better? Absolutely they did. Did come
available from a first rounder that has had four hundred
plus yards receiving it in each of his seasons? Absolutely?

Speaker 4 (26:11):
Did?

Speaker 2 (26:11):
Does he have a lot to prove so he can
get one more pay day? Absolutely? Was he attracted to
come into Cincinnati because of Joe Burrow on the offense
and how he would fit in this past first offense? Absolutely?
Does he want to chase a ring? Absolutely? All of
those things are there. Did he have other options? Absolutely?
Miami was frothing at the mouth to get Noah Fan.
According to people in the league, they wanted no a
Fan so bad because he's a plug and play starter

(26:33):
Boom and that Mike McDaniel offense and no offense said No,
I don't want Miami. I don't want the money they're offering.
I will take what the Bengals are offering and play
with Joe Burrow, played with Jamar Chase, play with Mikey SICKI,
play with t Higgins, play with these guys and play
for Zach Taylor. It's pretty nice. That is pretty pretty nice.
We'll see if it works out. But the Bengals got better.

(26:55):
Our training camp report is next, which means it's time
to talk about the Bengals improving and upgrading. We will
do that with Tony Pike as we roll on James
rpin In FROMO. This is Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
Thirty Cincinnatis ESPN fifteen thirty.

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(27:33):
at Paddock Road. On Montgomery Road, another accident near Hewitt Avenue.
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Speaker 10 (27:44):
This fifteen thirty with the latest from Bengals training camp
brought to you by Camber Credit Union on your official
home of the Cincinnati Bengals, ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (27:58):
This is a training camp with Tony Pike. I'm James
Upin in promo and Tony, I gotta be honest. I
talked about it earlier in the show.

Speaker 4 (28:08):
I get it.

Speaker 2 (28:09):
It's Spangals and talking Bengals and it sangles season. But
I give you a lot of grief, so I must
say I'm really really excited, and I couldn't say it.
No one is more deserving than you about being in
the UC Hall of Fame, So congrats.

Speaker 11 (28:27):
It's always Hall of Fame season, James.

Speaker 12 (28:29):
So no, I appreciate that it is a it's something
I'm like, you have time to think about it. I'm, obviously,
you know, a product of what's been around me, so
my my parents, growing up, my family, my friends, teammates,
coaches like the trainers that you see who literally had
to piece my body together for five years that I

(28:49):
could even play on the field. And I've always had
a great support system. So I celebrate them. And yesterday
that's what it was for me, to be able to
hear from so many people and talk of so many
people of my past. Was was really cool and kind
of icing on the cake.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
How hard was it the juggle doing these reports and
then also realizing that you're in the UCAE Hall of Fame?

Speaker 11 (29:11):
It was different, It was a lot different.

Speaker 12 (29:16):
I was more mad at myself for not having a
an understanding that it was happening, because looking back, so
many different things happened over the last couple of days
that I should have I should have picked up on
that I didn't. But you know, that's the grind James
of training camp season. We're grinding right now for Bengals
training camp.

Speaker 2 (29:36):
There's no doubt and I probably should transition, but I'm
not going to. Did you know your family was going
to be in studio? That was such a cool No.

Speaker 12 (29:43):
No, that, like I said that, that's really what what
kind of put me over the edge because the night
before I don't know how many years I've been doing
training camp reports.

Speaker 11 (29:51):
It's been a long time, yes.

Speaker 12 (29:53):
And it's it's predated me meeting my wife and having
three children. Yeah, And one time in that time has
my wife ever once said I think I want to
come down to training camp tomorrow. And she did, and
I was like, okay, And in my mind, I'm like,
the weather's supposed to be nicer. We didn't know it

(30:14):
was going to be rained out, Like the weather's going
to be nicer. And you know, my oldest is five
now and he likes, obviously loves Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase.
That's all he talks about. He's got jerseys.

Speaker 11 (30:24):
And so I was like, okay, that I guess makes sense.

Speaker 12 (30:27):
But to have that and then to have it transition
to where they were able to come to the studio
even though it got rained out, was was really cool.
And I had no idea any of that was going
to happen.

Speaker 2 (30:36):
I think it's better that it was in studio because
your set up camera wise in studio. Yeah, get the
video reaction. I played the reaction earlier in the show.
I retweeted it, Austin was on it, like I just
I thought that that you wouldn't have gotten that in
the field.

Speaker 12 (30:53):
Right, and the other thing like, so Moe wasn't there yesterday,
but it's been the Tony and Moe Training Camp show
and he usually spearheads that and then I get into
Cincy three sixty. So he called me yesterday morning and
He was like, hey, I forgot to tell you. I
told you see earlier in the week that we could
have John Cunningham on the show because he's down, He's

(31:15):
gonna be down to practice watching. And then I'm thinking, like,
my mind immediately goes too well, Jamoy May's des ridder.
That makes sense. He's coming down on an off data
to see what's going on. You see, season opens up
in four weeks against Nebraska and Arrowhead Stadium. I like
all of those things together, but I agree, I don't
think it would have I don't think it would have

(31:35):
done what it did not being in studio the way
that it panned out, which which made it really cool.

Speaker 2 (31:40):
Yeah, I thought it was really cool. Yeah. This is
this is called selflessness. Tony Pike is selfless. He wasn't
thinking about himself there, even though there were some clues.
I actually don't blame you because des ridderd Jamoy May's
looking like Andrew Hawkins out there. There's a camp report
in the nine sixteen. Yesterday in the indoor he made
a move and I was like, baby hawk. And I

(32:03):
don't say that lightly because I think Andrew Hawkins was
a beast and Jamoy May's making making some plays.

Speaker 11 (32:09):
I like it.

Speaker 12 (32:10):
I thought Des Runds had a decent camp to this
point as well. He's I mean, he's got NFL experience.
He he's obviously hit success in Cincinnati.

Speaker 11 (32:17):
So no, I did.

Speaker 12 (32:18):
I never I never put a correlation together of wow,
that's odd, other than like MO kind of just being like, hey,
I'm not going to beat there, but I'm gonna get
some guests on the show and you're gonna deal with it.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
That sounds about, right, MO enjoying the boat, enjoying the
lake like this is the training camp report with Tony Pike.
I'm James or pen In fromo here on ESPN fifteen thirty.
All right, let's talk a little Bengals. The Bengals sign
Noah Fan yesterday. I think he's going to matter. I
really like the addition.

Speaker 13 (32:43):
Am I right?

Speaker 2 (32:44):
Am I wrong? And what do you think of it?

Speaker 11 (32:47):
You're right?

Speaker 12 (32:48):
I love the addition because you think back to last
year there were only eight teams in the NFL. MO
pointed this out. There was eight teams in the NFL
that operated more out of twelve personnel than the Bengals,
and a lot of when the Bengals did that was
when Eric Hall was healthy. They couldn't run out of
twelve without Eric Hall the way that they wanted to.

(33:09):
So now you bring in Noah Fan, you make yourself
more versatile. You open up the run pass game. You
have more running lanes because you've got bigger bodies in there.

Speaker 11 (33:20):
You can max protect.

Speaker 12 (33:21):
I know they're not the best pass blockers or run blockers,
but you can max protect and get some eight man protections.
It sets up play action for Joe Burrow. But what
I like more about anything if you think like the
base level of twelve personnel right, two tight ends, two receivers,
one running back. It forces the defensive coordinator to make
a decision. If you're a decordinator and the Bengals go twelve,

(33:42):
do you match that personnel and bring in your bigger
bodies f linebackers And if so, my goodness, I like
Noah Fan and Mike is SICKI versuspposing linebackers and coverage.
Or you can come in and say no, we're gonna
stay small, we're gonna stay nickel, we're gonna stay dime.
And if so, I know they're not great blockers, but
I like MIKEASICKI and no a fan being able to

(34:03):
block corners or linebackers. So I think it it are
our safeties. I mean, I think it gives them such
a good dynamic of more balance. They're able to stay
in that more and you really put the emphasis and
the onus on defensive coordinators to have to make some
hard decisions.

Speaker 2 (34:21):
Twenty seventeen, I believe is when we started the training
camp reports.

Speaker 11 (34:25):
Yeah, that would make sense.

Speaker 2 (34:26):
I think we have video dating back to then of
us doing the post recap video. I'm probably gonna borrow
bother you at some points.

Speaker 12 (34:35):
That's when. That's when we were doing them so much.
We had to come up with creative ways to do
the video every day. Sometimes I was taller than you.
I don't know how you standing on things. There was
just a lot that went on during those those camp days.
It's it's one of my fonder memories of camp reports.

Speaker 2 (34:51):
If we still did those regularly, I would have to
find a Hall of Fame shirt to mock you. I
would wear it instead of you, But you're obviously Hall
of the Hall of Famer here and again, congratulations, my friend.
I appreciate you.

