Bengals Booth Podcast: Can't Keep A Good Man Down

Well Ken Anderson, Ken Riley or any other former Bengals get in anytime soon. That discussion is coming up. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Prime Sport, the official fan, travel and hospitality partner of the Cincinnati Bengals. And here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since a face to

face interview. One of the casualties of the COVID nineteen pandemic has been the opportunity to interview players and coaches in the locker room during the Bengals offseason program. Fortunately, I've been able to talk to guys over the phone for this podcast, but it's just not the same and I miss that personal interaction. My interview with Jeff Hobson

this week was face to face, albeit with masks. It could be a while before that's permitted again with players and coaches, and I really look forward to that day. I will not take that access for granted in the future. Now let's get to this week's guests. My first conversation is with Rodney Anderson, one of Cincinnati's three sixth round

draft picks prior to last season. The former Oklahoma running back missed his rookie year after tearing his acl in the bengals final preseason game, marking the fourth time in the last five years that he suffered a season ending injury. In his first year with the Sooners, it was a broken leg on a kickoff After having only one carry. In his second year, Rodney broke a vertebrae in his

neck in preseason camp. In his third year, he was healthy and ran for more than eleven hundred yards in thirteen touchdowns, including a two hundred one yard game against Georgia in the Rose Bowl, and that was the year that his teammate Baker Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy, so Oklahoma didn't exactly emphasize the run. In his fourth year. Anderson opened the season with one hundred yards on only five carries in Week one before tearing his ACL in his right knee in Week two, the same knee he

injured again last year. Last month, Rodney posted a video on his Instagram feed that shows him running and cutting around cones on a football field, and I spoke to him this week about rebounding from his most recent setback. Roddy, it's been about nine months since your knee injury. How are things progressing. Oh, they're going really well. Um, you know, I'm I'm back. I'm back cutting and you know, running

full speed, So it's going it's going pretty well. The rules for using team facilities were different for players rehabbing from injuries. Were you going into Paul Brown Stadium on a regular basis right up until the March shutdown? And and have you returned? I was going up until the March shutdown, but as soon as the whole lockdown thing started happening, I haven't been back since. So I've just been you know, face timing with the trainers and just

you know, going about it that way. Nick Cosgray has referred to you as the perfect patient. In what way do you think that that's the case. I don't know. They make it really easy to show up and you know, do rehab and you know, get my work done. They've just been great staff and really helpful. We're visiting with Rodney Anderson. What's it been like for you to be

in Cincinnati for the offseason. I have no complaints. I've really grown to love Cincinnati, and I like the area that I live in, and so I kind of made it my home and I've been a joining You were spectacular in your NFL preseason debut last year in Week three against the Giants, and then just a few days later, you tour the same ACL against the Colts in the final preseason game that that you tore in your final year at Oklahoma. Can you describe the emotional roller coaster?

Of course, it was, you know, very disappointing that, you know, I didn't get to play my first NFL season, but you know, God has plans that I can't understand, so I just kind of got a roll with the punches and take each day as it comes. You were part of the team and took part in meetings last year. Was that beneficial? Definitely? I mean, you know, staying in the the meeting rooms whenever I was able to, you know, be more mobile after my surgery was definitely a huge help.

Helped me gain a better understanding of the offense and you know, just things as a whole. You know, it kept me connected with my teammates as well. So I guess I didn't get to do anything you know, physically with them, but mentally I was. I would consider myself, you know, on the same page. Were there any teammates or coaches that you learned a lot from? Yeah, definitely. Um, you know, just to name one off top of my head,

Jamal Singleton, my running back coach. I mean he's he's very specific, he pays attention to He's very big on the little details, and so I feel like having somebody like that in my cornering just really helps not only me, but you know the rest of the running backs as well. He's such a positive guy. Was that helpful? Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, you know, especially on the days you know where I wish that I could have been out there at practice, or you know, we're watching game tape and

I wish I could have been in the game. You know, having a positive coach, you know, makes it easier, you know, to show up and listen to meetings. Rodney. For people that don't know your injury history, you've had a broken leg, broken vertebrae in your neck, and two torn acls your one healthy season at Oklahoma, or you're among the best players in college football. Do you ask why me? No, I mean it's it's tough. I mean, you don't you

don't want it to happen to you. But you know, like I said, guy has plans that we really don't understand. So you know, I just I just try to trust in that, and you know, whatever whatever happens next is, I'll just take it as it comes. The Bengals did not draft any running backs. Did you look at that as a vote of confidence for the guys that are currently on the roster? I suppose so. But at the same time, anything can happen, and you never know how people are going to perform, or even how me as

a player is going to perform. So you know, I have faith in myself and I have faith in the other guys in the room, and I think regardless of the outcome, it's going to be good. Ones. Three of the guys in that room are former Sooners, yourself, Joe Mixon, and some I J. P. Ryan. Is that a point of pride? Uh, yeah, definitely, I mean it's I mean, I feel like it just shows that you really puts out quality backs and um, I think that it's going to be beneficial to the team to have some nu backfield.

What have you thought of Team Zoom meetings in the off season. They've been interesting. I mean, you know, it's it's a great platform to get information and for all of us to you know, I guess kind of be in the same room. But you know, I've liked it. I've enjoyed it. Do you miss anything about a normal NFL offseason program? Obviously? Yeah. I mean, if I had to choose, I would rather be in the facilities doing things as normal. But you know, it is what it is and kind of gotta do it's got to do.

We're visiting with running back Rodney Anderson. You probably were not a huge Joe Burrow fan last December when he threw seven touchdown passes in the first half against Oklahoma. But what is your reaction to having him in Cincinnati now to lead this team going forward. You know, obviously I haven't met him in person yet, but just over the zoom calls, he's been, you know, very confident. He could tell he's a great leader, and you know, just

he seems like an overall good guy too. So I feel like he's a great addition to the team and I can't wait to see what he can do. And weren't all allowed to be back in the city. What did you think when you watch that playoff game against Oklahoma? You know there's a lot of screaming at the TV, But you know, I mean, what can I do here in Cincinnati? All I can do is screaming my TV? I guess I mentioned that Giants preseason game last year. You really gave Bengals fans a glimpse of what you're

capable of doing. What did that do for you to get into that game after your long rehab and dazzle, particularly in the passing game, It was just a lot of fun. You know, I, like you said, I hadn't been on the field in a minute, so you know, it felt really good to get out there and you know,

get a little loose. Describe what you are doing now in terms of your workouts, your rehab, etc. Well, like I said, I stay on FaceTime pretty consistently with Nick Cosgray, the trainer, and he told me what to do as far as my therapy and rehab is concerned. And then I've been working at this training facility in Kentucky called Peak Fast, you know, just conditioning and you know, strength

stuff pretty much Monday through Saturday. I mentioned the Team Zoom meetings Rodney, and in the past week the team has used those meetings to address the murder of George Floyd. Do you think those meetings were helpful? I do think that they were helpful specifically for the player and the coaches who were in them. And you know, I think that um we gain we were able to gain a better understanding of each other and our backgrounds. Has the

worldwide reaction given you hope? I think that the attention that it's getting is positive because, you know, people need to know that black men and women are getting killed in the street by law enforcement officers. You know, they're supposed to be there to protect us, and you know that's that's not been the case. So I think the exposure is good, you know, just from the sense that

you know, people are finally starting to see. Tell us a little bit more about what you've done this offseason aside from rehabbing, I mean, aside from training and rehabbing and all that and meetings. I just I just hang out with my girlfriend, Kaitlin Cox, and I have a cat and a dog, and I started a garden, and so has kind of been. It's been keeping me busy aside from football. Do you have a green thumb. I don't want to brag on myself, but my tomato plants

are looking pretty good right now. You'll be one of a few players in the Bengals locker room that can discuss his gardening skills. I'm happy to discuss my gardening skills at any time. Just to wrap things up, describe how you're feeling at this point as you get ready for your second NFL season right now, I just I'm you know, I'm anxious to get started. I feel confident in myself, and I also feel confident in the team. I feel like it's going to be a way better

season than last year. You know, I just think I think it's gonna come together. Rodney, thanks so much for the time. Best of luck with rehab, and best of luck with that garden. Yeah, no problem. Rodney turns twenty four the day before the Bengals season opener, and here's hoping that the football gods bless him with a healthy season. If you don't remember that preseason game against the Giants last year, just search for Rodney Anderson on the Bengals