Speaker 11 (35:05):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (35:06):
James Good stuff there. That is the training camp report
with Tony Pike. We will continue the Bengals conversation coming
up next.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
James R.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
Pen In FROMO on ESPN fifteen thirty. This is Tany
Wilm Higan, everyone, and welcome in to ESPN fifteen thirty.
I'm James from We'd be till six o'clock. We have
a special guests. We have a special guest. Bengals training
camp is rolling on. We have our training camp report
with Tony Fike coming up later in the hour. But

(35:38):
I caught up with Bengals wide receiver andre Yosavash before
training camp and got to talk with him about a
bunch of stuff. And andre Josavash one is one of
the nicest dudes in the locker room, certainly, but just
one of the nicest dudes you're ever gonna meet. And
he takes time with reporters, teammates and loves doing the

(35:59):
media stuff and at the same time is the same
guy cameras on, cameras off. I love it, and he's
gotten better each and every year, went from a sixth
round pick to having ten touchdowns in his first two seasons.
Obviously has the trust of Joe Burrow. We heard Joe
Burrow what he had to say about Andre last hour,
and I caught up with Andre before training camp, and

(36:19):
no one's heard this interview. Just so you know, no
one's heard it. This is how good of a guy
Andre is. Andre Jo Sabash is such a good dude
that what he did is we did this entire interview
and he was training in Atlanta, and it was right
before camp, right before they reported for camp, like a
few days before, and we did this whole interview and

(36:42):
his phone didn't upload his video file and this was
a video interview, and so he redid the interview. So
there's really nothing worse, I'll tell you right now, and
you can ask Tony or Austin or obviously Mo. It
is the worst. You get an interview done it and
if you lose that interview, it sucks. And so we

(37:04):
had audio, we didn't have the video of it. And
I was thinking, I was like, man, you know what
would be cool? I knew I was filling in from
I was like, we air the audio of the interview
that no one's ever heard because I talked to him
for Cincinnati Bengals talk. In that interview, it's funny. We
did that second interview and he was like, man, that
was way different than the first interview. And I was like, yeah, man,

(37:26):
because it's a conversation. I don't go into interviews. It's
just how I've always done it. Really, I don't go
into interviews with a bunch of bullets that I want
to hit. I have one or two things that I
for sure want to hit, and then we just have
a conversation. And so the conversations were much, much different.
So if you're like James, I already watched it on
Cincinnati Bengals Talk. I already listened to it on Cincinnati

(37:46):
Bengals Talk. No you didn't. This is a much different conversation.
Let's get to part one of my conversation with Andre
Yo Sabash and start by asking a simple question. I
asked andre what the craziest pronunciation is of his name,
because so many people say andre Yo si va sir
uh Yo si vash, sure get it all wrong. It's

(38:09):
Yo Sabash, Jo Sabash. That's how you say it, andre
Jo Sabash Yoshi, but it's Yo Sabash. So I asked him,
what's the craziest way he's heard it pronounced really good
stuff here from the Bengals wide receiver.

Speaker 11 (38:20):
Yeah.

Speaker 14 (38:20):
So when I was a freshman at Princeton, you know,
I was not very high on the depth chart. I
was probably like one of the last receivers. And so
we're doing this team period, you know, and it gets
kind of like to the you know, the threes, the four's,
and like I'm rotating with the threes and fours. But
you know, we kind of have a lot of guys,
so you never know who's going to be in at

(38:41):
any given moment. And my offensive coordinator he's yelling for
somebody to get in, and uh, he's yelling for somebody
to get in, and I'm like, I don't know who
he's yelling because it doesn't sound like a name that
I know he's yelling.

Speaker 15 (38:53):
I was siv I was thieves get in. I was Sivis.
I'm like, who the hell is who is that? And
then yeah, two and two comes together. When he's sprinting
towards my faith yelling at me to get the f
in there, I was like, oh, okay, okay, I have

(39:14):
to be ready prepared for one, just because I didn't
know it was even mean.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
Oh man, that's that's so good. That's so good. That
doesn't happen. I have heard some of your Bengals coaches
say it wrong, but it's like just a little wrong.
It's pretty obvious who they're talking about. So you know,
so the the minor ones are different, but high intensity
moment like that, that's, uh, that's pretty funny because that's

(39:39):
not your fault, that's his fault. But you can't tell
him that in the moment.

Speaker 14 (39:44):
Yeah, Like, and then I can't tell him, and I'm afraid,
like I'm a little fresh man, that's right, and like
I didn't. I wasn't like a big blood, you know
what I mean, Like at least not in the moment.

Speaker 16 (39:55):
But yeah, let's uh, let's talk a little litle bit
about you're entering year three now, and it's wild to
think of because I look at the numbers and if
I said this earlier this week, if you would have
told me when Andre was drafted.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
And said over under ten touchdowns, why he's a Bengal.
And I'm just being honest here, and it has nothing
to do with you, but you were a six round
pick and you just don't have super high expectations, especially
with an offense that at the time had Jamar Tyler
obviously t and I was like, you know, if you
would have given me the over under on ten touchdowns
for his rookie contracts, you might take the under. But

(40:36):
that's the you know, and you have it in your
first two years. You have a great rapport with Joe.
Have you reflected at all or has it just been
full full steam ahead, because your first two years I
would say have been pretty successful, especially if you had
timed back two years when you were drafted in the
sixth round.

Speaker 4 (40:54):
Yeah, I think I don't know. I think I would
be the same way.

Speaker 14 (40:58):
Looking from the outside in like someone judged in the
sixth round such a high powered offense, would you ever
think that he would reach.

Speaker 4 (41:04):
The success he does with the people in front of him?
And I think, you know, I'm a kind of guy
that I've never been.

Speaker 14 (41:10):
I mean, I've always wanted the results, but I've never
been a like a results based guy. I've always been Okay,
do the work and good things will happen. And I
expect good things to happen because of the work that
I put in and how detailed I am and how
focused I am. So like probably at the very end
of the year, I'll be like, oh, wow, like I had,
you know, four touchdowns my rookie year, maybe maybe like

(41:32):
one hundred yards, just one hundred and fifty yards or something.
But even this year, you know, looking back and saying,
oh wow, I had six and then I had almost
five hundred yards, which I should have more. But even
just looking back at that, you know, being the third,
like even the fourth.

Speaker 4 (41:46):
Option, you know, I'm just you know, I'm happy just
to know that there's.

Speaker 14 (41:52):
Room to grow and there's more goals to reach. But
I'm really just put your head down, grind. Good things
will happen, and I expect them to happen.

Speaker 4 (41:58):
So it's been cool. Though.

Speaker 2 (42:00):
I want to dive into your off season training, but
before we do it, you just mentioned yards that you
might have left out there. What stood out when you
went back and watched the twenty twenty four film of
things that you wanted to improve on.

Speaker 14 (42:15):
Yeah, so this year I've been working a lot of
you know, coming back down to the ball at the
last second just to like you know, break an angle
of a safety or you know, just get that a
little bit more of a run after catch opportunity.

Speaker 4 (42:25):
And I feel like last year, you know, I would.

Speaker 14 (42:27):
Maybe get my first target of the game in like
the third quarter on a third down or something.

Speaker 4 (42:32):
So I'm like, okay, let me Like.

Speaker 14 (42:34):
It was a weird thing for me because I know
I can make the players with the ball in my hand,
but sometimes the opportunities were so scarce that I just
want to catch the ball, if that makes sense.

Speaker 4 (42:45):
So you know you're having to say a huge situation.

Speaker 14 (42:51):
I pretty much had to make sure I like caught
the ball and possess it. So this year I'm hoping
I can turn more of the like the more that
I have confidence in the game and the more opportunities
I get, I can just you know, kind of let
loose a little bit.

Speaker 2 (43:06):
Yeah, do you think that that's realistic? I mean, Ta
re signs, Tom resigns, Kaseki recent is back as well.
I also know you guys are gonna throw up more
than anyone, so maybe it is realistic. But is that
is that a realistic expectation? You think that you could
get more more, more targets, not necessarily more playing time
because you've played a time, but more targets. Huh.

Speaker 14 (43:31):
I kind of it's funny because I like prepared my
I've been doing a lot of like mental preparation for
the year as well, because even though I think I'm
a better player than last year, you know, obviously we
have all the pieces from last year.

Speaker 4 (43:41):
So I've I've kind of trained my brain to.

Speaker 14 (43:43):
Think, Okay, even if I get the same amount of
targets as last year, I have to.

Speaker 4 (43:49):
Do more with it.

Speaker 14 (43:51):
You know, if I have four what I forget how
many receptions I had, but I could probably add one
hundred and fifty yards two hundred yards just of off
yak off some of those, you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (44:00):
So that's then that's seven hundred you know what I mean.

Speaker 14 (44:04):
And so you look at that and you're like, those
little things per catch will add up eventually at the.

Speaker 4 (44:10):
End of the season.

Speaker 14 (44:10):
So that's kind of of my mindset going into it.

Speaker 2 (44:15):
What is so unique about and You've been asked this,
but I just what is so unique about you and
Joe in the red zone? Because ten touchdowns in two years?
There aren't a lot of guys that scored ten touchdowns
in two years outside of of maybe number five and
number one. What what has it been in the red
zone in the big moments, and I think back to

(44:35):
on the road in Kansas City. I mean, it just
hasn't been at home. It's been in big games, big
moments where Joe trusts you and you're where he expects
you to be.

Speaker 14 (44:45):
Yes, it's a lot of So in the red zone,
you know, you'll see a lot of it's easier to
double double like T and Jamar. So you know, if
it's an obvious one on one to me in the
red zone, I think I should be able to win
that every time. But in terms of like even if
it's not double double, I think that, you know, it's

(45:05):
it's just me being big and strong and fast and
in the right spot. And uh, I don't know, it's
like kind of like the balls like a magnatine. I
don't really know why, but it kind of just so
happens that way. But I'm not mad at it at all.
It might it might bring down the average of my
cat like yo, yards per catch a little bit, but
I'm not mad at it.

Speaker 2 (45:26):
You averaged thirteen yards per catch last year. I mean
that's pretty good if you get the yeah even it's
good of even higher. But yeah, so you had thirty
six catches for four seventy nine. Yeah, thirteen point three
per catch six tudies. I mean that's a pretty good
stat line.

Speaker 4 (45:42):
It is, Yeah, it is pretty good.

Speaker 2 (45:44):
That's part one of my conversation with Andre Josbash. You're
going to hear the rest of it. You're going to
hear the rest of it next. James Erpin in from Oh.
This is Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (45:55):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (45:59):
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(46:21):
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Speaker 1 (46:31):
This report is sponsor by each.