website and watch the three highlights that are available. He has the ability to be a big weapon in Cincinnati's offense. Before we get to our next conversation, here's a quick reminder that you can take your Bengals pride to the next level in twenty twenty with an official Bengals fan package from Prime Sport. When Ken Riley passed away last weekend, it led many of us to ask again why he and Ken Anderson are not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Perhaps the best person who answer that question

is Bengals dot Com editor Jeff Butch Hobson. Every NFL team has a media representative on the Hall of Fame committee, and Jeff represents Cincinnati. I spoke to him about the Hall of Fame and other Bengals news this week, which the passing of Ken Riley last weekend has led to a new examination of his case for the Hall of Fame. You're the Bengals representative on the selection committee to vote

on the modern candidates. But since their careers ended more than twenty five years ago, Ken Riley and Ken Anderson are in the hands of the Senior Committee. Can you explain how that process works and do you think either or both will eventually get in. Yes, Hordy, it's the Senior Committee is made up of nine nine members of the Selection Committee. It's a subcommittee basically the Selection committee,

and that rotates every year. There are five guys, you know, that rotates with five guys that actually have the final vote. The nine guys narrow it down to about you know, I'd say to about fifteen or twenty guys, and then they vote on it and you know, they get it.

They pare it down and with a vote and then the five gentlemen discuss it in Canton in August and usually there's one or two Hall of famers in there advising them the big time, the big time frame to do it now, I you know, to make a pitch to these guys is in May and June before they you know Kennon, both Kenni's have always been on the top twenty list. And the answer I always get from these guys as well, you know they're in the queue. There's two of the more qualified candidates, but they have

to wait their turn. Now what that means I have never really been able to get my arms around that. There's been a lot of guys from the fifties that have gone in, a lot of defensive players. I know they feel like defensive players have been short changed in the Hall, so which doesn't explain again Ken Riley being left out. But you know, my only hope is that they've gotten who they've wanted to get in from the fifties and sixties and now they're starting to work on

the seventies and eighties. But you know, again they say that, and then you know Ken Stabler get in a couple of years ago, when really Kenny Anderson is just a good candidate, if not better than Stabler. So to me, the big pitch with Kenny and the two Kennies, and not just because their careers are certainly worthy of it, and then numbers or something worthy of it. But the Bengals have the fewest members of any team in the

Hall of Fame. They only have one guy who played his entire career in Cincinnati, Anthony Munio's two Charlie Joyner and Torrell Owens. Charlie Joyner played there midway through his career. Torrell Owens played the last year of his career there. So, I you know, and this is always a fight for guys to live to see the day, you know. And that is the heartbreaking thing here with Kenny Riley, I know he's gonna get in. I've had these guys. Tell me, look, Ken Anderson and Ken Riley going to get in at

some point. That was a tough break too when not one of them got in and the expanded class of twenty, but there was a lot of politics going on there. They seemed more interested in getting in players from the thirties and forties. You didn't even have a quarterback going well, if you count the Green Bay the guy from Green Bay who was basically, you know, a wing te quarterback.

He was done huts since you know, quarterback, which is fine, I guess, but you know, for for Kenny Anderson to still be out there and Kenny Riley after an expanded class of twenty. Hard to swallow. When you say the time to make the pitch to these guys as may or June, what do you mean by that? Who's making the pitch and who are they pitching? I guess it's I'm making I guess I'm making the pitch or all

or all supporters of Ken Rile and Ken Anderson. I think that's been one of the biggest mysteries, is when I actually do these guys sit down and do it. And it's the spring, it's now, so you know, I make a pitch, and I think guys like Collinsworth and Anthony Munio's make a pitch. But these guys. The thing is, these guys know Ira Coffman, who is a new who is a new Senior committeeman who represents the Tampa market. You know, he's all over Ken Riley, you know, because

he's he's a hometown guy. So I know Irison, you know, And I know all these guys are in every They send me back emails after I send him something. Yeah I know, yeah, I know. Well, oh okay, I think I think they know. It's just uh, you know, it's just uh. I hope, I really pray for the day that not only that the Anderson family, but the Riley family can go and Kenny's got Kenny's get four grandsons,

you know. I hope to God they're there with their parents and White and Kenny's wife Barbara, and it will be a little bitter sweet, but hopefully the ephicies will be on switet. You do get to vote on the more modern candidates, So let's talk about some of those guys, Willie Anderson, Corey Dillon, Chad Johnson. What kind of support do they have among the voters. Unfortunately not as much as they should have. We've had this u they call it a backlog of great offensive lineman from the nineties.

And I've said it in the meetings. I said, you're talking about this backlog you have of left tackles, and there is there have been some great ones, Ogden Rofe, Walter Jones. I said, but you haven't even put in the best right tackle of his time, you know. And Willie knew this before we all did. Willy knew what was saying it when he played that there was a bias to left tackles because of the movie Blindside and what Lawrence Taylor did, the Joe Eisman Willie had us all.

Willy's a savant, you know, And yes he has paid the price of being a right tackle. What's wrong with being the best right tackle of your era? He belo he deserves to be in but he's been overshadowed by guys like you know, they make a case for Tony Passelli and he's a left tackle, you know, the big Oh well, he's a media guy. And plus he's also you know, as he played enough, there's always a little debate with him. You know, he was a second pick in the draft, you know, so he's a sexy guy

to talk about. All Willie did was he was a right tackle. He was a pick in the draft. He blocked every guy in front of him that he ever played from, you know, from being a young guy Blank and Reggie White in Green Bay to pitching a clinic against Julius Peppers in his prime here in two thousand and six. But Chad and Corey are probably probably more borderline guys, although they certainly have got to be mentioned. And I think Corey Dillon is a legitimate He is

a guy that should be in. If you're gonna put edgund James in, you've got to put Corey Dillan in. Different guys, different backs, they played with different teams. The thing with Corey and I told him this when he played. He said, I said, I hope you get twelve thousand yards, because twelve thousand yards seems to be kind of a well you get in. You know, there's certain numbers. I mean, football is not like baseball. The only way it is kind of like baseball is if you hit some certain thresholds.

But it changes in football because the errors change so even more so now though, if you get twelve thousand yards, they got to I think they got to think about putting in because the length of your career and you just don't run it as much, you know. And Corey was in the passing game era and he didn't get twelve thousand yards. He got I think he got eleven thousand and change. But the thing was, he's got a

Super Bowl ring. He is not only the leading rusher in Bengal history, but he's also holds the Patriots single season rushing record, you know, and he has two of the greatest nineteen you know, he has two of the top nineteen games of all time. He held the record. He was brief, but he held the record for three years, one of the great records in sports. I'm talking about the single game rushing record he broke. He broke a record that was twenty two year old, twenty two years

old when he broke Peyton's record in two thousand. So to me, he's got a better case than Chad, although Chad he can you know, my argument with Chad is why he should be mentioned with the Reggie Waynes. I mean, his best years were better than Reggie Wayne's best years, except Chad just didn't have enough of him, you know. And he's the only receiver in this century to lead his conference in receiving yards four straight years. The only other guy who's done that his history is Jerry Rice.

So you know, he should be in that conversation. But I think he's a little more borderline than Corey. But Corey's you know, Corey and Willie. It's don't get a lot of support in the room. I'm not sure why. Well, I do know why. They played on bad bank you know,

they played on bad teams that didn't get noticed. They played in a small market, I hate to say it, and h Cordy, I hate to ramble, but this is really gets into my goat now because this is really and I've talked to I've talked to guys about this, and I've talked to you about it. In the lap, these guys were so close. It's very subjective, you know, And a lot of times guys stow up their hands and say, well, they want a super Bowl and the super Bowl is the tiebreaker, and that's just not fair.

You know. That has made what we do is we have a Hall of Fame filled with a lot of good players on great teams and not enough great players from bad teams. Well, it's four great players. It's for the Hall of Fame. It's for Williams, and it's for Corey Dillon, for guys who were grinding on teams that didn't get a lot of a lot of light. You know.