Speaker 2 (46:34):
Welcome back to the ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James Vermo,
and I already explained the story. But part two of
my interview with andre Yesabash. I caught up with him
before training camp. So this is pre camp, just a
couple of weeks ago, and this is a never it's
never been heard before because we had to do two interviews.
There were some technical difficulties, all of these things. So

(46:54):
if you'll watched our interview on Cincinnati Bengals Talk, it
is different than this one. But without further ado, let's
get to my conversation with andre Josavash. This is part
two the thing for this offense, and I look back
and I had to relive it like everybody did that's watching,
certainly because they watched quarterback. But I look back at
the offense and there were times last year, as good

(47:16):
as you guys were, where you could put games away,
or you could go down and win the game, and
especially earlier in the year, it didn't happen. And I
think with the continuity that you guys have where you're now,
you're about to really enter p I'm andre Josa Vash years.
I would say, Mike Kasiki's back, He's not learning things
in the offseason program. He's back. You obviously keep the

(47:37):
big two as well. I do think that there's a
next step. I didn't even get the Chase Brown, and
I'm gonna get to him because I know you were
working out with him. But like, I do think there's
a next step for this offense and for this skill
group because of all the talent you guys have.

Speaker 14 (47:52):
Definitely I think, yeah, it's every assuming that everyone got better.
I mean, which I think we did it to be honest,
Like it's the I think the possibilities are analysts, like
for guys like you know, our OC and our head coach,
like calling the players. I can't imagine like how much
fun they have, like creating game plans and stuff, just

(48:12):
because we have so many guys that can win everywhere.
So yeah, it's it's pretty fun to play with all
those guys.

Speaker 2 (48:19):
How how unique or how how different was it moving
into the slot last year. I think that the coaches realized, hey,
Andre's are clearly our third best receiver behind Jamar and
behind t. He can move into the slot when Jamar's outside,
or vice versa. He can play outside if we're going
to move Jamar in in all of those things. But

(48:41):
when you started to play the slot some and realize
that was going to be part of your role, How
comfortable are you there and how unique was that? Because
I'm not did you do that at Princeton much? I'm
sure you didn't. They didn't ask you to do that.
They probably put you outside and has you run.

Speaker 14 (48:56):
Yeah, yeah, that was my first time being like truly
in the slot. You if I was in the slot
at Princeton, you know, I run like a like a corner,
like you know, some something deep over or something like that.
But yeah, this been my first time really being in
the slot, and I'm super comfortable there now.

Speaker 4 (49:10):
Like I love being in the slot.

Speaker 14 (49:11):
I love being on that I It's funny because my
path as a receiver was kind of weird, you know.
I didn't go to a big school. I play on
the outside uh in college. Then I got drafted in
the sixth round. So it's all like an uphill battle.
But in reality, like this is what Being in the
slot has expanded my game so much, and I think

(49:33):
it's made me super versatile for not only for the
Bengals offense, but like let's say, you know, I'm thinking
about the future and stuff.

Speaker 4 (49:39):
But I could play literally I can play.

Speaker 14 (49:41):
Everywhere and I can win everywhere now and I'm so
comfortable in the slot that.

Speaker 4 (49:46):
It's really just up to my game.

Speaker 14 (49:47):
And I'm honestly grateful that my career is turning out
the way it is, because, Yeah, if I'm comfortable in
both places, then I'm going to be unstoppable.

Speaker 2 (49:56):
I think that's the benefit of playing in this offense,
if you're intelligent enough to do it. They have other
guys that are versatile, and obviously you are, and you
have the physical gifts and all of those things, and
they clearly saw that, and they're like, all right, let's
let's get them on the field. We're going to put
them in the slots. You can also move outside. It's
it's a huge part of it. I was thinking, as

(50:18):
you were, You're we're just talking about your development and
moving into the slot. Obviously, Troy Walters is a huge
part of this. I'm going back now. It's only been
two years. It feels like a long time ago, but
I remember writing stories of Yeah, the Bengals are hosting
Princeton wide receiver Andre Josavash for a visit, and I
think it was an overnight visit. I think they met
with you multiple times. It might have been I know

(50:39):
it was a thirty visit for sure, but they expressed
a ton of interest in you. What stood out or
what do you remember about that that time of meeting
with them and you know, all the pre draft process
before you became a Bengal.

Speaker 14 (50:57):
Yeah, I just you know, it was it was mostly
talking to Troy, to be honest, but it was I
could tell he was just a good dude. Like you
want somebody who's going to be in your corner, but
who's also going to be hard on you. And I
felt like that was what I was going to go
with him. Someone who's real with you, but someone who
also wants the best for you. And you know, that's

(51:17):
kind of how he is with all the guys, and
that's why everyone respects him.

Speaker 4 (51:21):
And I was really happy that.

Speaker 14 (51:23):
You know, the team that I got to talk with
the most was able to draft me, because then we
already had that history before, so I was very happy.

Speaker 2 (51:31):
I didn't. And I'm not speaking for Troy here, but
I don't think it took long for you to leave
an impression on this coaching staff. I think they saw
real really early after they drafted you, because sometimes you
never know with the draftics. You get him on the
field and it's like I think they were like, oh right,
we might have we might have stole this guy in
the sixth round. Obviously things have worked out, But that spring,

(51:54):
I did you feel that? Did you feel their their
confidence in you that early?

Speaker 14 (52:03):
To be honest, I didn't know anything, Like I didn't
know what closures were looking at.

Speaker 4 (52:06):
I didn't.

Speaker 14 (52:06):
I just knew that was like I was big, strong, fast,
like that's all I knew that I had that.

Speaker 4 (52:13):
So if that's how they were reacting, like, I don't know.

Speaker 14 (52:16):
Try was pretty hard on Like so Charlie and I
came in together and like we he was pretty hard
on us. So I didn't feel like I didn't feel
like they were like like.

Speaker 4 (52:25):
Oh wow, he's so much better than I thought.

Speaker 14 (52:26):
Because also I had expectations for myself, a chip on
my shoulder and all that stuff. But yeah, I kind
of was just out there doing stuff and I didn't
know anything, so I was just trying to learn as
fast as I could.

Speaker 2 (52:39):
Well, you left an impression for sure, because I remember
going into that camp. It was like Watch eighty like
and it's like, oh, okay, well you never know, right,
and uh, obviously I mean going into that camp, it
was like people like me are like, all right, is
he gonna make the team or not? And he's this
like a developmental guy like that that's literally outside looking in.
So it's wild how quickly things change, you.

Speaker 4 (53:01):
Know, mm hmm, yeah, that's it is.

Speaker 14 (53:04):
It's interesting because sometimes I'll like go back and like
watch old film and stuff stuff, and like, I you know,
I think I made a lot of plays like jump
ball plays like that camp, which is what really put
me on the map. Uh So I was just grateful,
like Jake would just throw it up to me every time,
like I get one on one and uh yeah, I'm
just I'm just happy that I was able to, you know,

(53:24):
make a good impression and just keep building my career
from there.

Speaker 2 (53:28):
But let's get to the off season a little bit.
We were talking before the interview started. You said, your
head's been down, You've been working really really hard. What
who have you been working with and what what's been
the focus of your off season training specifically over the
past five six weeks since you guys broke out of
the off season program.

Speaker 11 (53:48):
Yeah.

Speaker 14 (53:48):
So my coach, So the coach that I've been working with,
his name is Drew lieberman Man. He runs like the
Sideline Hustle account on Instagram, and in my opinion, he's
the best receiver, like like off site receiver coach in
the in the in the country. He's just very focused
on the fundamentals, studies the game every day, you know,
watches all our film, like gets gets trades from good receivers.

(54:12):
He's how he can implement that, implement it. And so
this season we've been I mean this off season, you know,
we're working on just our fundamentals. Our breaks are shifts,
running through the ball full speed, coming back down negative
whenever the ball is thrown when we can, and it's
all just been great work. And the guy there's actually
a couple of guys down here with me, like from
the Bengals right now. It's Chase Brown, so chases with me.

Speaker 4 (54:33):
Last all last year, and then Charlie has is down
here for the first time.

Speaker 14 (54:39):
Jordan Moore actually the undrafted kid Duke is down here
working really hard.

Speaker 4 (54:44):
And Kendrick Bryor is down here now too.

Speaker 14 (54:46):
So like our facility makes fun of us because we
got like all the a lot of pangles down here
right now.

Speaker 2 (54:52):
You mentioned Chase Brown, and he's someone that I I
know nationally a lot of people are eyeing when you
talk about fans, see football, of those things, he certainly
comes up. What what does he look like? Because he
obviously made a huge leap last year, got his chance,
took advantage of it. He's locked in as RB one.
But but I've said a couple of times like if

(55:13):
he takes another step and is that top ten running
back and establishes establishes himself as that? And Dan Pitcherck
called him that during the off season, by the way,
But if that's what he establishes, establishes himself as in
this year, the offense is just going to be at
at such a level where you have all of these

(55:33):
guys that are are playing at such an elite level,
Like what what would it mean for the offense if
Chase does take another step? And what would what have
you seen from him this offseason?

Speaker 4 (55:46):
Yeah, I mean you could see last year just with
his opportunities.

Speaker 14 (55:49):
You know, he wasn't starting at first, and when he
finally got to start, you know, he just exploited it
onto the scene. So I mean as a runner, he's physical, fast,
you know, not around my but he's you know, his
center gravity's definitely a little bit lower, so that helps
him being you know, run dude's over or something like that.
But it's funny because like he's out there with us,

(56:09):
and he's out there with guys you know, like me,
Darius Slayton, Alamne's a Kias Wandel Robinson, like all these
really good guys, and we're like, if he wasn't a
running back, you would never know if like if no
one told you that he played running back, you.