But I had a conversation with a guy from the Pittsburgh Steelers who won four rings, and I tried to make the agument about Isaac Curtis and this guy said, oh, I don't know about Isaac Curtis. And I said, well, I bet you didn't know that Isaac Curtis has more catches and more touchdowns than Lynn Swan, and he has a better career yards per catch than John Stalworth, both Hall of famers, And there was silence on the other in the line. He said, well, they didn't win the

big one. They didn't win four. Not their fault. Isaac Curtis changed the game. They call it the mel Blunt rule and Pittsburgh, you know, guys grow up today, it's it's sacrilege to touch a receiver. You know, you can't touch a receiver until he's five yards off the line. Right, Well, no, you can't touch him five yards after he's off the line of scrimmage. That's because Paul Brown was sick of

seeing Isaac Curtis getting mall. The only way they could cover him was to capitate him at the line of scrimmage. He got a rule passed. The guy was and I was talking Isaac the other day, we were talking about Kenny Riley. I said, Isaac, you might be the only guy, only non quarterback, who still if he was still playing, would still be one of the top five picks in the draft. Because he is. He was the first great modern receiver. The man almost made the Olympic team got

hands like fly paper. The great Dave Laugham will tell you about the game against Cleveland. He caught one ball one handed down one side line and the next quarter did the same thing with the other hand down the other sideline against Cleveland. You know, it's not their fault. They didn't they didn't win this. They got them there, and so it's that is a heart I hope people have got to get past that. NFL teams have not

been able to have OTA's or mini camps. They've had the Zettle for Zoom meetings and you are allowed to sit in on the defensive line zoom meeting recently. Based on that, do you think the Bengals are getting much out of these meetings? I am. I am not going to start after being in that meeting. I will not be starting in that unit. That was the first That's the first defensive meeting I've said in since framing himself fresh nineteen seventy three. The game has changed a little

bit since then. Those guys get pretty they get pretty into it. I mean, let's face it, it's not as good. I mean, it's just not as good as sitting in a meeting and getting all these guys, you know, which your miss is a DJ reader, you know, sitting next to a Geno Atkins and getting to know him. But not only that, but a Carlos Dunlap to go over to Khalid Kareem, a rookie and say, hey, you're not

doing this. You're not doing that now maybe and they really, you know, but when you listen to it on tape, Nick easton the defensive line coach, he spends time with guys that he has to spend time with it. I just saw that day's meeting, which lasted about an hour and a half. The first twenty five minutes were was with the whole defensive line, and then after that Nick I stayed with Nick and the tackles, and Gerald his assistant, Joel Chapman, and Mark Duffner, the senior defensive assistant, went

with the ends and the same actors. If they can't see each other on this thing, you know, and I think there are times they might say something to each other. I didn't see it, but they can. They do have the ability to do that. Most of it is with Nick and the guys. But what's impressive about Nick is he'll say to Ryan Glasgow, tell me about Josh Tupo on this play son I got Glasgow and Tupo aren't in it, you know, and it's not as good. But I think back to twenty eleven when that was the lockout.

It was the debut of the Dan Horde Bengals radio booth, and it was the lockout. And it was the thing with the lock I always the coaches could not talk to players after the draft, and they didn't. They weren't able to Jay Gruden wasn't able to talk to a J. Green and Andy Dalton together with a playbook until July twenty seventh. So yeah, this this isn't great, but you know what they've It's been worse, you know. So it's

amazing what you can accomplish in a zoom meeting. Not perfect, especially for a defense that has a potential to have seven new starters in that first third down package against the Chargers on September thirteenth at the Paul. But I think it's it's uh. I think it's helping both veterans

and rookies. Based on sitting in on that meeting, how difficult do you think it would be to have a new coaching staff this year, like the Cleveland Browns extremely difficult because this game is based so much on relationships. You know that, Dan, It's I think any workplace is just going into a guy's office, just going next to a guy's walker. Yeah, I think it's very difficult for

for a first year team. That's why you know, a lot's being set about the you know, the Bengals about having a news but at least they've got it in place, and I think it's run pretty smoothly. I don't know now, of course, I don't know how the other teams are doing it. I imagine this run smoothly. But Zach Taylors has had a year too, and of course he hasn't been able to prepare for anything like this. Who would, but he's a technological savvy guy. A lot of his

coaching staff is they're young guys. So I think obviously they're step up on the Cleveland Browns, you know, Um, they're step up on these new on these teams with new coaches. But I think it's going to come down to it comes down to the play at a quarterback. You get a rookie quarterback, you know, so it might not matter that they have a new that they have a coaching staff with the arm in they still get

a rookie quarterback. Cleveland has a third year quarterback. So you know, I think in some ways they're both they're both at a little bit of a disadvantage. It's kind of funny with Zach, although he won't consider this to be funny, but we kept saying last year, this will be the toughest year you'll ever have to deal with. You're new, you lost your number one draft pick before the season even began, you lost your best player forty

five minutes into the first practice. You've got a bizarre situation going on with your left tackle, Corty Glen it will never be this bad again. And now going into his second season, you've got a pandemic unlike anything the world has experienced since the early nineteen hundreds, well plus two. There's a lot more than the pandemic going on in the league as across the country that they're dealing with that, and you know, and it can't be and it can't be,

and it can't be underestimated. You get, you know, you get Joe Burrow is gonna it's gonna be only to be the second time, which to me is amazing. Only the second time in history that a Bengals rookie quarterback gets a home start, starts his career with a home start. It hasn't been done in forty years, So that's amazing to me. It's also quite a challenge. It's also very intriguing because this guy Burrow, he says all the right things,

he does all the right things. He's seamless. He's seamless, Joe, you know, and on and off the field. So I can't wait. I mean, I can't wait to see the guy. And his energy seems to have you can already tell his energy seems to have provided a little bit of a jolt offensively. What you've been covering this franchise for a long time, is the excitement generated by Joe Burrow

different from previous high draft picks. Yes, I hate to, you know, sound like a bandwagon guy, but I think we live in a different era too, you know, and everything gets hyped, you know, I mean every guy, I mean, every story gets hyped. There are stories that get hyped today that twenty years ago I couldn't get it in the paper. They would have said, butch hold that on, hold that for tomorrow's notes or run it Sunday. You know. Now it's a in the news cycle, it's seventeen minutes,

it's trending on Twitter, you know. So we're in a different world. And so I think the hype is people are pumped up. Then you bag the fy it by the fact fan base hasn't had anything to follow. They haven't been able to follow the rids, they haven't been able to follow anything or do anything. It's been they've been they've been locked up in their houses and all

they've been reading about is Joe Burrow. So I think you multiply that, and yeah, this guy is you know, he's a combination of Sinatra and you know, Babe Ruth and you know, the poor guy. I mean, you know, it's just Joe Burrow out of Athens, Ohio, you know. And I hope that's how everybody treats him. But the hype is amazing, and it's not his fault. It's he happened to be born and you know, he happened to be born into a rookie year in twenty twenty, which

is an eight nineteen ninety anymore. Earlier this week, the team held meetings to discuss the murder of George Floyd and the efforts to fight racism that have emerged. Since You've talked to several players about those meetings. What took place in those meetings? I think Cordy was basically Zach gave them the opportunity he gave the player saying, the coaches just the opportunity to talk, what was on their mind, what would they like to be said, just to just talk.

It didn't matter what, it didn't matter what was it about? Was it your experiences? Was it? Was it what you would like to see done? What are your thoughts about it? And that wasn't just h and that just wasn't uh confined to the African American players, you know, the African American players, the guys I talked to, they seemed to draw support from their white teammates. Um So I think

basically what was it? It was one of those things they threw the meeting open and what would be would be you know, and it was as Sean Williams said, you know, raw, it was emotional. You know, you get a guy like Nick Eason telling as he told its deep dark secrets from his from his past. You know,

that's pretty personal. That's pretty that's pretty emotional, and uh, I think it was a from what from what the guys said that I talked to, I talked to I talked to probably about three or four and talked to coach Eason, and my sense was that there was a bit of relief. There was not only there was not only you know, kind of a thankfulness that they were able to do that and get it out on the table.