Speaker 4 (56:22):
Would never know he played running back.

Speaker 14 (56:24):
And oh yeah, once, once his body, like you know,
kind of breaks down from playing running back or whatever,
he'll just convert.

Speaker 4 (56:30):
To slot and kill it there. So he'll he'll have
a long career for sure.

Speaker 2 (56:33):
Good stuff there from Bengals wide receiver Andre Josabac. I'm
James Rapine Inframo. We're going to continue the Bengals conversation
and our training camp report coming up in just a
bit right here on ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (56:44):
Thirty Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. Traffic from the UC Help
Traffic Center. You see Helps Weight Loss Center offer surgical
and medical obesity care and expertise called five when three
nine three nine two two sixty three. That's nine three
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(57:05):
Reed Hartman Highway exitent off on the left shoulder, fifteen
minute delay. Right now back from Mastellar. Another accident on
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it's an accident. I'm at Ezelic with trappin in FROMO.

Speaker 2 (57:22):
This is Cincinnati, easystn fifteen thirty. I'm with you till
six o'clock. Really good stuff with Andre Josabash. I enjoyed that.
And one thing with Andre that I love and that
I've noticed is that he is not afraid or shy
about complimenting his teammates, building up his teammates, talking about
his teammates, and whether it's a guy like Charlie Jones

(57:46):
who has flashed his potential at times, especially as a returner,
has also had some health struggles, or someone like Chase
Brown who burst onto the scene last year. I had
a breakout year. You have Dan Pitcher calling him Austin Eckler,
the next Austin Eckler, a top ten back in the league.
Andre Josebash has been complimentary of Chase Brown, long before

(58:07):
Chase Brown was known as that guy and being compared
to some top backs in the NFL. In fact, the
funny thing about it, I remember asking Andre last year
during the offseason program. It's like, hey, man, why don't
they put you on kickoffs? Because it was when the
new kickoff was happening and you put two kickoff returners
back there. And he was like, man, you know, it'd

(58:27):
be really fun of me and Chase Brown both got
back there, and he was complimenting Chase. Obviously Charlie and
other guys were manning the return spot at the time,
but I was just it was an idea I had. Anyways,
after hearing from Andre and what he had to say
about Chase, I thought it would be interesting to hear
from Chase Brown himself. I talked with Chase Brown, as
did Laurel Failure and who else did? Ben Baby was there.

(58:50):
You may hear a few other voices as well, but
this is Chase Brown from the Bengals locker room this week,
the Bengals running back looking to have a huge, huge
season In the Bengals back I prefer.

Speaker 17 (59:00):
The same every single year, whether you know I was
third string or you know, starting this year. So my
mindset's the same, it hasn't changed at all. I'm trying
to find ways to get better, expand my game, become
more of a threat to teams in this in this league.
So come into this year with the same mindset, trying.

Speaker 13 (59:21):
To start off as fast as possible.

Speaker 17 (59:22):
Though, you know, I feel like with the way that
we're running the ball right now and the way that
the offensive mesh is meshing, I think we're heading the
right direction.

Speaker 4 (59:29):
What ways do you think you can get better? Get better?

Speaker 13 (59:33):
Well, as to protector, I can always get better.

Speaker 17 (59:36):
I felt like, uh, you know, it was confident that
ability last year and that's just something I'm trying to
build on. So continue to grow in that area and
you know, be more sound of my fits and all that.

Speaker 18 (59:45):
How much did you work Chase in the off season
on explosiveness, physical improvement in your game, and how much
did you work on the mental and intellectual part of
the game.

Speaker 17 (59:56):
Yeah, I mean I feel like, ohtas is the part
where you get to work on your mental side a
little bit. You with the team, You're going through the plays,
you're watching tape on the protections and these different blitzes
that teams bring and are different protection checks, and so
you get to work on that in OTAs, but once
you leave and go off on your own, it's kind
of you know, just going through the playbook, making sure

(01:00:16):
that you know you're mentally ready for the installs and
all that, and physically and explosiveness wise, I mean that
just comes from working out, you know what I mean.
I trained really hard, do a lot of route running,
a lot of hip shifting, a lot of pressure steps.

(01:00:36):
So I feel like that ability is starting to show up,
especially on some of the runs today, just being able
to put my foot in the ground and get vertical.

Speaker 2 (01:00:42):
What have you improved on the most? Is it the
route running or what have you improved on the most
over the past few months?

Speaker 17 (01:00:47):
Yeah, great question. I think mentally, just getting more comfortable
with this offense. I think that's been my biggest improvement
this year. Recognizing coverages, knowing where to sit down, you know,
when we're getting set up for a run play, just
checking the D line and where they're lined up, and
you know, not guessing at the line of scrimmage, but
making like educated guesses of where the ball could go

(01:01:09):
before this Bossnaple.

Speaker 19 (01:01:14):
Zack's all right, So I was waiting all of them out.

Speaker 2 (01:01:17):
It was just like another way.

Speaker 19 (01:01:19):
Yeah, I think Zach talked about you stepping up as
a pass catcher. I know you put a lot of
work in last year, you and Andre, what else did
y'all do like this offseason kind of get to.

Speaker 17 (01:01:29):
Get that role ready for Yeah, I mean with where
we work out during the offseason, I mean you could
run like a full on NFL steven on seven team
out there. I mean there's NFL dbs from all over
the league. There's NFL receivers and running backs from all
the leagues. So being able to work on like you know, Halffield,
Skelly and you know, one on ones with those guys

(01:01:52):
makes you so much more confident coming into camp because
you know, like when we, you know, do our one
on ones later on this week, that's not our first
time doing one on ones. It's you know, we we
had already got those rusty reps in in the spring
and the and the summer, So just coming and confident.

Speaker 2 (01:02:07):
Any guys who like going up against.

Speaker 13 (01:02:13):
No, that's a great question.

Speaker 17 (01:02:15):
I mean, a couple of guys from New York, like
the Jets, the Nickel over there.

Speaker 13 (01:02:24):
Some corners from Atlanta have fun.

Speaker 17 (01:02:26):
So just working against them and learning and seeing, like
just talking to them, like just things that I do
that you know could help me get better. So just
that's kind of the relationship that you build with the
guys out there.

Speaker 19 (01:02:37):
You have me always held endo this year on what
you want to accomplish, Like.

Speaker 13 (01:02:39):
Always super private about my goals. But I write them
down on my mirror.

Speaker 17 (01:02:43):
And I mean, if you somehow break into my house
and go into my master bathroom, you'll see them written
on the mirror.

Speaker 13 (01:02:50):
So I keep those to myself.

Speaker 17 (01:02:52):
But if you ask me, you know, when the season's done,
I'll be happy to tell you.

Speaker 11 (01:02:59):
Guys, you.

Speaker 2 (01:03:03):
I don't I don't have a very subtle approach. I
kind of just mashed the door and so had a
good year. You got to master the bathroom, right, No?

Speaker 17 (01:03:10):
No, yeah, I mean I feel like every apartment or
condo comes with a master bathroom.

Speaker 13 (01:03:15):
Now if I didn't have that, then you should be
worried about where I'm living.

Speaker 19 (01:03:18):
So in terms of I don't want not specifically, but
is it a all do you have like all purpose
goals then or are they?

Speaker 2 (01:03:26):
Are you able to say that.

Speaker 13 (01:03:27):
I break my goals into three things.

Speaker 17 (01:03:29):
I have a personal goal, a team goal, and then
something that I want to achieve within my family, like
just at home.

Speaker 13 (01:03:38):
So breaking into those three things, and.

Speaker 17 (01:03:44):
Every single year I've bringing them down early on the
year I've achieved them. So we're just gonna keep on
doing that, and you know, I'll wake up, look at
them and just go in every single day with the
mindset of, you know, doing whatever I gotta do to
you'll make those goals come to life.

Speaker 2 (01:04:02):
He certainly looks the part. It would not shock me
if this man catches seventy passes. The way he moves
in and out of his cuts extremely extremely unique, and
he's worked on his hands a ton, has been working
out with andre Josvasch and by the way, that's Chase Brown.
I'm talking about James Erpeni FROMO here on ESPN fifteen thirty.
It's just very valu valuable to have a guy like that.

(01:04:28):
And when you have a guy like that that has
that skill set, that has that ability but can also
run between the tackles, and he can and is super
quick and is strong enough and powerful enough to run
through guys, makes for a heck of a combination, and
so Chase Brown. I've said this before and I don't
know if I did it on here when I was
filling in from Oh. But you think about the Bengals

(01:04:50):
offense and they have the number one receiver, the number
one quarterback arguably right, like let's just rose colored glasses, right,
orange and black colored glasses, the best receiver in the league,
the best quarterback in the league, another top ten receiver.
Can you imagine if they had a top ten running
back as well, our top seven running back or top
five running back, Like if that does happen, if they

(01:05:11):
do go that route, if that does, if that's how
it transpires, like holy smokes, good luck, good luck trying
to stop them. And yet the guard position lingers, and
you're thinking about guard as much as I am. And
that's something that I want to ask Tony Pike about.
Our training camp report is next. I'm James Urpine in FROMO.

(01:05:32):
It's a lot of fun filling in FROMO. We still
have another hour to go after the training camp report,
and I have some thoughts on the Bengals offseason what
they need to do. But up next, I'll be joined
by Tony Pike right here on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:05:47):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 3 (01:05:51):
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two seventy five as well down to one laneyard the
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Speaker 20 (01:06:23):
This report is sponsored by fifteen thirty with the latest
from Bengals training Camp.

Speaker 10 (01:06:28):
Brought you boy Hollywood Casino, Lawrenceburg, on your official home
of the Cincinnati Bengals, ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 2 (01:06:39):
It's time for the training Camp report with Tony Pike.
I'm James er Cleenan FROMO In this I was ESPN
fifteen thirty Tony. I appreciate the time as always in
these reports. I talked to you last hour about the
Hall of Fame. I talked to you next hour I
guess what I'm gonna ask you about the Hall of
Fame right now. I'm just kinda going to congratulate you,

(01:07:01):
my friend, on the Hall of Fame. But let's dive
in and talk about Noah Fant. The Bengals finalized the
deal with Noah Fan yesterday. It's a one year deal.
He had other options Miami, New Orleans. I think Miami
might have offered him more. What do you think Noah
Fant brings to this team and do you think he's
going to matter on this offense? Because I do. What

(01:07:26):
do you think about that? Is he going to make
an impact?

Speaker 12 (01:07:28):
I loved the addition because you think back to last year,
there were only eight teams in the NFL.

Speaker 11 (01:07:34):
No pointed this. There was eight teams in the NFL.

Speaker 12 (01:07:36):
That operated more out of twelve personnel than the Bengals,
and a lot of when the Bengals did that was
when Eric Hall was healthy. They couldn't run out of
twelve without Eric Hall the way that they wanted to.
So now you bring in Noah Fan, you make yourself
more versatile, You open up the run pass game, you
have more running lanes because you got bigger bodies than

(01:07:59):
there you can max protect. I know they're not the
best pass blockers or run blockers, but you can max
protect and get some eight man protections. It sets up
play action for Joe Burrow. But what I like more
about anything, if you think like the base level of
twelve personnel right, two tight ends, two receivers, one running back.
It forces the defensive coordinator to make a decision. If

(01:08:20):
you're a decordinator in the Bengals go twelve, do you
match that personnel and bring in your bigger bodies f
linebackers And if so, my goodness, I like Noah Fan
and Mike Kasicki versupposing linebackers and coverage. Or you can
come in and say no, we're gonna stay small, we're
gonna stay nickel, we're gonna stay dime. And if so,
I know they're not great blockers, but I like Mike

(01:08:42):
Kasicki and no Ah Fan being able to block corners
or linebackers. So I think it it are are safeties.
I mean so, I think it gives them such a
good dynamic of more balance. They're able to stay in
that more and you really put the emphasis and the
onus on defensive coordinators to have to make some hard decisions.

Speaker 2 (01:09:01):
Yeah, I think that. To me, it's a reminder of
the power of Joe Burrow. And I don't know exactly
what was offered by the Miami Dolphins, but I do
think the Miami Dolphins made no offen and offer, and
history would say that it was more than what the
Bengals offered. Maybe I'm wrong, No, yeah, I don't think

(01:09:22):
I am. And it is a reminder. Like you know,
as we look at the rest of the offense, a
lot of people said, oh, well, don't sign a tight end,
sign a guard, and it's like, well, the Bengals are attractive,
They're a destination. If they do want to sign a guard,
they will be able to get one of the best
guards available for probably less than other teams would would
be able to get them for. I think fans an

(01:09:43):
example of that. And by the way, I do think
that they should add a guard. Oh boy, listen. There
there has been a lot of good through training camp
so far. I think the way the defense is played
and not just making plays, because last year we talked
about the defense making plays as well. But they look confident,
they look sure of themselves, they look fast, and they

(01:10:06):
they've done it without Trey Hendrickson yet, which again is
a whole different conversation. But I love what I've seen
out of the defense. I think Jermaine Burton has been
a very welcome site. I think no offense is going
to fit in.

Speaker 11 (01:10:17):
Well.

Speaker 12 (01:10:18):
If you're asking me what's my biggest concern a week
and a couple of days in the camp, it's it's
by far the offensive line, because I've seen.

Speaker 11 (01:10:26):
Way too many.

Speaker 12 (01:10:27):
You posted the video a couple of days ago of
the pocket completely collapsing around Joe Burrow and no offense
to the guys, and we want Osai and Murphy and
these guys to take the next step. Hendrickson's not out there,
Miles Garrett's not out there. TJ wats not out there.
My biggest concern right now, and the one thing that
derails this whole train, James, is Joe Burrow not being

(01:10:50):
able to play seventeen games because he's on his back
too much. So I know it's early in camp. You
got a new offensive line coach, you got a new scheme,
you've got new personnel. Well, so I'm not already saying
panic button, make a move, but if we're having the
same conversation at this time next week, then I think
you have to legitimately consider it.

Speaker 2 (01:11:09):
Yeah, I wish they would just to finish it off.
I think if you would have told me in January,
all right, this is how the Bengals offseason is going
to work, and they're going to do what they've done.
Plus they're going to add a Brandon Sheriff for a
Will Hernandez or one of these guards that's out there
and resigned Trey Hendrickson. I'd be on board. Like I'd say,

(01:11:30):
oh my god, that's a hell of an offseason, like
is as dramatic as it was, all the things that
have gone on. If they can get trade one and
sign a guard, I would say mission accomplished. You've put
yourself in a position to be one of the best
teams in the NFL. I'm really hoping that the next
time you're doing these training camp reports on fifteen thirty

(01:11:50):
so Monday, that we're talking about a guard edition. I'm
not sure that'll happen, but I would love for it
to happen.

Speaker 12 (01:11:57):
Yeah, I think that is the one missing piece. Be
people that say, well, what's the contingency plan in the secondary?
What if the safeties don't work out, and I get
all of that, But to this point, I've not talked
much about Genostone.

Speaker 11 (01:12:11):
That's a good thing.

Speaker 12 (01:12:12):
We saw Jordan Battle in our lap the other day
make a great play against Jamar Chase. The fact that
we don't talk much about the safeties, that's a good thing.
We are talking about the offensive line, And as long
as I've mentioned these training camp reports, as long as
I've done these training camp reports, unfortunately a lot of
the conversation is I just don't feel good enough about
the offensive line. And more often than not in the years,

(01:12:34):
we've seen that has been the case during the regular season.
How many how many times last year, James, You're watching
the game and you see a ball completed, and you're
holding your breath, right and you're holding your breath and
hoping that what they're going to pan back to Joe
Burrow and he's gonna be getting off the turf and
he's healthy because there were just that many hits that happened.

(01:12:54):
I don't want to live in that scenario. I don't
want to continue to push that. I want to have
confidence that and they've done everything they needed to do
to make sure number nine.

Speaker 2 (01:13:03):
Is upright, twenty seventeen, I believe is when we started
the training camp reports.

Speaker 11 (01:13:08):
Yeah, that would make sense.

Speaker 2 (01:13:10):
I think we have video dating back to then of
us doing the post recap video. I'm probably going to
borrow bother you at some point you've been lying that's when.

Speaker 12 (01:13:19):
That's when we were doing them so much. We had
to come up with creative ways to do the video
every day there. I was taller than you. I don't
know how you standing on things. There was just a
lot that went on during those those camp days. It's
one of my fonder memories of camp reports.

Speaker 2 (01:13:34):
If we still did those regularly, I would have to
find a Hall of Fame shirt to mock you. I
would wear it instead of you, But you're obviously Hall
of Famer. The Hall of Famer here and again, congratulations,
my friend. I appreciate you.

Speaker 11 (01:13:49):
Thank you, James.

Speaker 2 (01:13:51):
Good stuff there. That is the Training Camp Reports with
Tony Pike. We will continue the Bengals conversation coming up next.
James are pen in for on ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 13 (01:14:02):
Hey, get ready to start, Hi, get.

Speaker 2 (01:14:05):
Everyone can welcome in to ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm jan
fifteen wonderful Friday or after new with you till six o'clock.
It's hour three Taran. It is the five o'clock hour,
which hopefully you headed a happy hour. Hopefully you're enjoying
your day, and I certainly am enjoying being here with

(01:14:25):
you here on ESPN fifteen thirty. We're going to talk
a lot of Bengals this hour. That's right, Bengals, ladies
and gentlemen, and why not. It is Bengals season and
it is an important time on the football schedule. We're
going to hear from the Hall of Famer. Congrats again
to Tony Pike. Will hear from him coming up in
our training camp report this hour. And I have some

(01:14:47):
thoughts on what the Bengals have done, what they haven't
done in something that I'm surprised to say. We'll get
to that well right now here on ESPN fifteen thirty.
And if you're not familiar with my work, I covered
the Bengals Daily, Bengals Talk dot Com, the Lacked On
Bengals podcast, Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. I was thinking

(01:15:10):
about this yesterday and it's kind of wild because I
spent all off season, most of the off season, being
critical of the Bengals, and rightfully so, right, the tray stuff,
the headache here, the headache there, the lack of activity
and free agency, their lack of movement in key weaknesses

(01:15:35):
and key areas, right, and whether it's the secondary obviously,
the offensive line, the pass rush, like all these things
that you look at it and they haven't really really
addressed it with proven commodities, and those question marks are
going to remain. But I was thinking to myself yesterday
as I watched Trey Hendrickson coach up Shamar Stewart, and

(01:15:57):
I posted video of this on social media, so check
that out. But I was watching that, and then I
had already heard prior to that practice, but everyone had
heard by that point that no offense was signing with
the Bengals, And I thought about that, and then I
looked at the roster and I said, Man, you know what,
if they sign Trey and add a guard, I'm not

(01:16:22):
gonna have any complaints. Like all of the things that
have gone on with this Bengals team and all the
things that I've been frustrated with and annoyed with and
annoyed by this offseason, and their lack of aggressiveness and
their lack of activity and all of these, Well, you
could sell me on this defense because this defense is

(01:16:43):
playing well right now in training camp, and I think
Shamar Stewart is going to matter. And having Trey around
as long as you resign him and give him a
significant pay raise, well then this defense should be distraction
free and it should be playing free, and it should
have enough talent. What's been the flying the ointment of
the Joe Burrow era the guard position. If you address that,

(01:17:05):
then it would be Dylan Fairchild, and it would be
a really nice young piece in Jalen Rivers, who's been interesting,
and then you'd have multiple veterans that you could platoon.
I don't know if the Bengals are going to sign
a guard, but ladies and gentlemen, I'll declare it right now.
And to be clear, James Orphine INFROMO the Bengals are
two moves away from having an a off season, an

(01:17:26):
A on a scale of A to F. If I
was giving them a report card, they can get an A.
All they have to do is sign a guard that
they think can start and play at a high level.
Brandon Sheriff, come on down, Come on down, Chase a
ring here in Cincinnati. You do that and you get
Trey done. It's an a off season. Think about that,

(01:17:48):
an a off season where you upgrade a tight end,
and that's what they did with Noah Fan where you
keep your stars, Jamar t and hopefully Trey. You do
what you need to do to protect Joe Burrow by
adding multiple veterans and multiple draft picks. Like you say

(01:18:09):
all these things out loud, and it's like, Oh, you
get a defensive coordinator that fits what you're doing and
is going to put the young players on defense in
the best position to succeed, take advantage of their versatility
and their talent. I mean, they're pretty close, ladies and gentlemen, Like,

(01:18:29):
it's pretty close s as we sit here on August one.
Go get a veteran guard and let's roll. That's how
I would feel in the front office. And I was
talking to someone a couple of people this week about this.
I was like, do you think they know? But do
you think they know that they should just go get
a guard and go get one of these proven guards

(01:18:51):
that is wanting a ring And maybe it's Will Hernandez,
maybe it's Dalton Reisner or maybe again I'm gonna mention
Brandon Sheriff because if he wants to play football this year,
he should absolutely being stripes. Of course he should. It
would make a ton of sense. It's the best fit
out there, and it's the best fit out there for
a guy that's trying to win a ring. I E

(01:19:11):
Noah Fan, and that's what I keep reminding myself. It's like,
no a Fan had options and he chose Cincinnati. It's
not necessarily going to start in Cincinnati, but he's going
to matter for Cincinnati, and I can't wait to ask
Tony Pike about that coming up in a bit. But yeah, absolutely,
I'm totally in on adding Noah Fan. And Trey's around now,

(01:19:37):
like get it, get it done, get that over the
finish line. Because as I was watching Trey coach up
Shamar Stewart and then I'm watching Shamar Stewart and how
big of a physical freaky is and man, he is
the physical freakiest of the freaks. I mean, Trey Hendrickson
is a really good athlete, a high end athlete. Chamar
is on another planet. And so I think about this team,

(01:19:57):
I think about what they've done, I think about all
the drama. Think about the months and months and months
that and I'm not sure there's anyone in town, honestly,
anyone in town that talks, writes and commentates on Bengals moves,
what they could do, what they couldn't do. And a
few months ago we did the report card here on
ESPN fifteen thirty when I was in from O and

(01:20:19):
I said, C minus. I did it on my show
and at the Jungle on the YouTube channel Cincinnati Bengals Talk,
and is CEC minus. Here's an average offseason. And that's
with keeping seeing in Jamar, which it's pretty hard to
do to be average when you make those moves because
they're huge moves. But they've slowly worked their way into

(01:20:40):
getting into a territory now because Trey isn't getting traded.
I think they get something done with Trey. They've really
added to their tight end room. I can't understate or overstate.
Excuse me, I can't overstate how important I think no
offense could mean at times this season. And we'll have

(01:21:01):
plenty of time today to discuss that. And so I
look at that, I look at the tight end room.
I look at how Joe and You're gonna hear from
Joe Burrow in just a few minutes on that entire unit,
on his confidence in the offense, his confidence in the defense.
And honestly, I'm looking at the coaches and how these

(01:21:22):
guys have responded to Al Golden responded to Scott Peters,
and it's so interesting because the Al Golden move that
they make the Al Golden move, and then he keeps
the safeties coach in Jordan Kovacs, he keeps the cornerbacks coach,
and Chuck Burke's I know those guys had options. They

(01:21:43):
opted to stay. And so when I think about all
of that and I put it all together, and I
look at it, and I'm like, man, man, oh man,
this secondary is responding. Joe Burrow praised them, Jordan Battle
looks as confident as he's ever looked, and they're making
plays against T Higgins and against Jamar Chase and Andre

(01:22:04):
josavajh and guys that are established or All pros or
Pro Bowlers or high end players in this league. I'm like,
I think the Bengals have a chance to get an
A this offseason. Get two more moves to make one.
A lot of people expect you to make resigned. Trey Hendrickson,
he's in camp, he's there, get the deal done. But

(01:22:25):
the other one, I do wonder, I do wonder do
they know? Do they know that this is something they
should do? Maybe maybe they do, maybe they don't. We
will see, but it is mighty mighty interesting. I'm James Orpine.
I'm in from all. I'm with you till six o'clock
the day. I'm really excited to be here. It's always
fun jumping on ESPN fifteen thirty. I have thoughts on

(01:22:47):
Noah Fans that we're going to get to. I have
some thoughts on the Reds that we're going to get to.
I also have some thoughts on Tony Pike. I'm hoping
to fit all of this in between now and six o'clock.
I'm hoping Tarren and we can do that, that we
can have our happy hour as well little Mike Ultra
happy hour, and we'll see. We'll see if we can

(01:23:09):
fit all of it in between now and six o'clock.
But what I do know is we're gonna talk plenty
of Bengals. What I do know is that Joe Burrow
seems pleased with how things are going. I have thoughts
on Joe. I have thoughts on what he had to
say this week. You're going to hear from Joe, and
I'm going to react as well that as we roll on,

(01:23:30):
but hear from Joe Burrow coming up next. I'm James
Rapine INFORMO and this is ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (01:23:36):
Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

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Speaker 2 (01:24:16):
Welcome back to Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty. I'm James Rapine
in FROMO. I'm with you till six o'clock. And Joe
Burrow to me is having his most consistent trained his
most consistent day in and day out when I watch him,
And I've watched every every Joe Burrow trading camp pass.
I'm making sure, but I believe I have. Literally since

(01:24:40):
he started, I haven't missed a practice. I've been there
every day. So every training camp pass he's ever thrown,
essentially outside of some of the warm up throws when
I'm watching other positions, but every team drove all of that.
I've been there, watched it. Most consistent training camp he's
ever had, and he talked about that this week. But
that doesn't really prize you, does it. I mean, it

(01:25:02):
doesn't surprise me. He had a healthy offseason. He was
arguably the best quarterback in football last year through for
an NFL, leading in career high forty nine hundred and
eighteen yards. Believe it was without looking Terran. You can
fact check that if you want. Two forty three touchdowns,
also led the NFL and set a career high in
completion percentage as well, over seventy percent of his passes,

(01:25:26):
most completions in the NFL. Like all these things, and
so the further removed he gets from the risk, you
would think it would get better. You would think he'd
be smarter, he would have seen more, he'd be stronger, bigger, faster,
those adjectives that he always mentions in news conferences, and
I think all of that is true. Like it's a
surprise that Joe Burrow is having a great drink. He
should Joe Burrows twenty eight years old, he should be

(01:25:48):
entering his prime right now. He's healthy, he's moving well,
and I do think that that is great to see
what He had an off platform throw, off platform throw
yesterday and I posted it on social media. But he
had to step on the step up in the pocket,
launched it deep downfield. Really a perfect ball to Jermaine
Burton and Jordan Battle with some sticky coverage. Jermaine got

(01:26:08):
one hand on it didn't get too You could say, oh,
well it's like a foot too far. It's about as
good of a ball as you could get in that situation.
And uh, it's just like man Joe, like he's just
playing well. So that probably doesn't surprise you. But what
might surprise you is how well his receivers behind Jamar

(01:26:28):
Chase and t Higgins are playing, whether it's Andre Josabash
or Jermaine Burton or Isaiah Williams or Charlie Jones and
Mitchell Tinsley as well getting a shout out from Joe.
It's how competitive training camp practice has been. I mean,
the defense has gotten its fair share of stops. The
defense has gotten its fair share of Nah, you're not

(01:26:51):
gonna get that, and they let you know about it.
And that's what I love. I love that Jordan Battle
is gonna sit there and look Jeremarr chase in his
and say catch the ball. Catch the ball in front
of everybody. And obviously that clip went viral and you
have that play, you have all these other plays where

(01:27:11):
the defense is talking. They're letting the offense know. And
I think it's great because they're getting stops, they're playing
at a high level, even though Joe Burrow is playing
at a high level, and it's gonna make the Bengals
offense better. A competitive practice that's back and forth every day,
and that's what these practices have been. They've truly been
back and forth. I've covered training camp for a really

(01:27:32):
long time. These are the most back and forth that
I've seen play to play. Most of the time, it's
day to day offense gets the edge on the defense
and then they just kick the crap out of the
defense for most of practice, or on the other side,
it's the defense has the edge and then that's it. No,
this is play to play. Things can change very very quickly.
It's been a lot of fun to watch, and Joe

(01:27:54):
Burrow has certainly taken notice. He talked about the defense
this week. He also talked about andre Yosabash, who continues
to develop, continues to grow. Here's what Joe Burrow had
to say about andre Yosebash when asked about his development.

Speaker 5 (01:28:09):
Yeah, he's having a great camp and everybody knows the
I'm gonna throw a number one at number five, you know.
But there's a lot of teams that do a really
good job of, you know, taking those two guys away.
And when you have a guy like andre you have
a guy like Mike man Chuck both really stepping up

(01:28:30):
this camp. You know, we're we're as deep as we've
been at the receiver position since I've been here. And
then you have guys like Mitch and and Isaiah having
great camps as well. You know, we somebody goes down,
you can put somebody right there that we have a

(01:28:51):
lot of faith in and has executed really well in
training camp. Obviously, you know some of those guys don't
have a ton of game reps yet, but you know,
when they continue to make plays in practice when they
we haven't had a ton of mental errors that receiver
ones or two is this this camp either, And that's
very rare. I think the young guys are doing a

(01:29:12):
great job studying the playbook, studying the script, knowing their jobs,
and so you know, I feel great about where where
that room is. And you know there's going to be injuries.
Guys are going to go down, and we have guys
that we can plod right in.

Speaker 6 (01:29:28):
It's easier to make those back shoulders and those scene
throws to a guy with Andreke's body tight and size.

Speaker 5 (01:29:34):
Yeah, he's doing a great job of locating it, finding
it and making an aggressive play on the ball. And
I would say when he got here that was not
his strong student. He's worked really hard at that to
make it a stronger area of his game, and so
he continues to show that in practice. He's going to
continue to get opportunities for that in the game. And

(01:29:56):
you you build that trust and then you're going to
get those opportunities. So he's going to keep keep doing
that and I'm going to keep trying to get in
the ball.

Speaker 7 (01:30:03):
You talked a little bit about it earlier, the defense
and the younger guys in the Tennessee the red zone period.

Speaker 2 (01:30:08):
Obviously, you de cooinator trying to turn around was a
struggle last year.

Speaker 11 (01:30:12):
Offense because what did you see in the first one
week or.

Speaker 7 (01:30:14):
So camp with that scheme and the way they plays
standing out to you early.

Speaker 4 (01:30:20):
On about that year.

Speaker 5 (01:30:21):
They seem very confident in what they're doing, and you
know they're not having a ton of mental errors either
on that side of the ball. And you know, with
a new defense, a complicated defense and young players, you
know you're usually going to see that, but really not
the dbs are understanding the nuances of the coverage really well,
understanding where their help is, where their help isn't playing

(01:30:43):
their leverages really sound. And then you know defensive line,
the I think Miles and Joseph are having a really
good camp.

Speaker 4 (01:30:53):
T J.

Speaker 5 (01:30:53):
Sledding is going to be a great player for us.
The energy he brings, the fiscality he brings, and I'm
really started to watch that on Sundays and then the games,
the stunts, the things that they're doing on the defensive
side of the ball to create pressure has It's something
that you know, I've gone against for the last several years,

(01:31:17):
and I know how hard that is to deal with
from a quarterback quarterbacking perspective, and they're doing it at
a at a high level. So that's exciting to see too.
So then when we roll ninety one back out there,
I think it's it's got a chance to be a
special year.

Speaker 2 (01:31:32):
I was just about to ask you about that.

Speaker 8 (01:31:33):
I mean, how much do you think about the fact
that when with all those guys playing as well as
they have support, have adding training, that makes how much
do you does that cross your mind as we kind
of think about the season.

Speaker 5 (01:31:42):
Yeah, I mean when when they're when they're doing what
they are right now up up front without without him
out there, you know, it's just gonna go up another
level when he does. You know, he brings to the table.

Speaker 9 (01:31:53):
Joe, you said you like with the teams at the
start the press conference. It's part of that, like just
the raised and raising the standard across the organization And
where does that start and are you a big part
of raising that standard as well?

Speaker 5 (01:32:05):
I try to set the standard every day with my preparation,
with my play, with my discipline, my process, weight room,
training room, everything. I just try to be as consistent
and as disciplined as I can trying to set that
standard and try to be a resource for some of
the guys that are trying to get to that point.

(01:32:27):
And you know, there's a lot of guys that you
can tell are hungry to achieve, and so that's when
you have guys that are hungry like that, I want
to take in information, want to create their own process
to be great. You know, usually it's going to work
out for guys like that.

Speaker 2 (01:32:42):
Really good stuff there, really really good stuff there. I
thought it was worth playing that that snippet there four
minutes or so of Joe Burrow, whether it's on the defense,
whether it's on really a wide receiver corps that I
do think is sixty. I mean, you have said the
locks Jermaine Burton looks like he's dialed in, focused and

(01:33:04):
ready to do what they need him to do, and
he has no chance at wide receiver three. It's so
funny that, like I because I'll still I'll get tweets
like how's the wide receiver three battle? And I'm like,
what wide receiver three battle. There's no wide receiver three battle.
He's battling for that wide wide receiver four spot. And
I think he's got a firm lead there and he'll
be that. But that's a great problem to have because

(01:33:28):
if Jermaine Burton's wide receiver four and dialed in and
playing well and able to give you that deep element,
and then you have guys behind him that can return
and help you on special teams but also and play
a different variety of different roles. And Charlie Jones and
Isaiah Williams feel pretty good about that room. I know
I do, and I know that Joe Burrow does. Speaking

(01:33:49):
of Joe Burrow, let's talk about the latest edition to
the Bengals offense, Noah Fense. We will do that as
you roll on, James Repine Inframo. This is ESPN fifteen.

Speaker 1 (01:34:04):
Thirty, Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

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(01:34:31):
lanes are blocked on that ramp. Southbound two seventy five
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Speaker 13 (01:34:42):
This report is sponsored by RAP.

Speaker 2 (01:34:45):
Welcome back to Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty The Training Camp
Report until coming up in just a bit of ramer.
I'm James repene Inframo, grazy to be with you until
six o'clock and let's talk. Let's talk about it. Say
you want to talk about it, Let's talk about it.
No offense. The Bengals added a guy that's going to

(01:35:07):
matter for them this year. Noah Fan is going to
matter signing him. I get it. On the surface, a
lot of people are gonna say, oh, tight end, tight end,
tight end, Yeah, tight end, tight end, and he's going
to matter. Look at the Bengals tight ends. It's so
funny to me. No one is confident in the Bengals
tight end room. Are that confident? People make fun of

(01:35:29):
Drew Sample, People say Mike is sick. He is just
a receiver. No one is really in on Tanner Hudson
and Tanner McLaughlin can't get on the field. And with
that said, there are still people pushing back on the
Noah fan thing, at least somewhat. No, the Bengals got
better this week. They did. It's funny. I was thinking
about the Reds and the trade deadline, and ultimately they

(01:35:52):
were aggressive. They got better. They improved their team. Even
if it wasn't in the way you wanted or I wanted,
and it damn sure wasn't the way I wanted, they
did improve their team. And so I get that. And
so with the Bengals, and I opened up and I've
talked multiple times during the show about the guard spot,
and I'm gonna ask Tony Pike about the guard spot

(01:36:12):
coming up. But just because you have a need elsewhere
doesn't mean you can't get better at a spot where
Noah fan comes in and is a borderline starter, like
he's going to play a lot for you. Is not
like some people are gonna say, oh, he's tight end three.
It's like no, not really, Like do you think Eric
always tight end three last year? By midyear? Like Noah
is going to Matt he's going to play, and I

(01:36:36):
think that the Bengals had a clear role for him
and they sold him on that during the visit. Otherwise
I'm not sure he comes here even with the Joe
Burrow effect. I think it's role, offense, the ability, all
of those things rolled into one, and he was like, hell, yes,
sign me up, I'm in. That's what I think. And
I think it's also a reminder that yes, the Joe

(01:36:58):
Burrow effect is real. Yeah, the Bengals are a destination,
and yes they need to use that to their advantage,
not take it for granted, but use it to their advantage.
We'll see if they can do that. But noahfen is
a Bengal. I'm hoping we hear from Noah Fant tomorrow
ahead that Saturday night practice. By the way, I know
we do a lot of broadcasting here from the Holy
Grail here on ESPN fifteen thirty. I will be at

(01:37:20):
the Holy Grail after that practice at eight thirty, So
come say Hif you don't know who I am, that's fine.
I'm James Rpenengals Talk dot Com, the laft On Bengals podcast,
Infra Mode Today, also Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube. Noah
fan is going to matter, and I'm going to twist
this and talk a little bit about the Reds because
the Reds they make three trades. They make three trades,

(01:37:44):
and I'm like, all right, if you would have told
me two days ago they're going to make three trades,
I would have laughed at you. And I don't think
many people expected them to make a ton of moves.
But they made moves, and I'll take it. I'll take it.
Doesn't mean I have to be the most excited about it. Obviously,
you would have wanted a bigger bat on everyday bat,

(01:38:06):
an outfield bat. I did it. They were never going
to do that. The payroll limitations that they put on
themselves are part of that. It's the same thing with
the Bengals, just in a different way. The Bengals put
themselves in a different cap category than the rest of

(01:38:27):
the NFL because they focus on the way structures of
certain deals are and they don't want to do it
any other way because they want to keep cat flexibility
in the future at the max, like to the max,
not some cat flexibility. Cat flexibility to the max. And
the Reds they operate in a different way but they

(01:38:48):
put themselves in their own Well, we have to salary match,
we have to operate this way. We can't do that.
We're not gonna be able to outspend. We're not gonna
in fine whatever, Like there's gonna be plenty of other people.
I want to talk about this for hours and hours
and hours and hours and hours, and I get it.
But if that's your limitation, which I don't accept, and

(01:39:09):
I don't think you accept, but fine, if that's your limitation,
all right, So what are you getting with that limitation?
And I do think the Reds got better, they upgraded
their roster. Is it where I would want to go?
Like what I Sometimes you just got to say things
out loud, and I'm a big believer in that. It's
just say it out loud. Do you want to commit
to a third basement that can't hit for the next
five years? Crickets, crickets tearing crickets. There are crickets in

(01:39:37):
the studio. So that's tough, and so it's tough. Not
mad about it. I liked that they made a move,
is it my favorite move?

Speaker 4 (01:39:50):
No?

Speaker 2 (01:39:51):
Did they get better? Yes, that's it? And so I
think there are some people that may feel that way
about the Noah Fan move. Is it your favorite move? No,
because you're probably the guard or another pass rusher or
another of this or another that safety corner. Fine, But
did the Bengals get better? Absolutely they did. Did come
available from a first rounder that has had four hundred
plus yards receiving in each of his seasons? Absolutely did?

(01:40:14):
Does he have a lot to prove so he can
get one more pay day? Absolutely? That was he attracted
to come into Cincinnati because of Joe Burrow in the
offense and how he would fit in this past first offense. Absolutely.
Does he want to chase a ring? Absolutely, all of
those things are there. Did he have other options? Absolutely?
Miami was frothing at the mouth to get Noah Fan.
According to people in the league, they wanted no A
Fan so bad because he's a plug and play starter

(01:40:36):
boom and that. Mike McDaniel offense and no offense said No,
I don't want Miami. I don't want the money they're offering.
I will take what the Bengals are offering and play
with Joe Burrow, played with Jamar Chase, play with Mike KASICKI,
played with T Higgins. Play with these guys and play
for Zach Taylor. It's pretty nice. That is pretty pretty nice.
We'll see if it works out. But the Bengals got better.

(01:40:59):
Our training camp report is next, which means it's time
to talk about the Bengals improving and upgrading. We will
do that with Tony Pike as we roll on. James
rpin In FROMO. This is Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

Speaker 1 (01:41:12):
Cincinnati's ESPN fifteen thirty.

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Speaker 20 (01:41:48):
This report is sponsored fifteen thirty with the latest from
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Speaker 10 (01:41:55):
Julie feeling good. It's Skyline time on Europe, home of
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Speaker 2 (01:42:06):
This is the Training Camp Report with Tony Peike. I'm
James R. Ten in promo and Tony, I gotta be honest.
I talked about it earlier in the show, and I
get it. It's it's Bengals and we're talking Bengals and
it's Bengals season. But I give you a lot of grief,
so I must say, I'm really really excited. And I

(01:42:28):
couldn't say. No one is more deserving than you about
being in the UC Hall of Fame. So congrats.

Speaker 12 (01:42:36):
It's always Hall of Fame season, James. So no, I
appreciate that it is a it's something I'm like, you
have time to think about it. I'm obviously, you know,
a product of what's been around me, so my parents,
growing up, my family, my friends, teammates, coaches like the
trainers that you see who literally had to piece my

(01:42:56):
body together for five years that I could even play
on the field. And I've always had a great support system.
So I celebrate them, and yesterday that's what it was
for me to be able to hear from so many
people and talk to so many people of my past
was really cool and kind of icing on the cake.

Speaker 2 (01:43:14):
How hard was it the juggle doing these reports and
then also realizing that you're in the UC Hall of Fame?

Speaker 11 (01:43:20):
It was different. It was a lot different.

Speaker 12 (01:43:25):
I was more mad at myself for not having a
and understanding that it was happening, because looking back, so
many different things happened over the last couple of days
that I should have I should have picked up on
that I didn't. But you know, that's the grind James
of training camp season. We're grinding right now for Bengals
training camp.

Speaker 2 (01:43:44):
All right, let's talk a little Bengals. The Bengals sign
Noah Fan yesterday. I think he's going to matter. I
really like the addition. Am I right? Am I wrong?
And what do you think of it?

Speaker 11 (01:43:54):
You're right?

Speaker 12 (01:43:55):
I loved the addition because you think back to last
year there were only eight teams in the NFL. No
pointed this out that there was eight teams in the
NFL that operated more out of twelve personnel than the Bengals,
and a lot of when the Bengals did that was
when Eric Hall was healthy. They couldn't run out of
twelve without Eric Hall the way that they wanted to.

(01:44:16):
So now you bring in Noah Fan, you make yourself
more versatile. You open up the run pass game. You
have more running lanes because you got bigger bodies in there.
You can match protect. I know they're not the best
pass blockers or run blockers, but you can max protect
and get some eight man protections. It sets up play
action for Joe Burrow. But what I like more about

(01:44:37):
anything if you think like the base level of twelve
personnel right, two tight ends, two receivers, one running back.
It forces the defensive coordinator to make a decision. If
you're a decordinator and the Bengals go twelve, do you
match that personnel and bring in your bigger bodies f
linebackers And if so, my goodness, I like Noah Fan

(01:44:57):
and Mike Kesicki versus opposing linebackers and coverage. Or you
can come in and say, no, we're gonna stay small,
we're gonna stay nickel, we're gonna stay dime. And if so,
I know they're not great blockers, but I like Mike
is sicky and no a Fan being able to block
corners or linebackers. So I think it it are or safeties.
I mean so, I think it gives them such a

(01:45:18):
good dynamic of more balance. They're able to stay in
that more and you really put the emphasis and the
onus on defensive coordinators to have to make some hard decisions.

Speaker 2 (01:45:28):
Yeah, I think that. To me, it's a reminder of
the power of Joe Burrow. And I don't know exactly
what was offered by the Miami Dolphins, but I do
think the Miami Dolphins made no a fan an offer,
and history would say that it was more than what
the Bengals offered. Maybe I'm wrong, No, I would Yeah,
I don't think I am. And it is a reminder.

(01:45:51):
Like you know, as we look at the rest of
the offense, a lot of people say, oh, well, don't
sign a tight end, sign a guard, and it's like, well,
the attractive they're a destination. If they do want to
sign a guard, they will be able to get one
of the best guards available for probably less than other
teams would be able to get them for. I think
fans an example of that. And by the way, I

(01:46:12):
do think that they should add a guard.

Speaker 12 (01:46:14):
Oh boy, listen, there there has been a lot of
good through training camp so far. I think the way
the defense has played, and not just making plays, because
last year we talked about the defense making plays as well.
But they look confident, they look sure of themselves, they
look fast, and they they've done it without Trey Hendrickson yet,
which again is a whole different conversation. But I love

(01:46:37):
what I've seen out of the defense. I think Jermaine
Burton has been a very welcome site. I think no
offense is going to fit in well. If you're asking
me what's my biggest concern a week and a couple
of days in the camp, it's it's by far the
offensive line, because I've seen.

Speaker 11 (01:46:53):
Way too many.

Speaker 12 (01:46:53):
You posted the video a couple of days ago of
the pocket completely collapsing around Joe Burrow and no offense
to the guys, and we want Osai and Murphy and
these guys to take the next step. Hendrickson's not out there,
Miles Garrett's not out there.

Speaker 11 (01:47:09):
TJ.

Speaker 12 (01:47:09):
Watt's not out there. My biggest concern right now, and
the one thing that derails this whole train, James, is
Joe Burrow not being able to play seventeen games because
he's on his back too much. So I know it's
early in camp. You got a new offensive line coach,
you got a new scheme, you got a new personnel.
So I'm not already saying panic button, make a move.

(01:47:30):
But if we're having the same conversation at this time
next week, then I think you have to legitimately consider it.

Speaker 2 (01:47:36):
Yeah. I wish they would just just to finish it off.
I think if you would have told me in January,
all right, this is how the Bengals offseason is going
to work, and they're going to do what they've done.
Plus they're going to add a Brandon Sheriff for a
Will Hernandez or one of these guards that's out there
and resigned Trey Hendrickson. I'd be on board. Like I'd say,

(01:47:57):
oh my god, that's a hell of an offseason, Like
is as dramatic as it was, all the things that
have gone on. If they can get trade done and
sign a guard, I would say mission accomplished. You've put
yourself in a position to be one of the best
teams in the NFL. I'm really hoping that the next
time you're doing these training camp reports on fifteen thirty

(01:48:17):
so Monday, that we're talking about a guard edition. I'm
not sure that'll happen, but I would love for it
to happen.

Speaker 12 (01:48:24):
Yeah, I think that is the one missing piece. And
there'd be people that say, well, what's the contingency plan
in the secondary? What if the safeties don't work out?
And I get all of that, But to this point,
I've not talked much about Genostone.

Speaker 11 (01:48:37):
That's a good thing.

Speaker 12 (01:48:39):
We saw Jordan Battle in our lap the other day
make a great play against Jamar Chase. The fact that
we don't talk much about the safeties, that's a good thing.
We are talking about the offensive line, and as long
as I've mentioned these training camp reports, as long as
I've done these training camp reports, unfortunately, a lot of
the conversation is I just don't feel good enough about
the offensive line. More often than not, in the years,

(01:49:01):
we've seen that has been the case during the regular season.
How many how many times last year, James, you're watching
the game and you see a ball completed and you're
holding your breath, right, you're holding your breath and hoping
that what they're going to pan back to Joe Burrow
and he's going to be getting off the turf and
he's healthy because there were just that many hits that happened.

(01:49:21):
I don't want to live in that scenario. I don't
want to continue to push that. I want to have
confidence that man, they've done everything they needed to do
to make sure number nine is upright.

Speaker 2 (01:49:31):
Good stuff there from the Hall of Famer. Our training
camp report is in the books, and so is this show.
If you missed Andre Josabash, if you missed any of
the thoughts on Noah Fan on what this Bengals team
could do, you missed Joe Burrow, well we have it
all podcasting for you on the iHeartRadio app. But that
is going to do it for Tarren Bland. I'm James Arpen.
Thank you so much for listening. And if you're looking

(01:49:53):
for more Bengals coverage, of course we have you covered
on Bengals Talk dot Com, Cincinnati Bengals Talk on YouTube,
the Lockdown Bengals Podcast. Until next time, Thank you so
much for listening. I'm James Erpine and this is ESPN
fifteen thirty. Hey, get ready to start buying the way