I think they were this has been stuff they've been had bottled up for not only years, but for two weeks. And like Sean said, you know, we have been you know, we're only we've been we've been pent up and said I haven't only we've been around the same people, you know,

we haven't really been able to vent. Anybody was an opportunity to vent, as Nick Eason said, to your brothers, so that they sounded I mean, I was very personal, very emotional, and I think Glasgow really hit the right note when he said, this is what every company in America should be doing, you know, And it was really it was really Uh, one of the more emotional stories

I wrote I had. It made me text Willie Anderson and to and to thank him because he told me something about the way I characterized Justin Smith and the way I characterized Pew to Warwick, and I didn't realize I was doing it, and uh, but he felt it was kind of it was a little bit I hadn't kind of had made a racial stereotype and I didn't even realize him. I'll never forget it. And as I was writing that story, I thought, you know, I want to thank Willy for doing that because I often think

about that conversation. And then, uh, he called me when he saw the text, and he really gave it to me pretty good. But it's always good to always good to hear from Willie, you know. But you know, I was kind of me, you know. And then I asked the guys too, I said, what can I do? What can I How can I help you? How can I help? And they were great, they said yeah. I think they basically the message was keep talking, you know, see what you you know, if you see something I don't think

is right, say it, you know. So I thought it was great. Paul Brown helped break the color barrier in professional sports in the nineteen forties when he signed Maryon Motley and Bill Willis in Cleveland. Tommy Smith, who famously did a black power salute during the national anthem in the nineteen sixty eight Olympics, played for the Bengals the following year. So the Brown family has a long history of fighting discrimination and they are taking action this time around. Yeah,

that's a that's a great point about Tommy Smith. I mean he signed him, Paul signed him after the Mexico City Olympics that when he went to the podium and shared the Black Powers with John Carlos. I believe, and yeah, I think the uh, the big thing with the Browns is they've they've committed U that the families, they're gonna they're gonna commit two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to social justice initiatives. It's a program that was begun two years ago. They want to expand on it. They want

to make it better. They want to get more feedback from the players to see what other activities they can go into. I know it's a guy who was here, Michael Johnson, who has retired since, was a big believer in this about getting the youth to to you know, to interact with law enforcement at a young age to

break down those barriers. You know, they're looking at you know, I think they're looking at stuff like that, and you know they're looking to take the initiative a little you know, I mean a step further than the last time, and by getting a lot of input from the players. So it's a it's an ongoing conversation. You know. Even though the Bengals made the announcement, I think on Saturday, the

players met Monday. This isn't stopping. This is going to be an ongoing thing, and it'd be something to watch the as, not just this year, but as the years developed. All Right, final question, I'm gonna end this with the first question that I asked Dave Lappham last week when we spoke. It's early June. How confident are you that the NFL season will begin on schedule. I'm confident because the league seems pretty confident. They're going full speed ahead,

you know. So I think we're gonna play. I don't know what it's gonna look like. You know, I don't know where you're gonna be during the game. I don't know where I'm gonna be during the game. I would imagine you're going to be in the booth. I guess, but I think these are all things that need to be worked out. Is number of fans, number of media. You know. My opinion is I don't think we'll have an open locker room. I don't think we'll have an

open media locker room this year. So not that probably fans probably don't care about that, But that's just stuff that's kind of It's gonna come with the territory. How many people are gonna travel on the plane with them, how many people are they gonna want on a bus? What what is the traveling party gonna look like? So there's a lot of there's a lot of things to be hammered out. The only thing the only thing that I seem to know is they're trying like hell to

play September thirteenth. So I would imagine, given that they have been full speed ahead like this, I would imagine we will. I just don't know who's going to be watching it and who's going to be covering it. Well, I know I'll be covering it. I just don't know where. This is the first interview I've done in age is that wasn't done over the telephone or on a zoom call. We have stayed socially distant. We are wearing masks. We have warned them throughout. We are going to reapply the

sanitizer to our hands momentarily. And I enjoyed this very much. Butch thanks so much for the time, Cordie. It's always a pleasure. It's great to see a safe and sound and can't wait to hear those golden tones saying the ball is kicked off. Hi. Thanks to Rodney Anderson and Jeff Hobson. And that's going to do it for this episode of The Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you by Prime Sport, the official fan, travel and hospitality partner of

the Cincinnati Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde, and thank you for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast