Hig and everybody. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading the Bengals Booth Podcast the h fetwo days. Addition, as Dave Lapham joins me to break down the twenty twenty three schedule, we'll discuss the big picture and take a week by week look at the Bengals path to winning the AFC North for the third straight year. Plus a pair of one on one conversations with a pair of
Bengals draft picks. Cornerback DJ Turner, who tells us about his unusual first name, and hunter Brad Robbins, who admits that he wasn't sure that was really Zach Taylor when he got his draft day phone call. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps. More than twenty nine thousand customers trust paycore to help them recruit, pay, engage and retain employees. Learn more at paycoorp dot com.
Now here's a quick that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since kids on video boards? Is there anybody more predictably excited than a kid at a sporting event. Who looks up and sees that he or she is on the stadium video board. You can picture it, right. They're up there for a couple of seconds without realizing it.
Then somebody nudges them and tells them to look up, and suddenly you get jumping and pointing and dancing and flexing and any number of expressions of genuine joy. About the only thing that gets me that excited these days is when my seventeen year old son cleans his room, which, like a lunar eclipse, happens about twice a year. Now, let's get to football. We learn the Bengals regular season schedule on Thursday night. We already knew the who and where,
Now we know the when. Here's a closer look with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham Lap. We'll get into some of the specific details about the schedule here as we speak, but big picture, when this thing came out, my first thought was, this is pretty favorable for the Bengals. There are no three game road trips, there are no West Coast night games. All things considered, I think the NFL did them a solid I agree.
I think it's it's a very acceptable schedule on many many levels. I guess the only complaint might be the buy maybe a little bit early. You know, after six games. Week seven is the bye, but you know, then the Thursday night game is late enough the season where you get a mini bi after that Thursday night game, so that kind of makes up for it. I think a little bit, you know, in that regard. So overall, I
think it is very, very favorable. In my estimation, Sky, I think the rubber meets the road after the bye week when you got to go to San Francisco. They've only got two big trips at Arizona at San Francisco, and it's not that terrible because they're not an East Coast team. I mean, they don't have to go coast to coast anywhere. They've got the least amount of travel miles in the NFL from a scheduling standpoint, So that's in the second half of the season, and the Sam's
games not really it's right close to mid season. After that, they really don't have any real long trips. As you said, Dan, night games are on a favorable basis. I think overall, I don't think you can lay anything from an excuse standpoint on oh man, that schedule just killed us. With this stretch here. Overall, I'd take it all day, every day, twice on Sunday.
I was really surprised that they only got four primetime games. Now, the December twenty third game against Pittsburgh at four point thirty in the afternoon is going to be more or less the equivalent. They're treating it like Sunday Night football on NBC, but primetime games are nighttime games. They only got four. The limit is six. They could get flexed, and at some point they might, but that did surprise me. I'm not complaining about it. I think it's good for
the team. Primetime games are hard on the body, hard on everybody. But I was surprised that there are four teams that got six. I believe six teams that got five, and the Bengals only got four. Were you surprised?
Yeah, the Minnesota game is kind of, you know, to be determined. I mean, if Minnesota's playing well, the Bengals are playing well, I could see that, you know, being the fifth one. As you say, they could flex. But two Monday night games, one home, one on the road, Rams at home, Jacksonville on the road. The one Sunday night game is home against Buffalo. Thursday night game on
the road against Baltimore. The other thing, Dan, as you mentioned, they have four second game of double header scenarios, which is, you know, a big portion of the country will get the the Bengals. All four of those are road games, every single one of them. Arizona, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Kansas City. They're all on the road. So it is interesting in that regard. I think the Bengals they're gonna draw fans on the road. Those games are going to be obviously
real enthusiastic, energetic. They want the nation to see the Bengals as much of the nation as possible on a more regular basis. But yeah, I thought they'd max out. I thought they'd max out with night nationally televised games as well.
All right, let's start from the top. Week one is a road game at Cleveland. The Reds are home that weekend. Historically, when the Reds are home on opening weekend, the Bengals open on the road, and that's the case this year. Cleveland has been the closest thing to Joe Burrow's kryptonite of any team the Bengals play. He was zero four before finally beating them in December. Your thoughts on facing Cleveland in Cleveland in Week one dangerous?
You know, I mean, I think the Bengals, look, look what happened last year against Pittsburgh. Five turnovers, minus five early division playoff, early division game in the schedule, go minus five, five giveaways, no takeaways, and lose a game. They still could have won it and should have won it, but they lose that football game. I'm not saying that's gonna happen, but that's the kind of thing that can happen. You do have to take care of business. As far
as the division matchups. They start the season with Cleveland, they end the season with Cleveland, and really it's interesting, Dan, they have back to back division games to start the season Cleveland and Baltimore Baltimore at home. Then they don't play again in terms of division matchups until the twenty the sixteenth of November, two months, two months, and then they go back to back again Baltimore and Pittsburgh the twenty sixth sixteenth and the twenty sixth November, and then
you have to go, you know. They so they start the season with two a little over halfway through the season. They have back to back then to end the season two out of the final three weeks Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Sandwichuru on Kansas City on that four to twenty five game against Patrick Mahomes against on Cbsso, I mean, I think it's interesting the way they set the schedule with respect to the division. They start the season off with
the division. They always want to end with division opponents league wide because of playoff implications, tie breakers and all that. But it's very interesting started off two months, another pair a little bit longer toward the end of the season, and then your final division matchups. I mean, as we remember they went on three to start off in the division last year. You don't want to be in that type of situation. So you've got to take care of business against Cleveland and Baltimore for sure.
So that season opener last year against Pittsburgh was the worst game statistically of Joe Burrow's career. He was coming back from the app and deck to me, he can't go through that again. That can only happen once. It would be nice though, for Joe to go into a season opener not coming back from anything knee surgery. It appened Deck to me, knock on Wood that he is, you know, completely healthy through training camp and can finally take the field confident, healthy and ready to go in week one.
Yeah, I mean last year they didn't do anything as a number one offense in preseason games. Basically they're very minimal if any snaps, and Joe Burr didn't take any of them. So I mean it'll be a different dynamic. They'll be much more ready. I think, lesson learned and there's nothing you can do about it. And app and Deck to me, I mean, you know you can't control
those kind of things. That's in other people's hands. But you know you got to get ready for you want to start off in your division, well it is tie breakers. You don't want to start zero and three in the division then have to win three just to finish at five hundred. You want to get off on the right foot up in Cleveland. If you can come into Cincinnati and beat Baltimore the following week with Lamar Jackson all his new shiny toys at the receiver position, that'd be a great start to a season.
All right, I'm glad you mentioned Lamar Jackson and Baltimore in Week two, because the Bengals obviously ended the regular season last year with a win over Baltimore opened the playoffs with a win over Baltimore, but they did not face Lamar Jackson in either of those games. The only
time they faced him last year, they lost. He's six and one in seven career starts against Cincinnati, and now he's signed for multiple years, so they had better figure out a way to play better against Lamar Jackson than they historically have.
Yeah, and I'm very interesting what Lou and Rumo's got in store for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens with these new wide receiver weapons. I mean, I wonder, I wonder how that will impact the way he has defended Lamar Jackson with that five man front, you know, basically daring him to run the football and trying to take away those running lanes. It's going to be an interesting,
interesting scenario league wide. I wonder how much different they're going to look at defending Lamar Jackson now that he's got these viable weapons at the wide receiver position. If I'm not mistaken, I don't think the Baltimore Ravens have ever had a Pro Bowl player at the wide receiver position in franchise history. I think that might be the case. And if that is the case, that's crazy, and they're trying to do something about it. With all the weapons they went out and got.
Week three the first primetime game, a home game on Monday Night Football against the Rams, a rematch of Super Bowl fifty six, a Rams team coming off of five and twelve season the year after they won the Super Bowl. Matthew Stafford only played in nine games. Cooper Cup only played in nine games. Aaron Donald only played in eleven. That franchise is going through a turnover. They're going to a much younger roster. They've lost a lot of their
key players. But those three guys should be back this year. And I imagine that Monday Night home game in Week three is probably going to be the Ring of Honor game based on the last couple of years, so that should be quite knighted. Pay Court.
Yeah, I agree with you, Dan, I think that is going to be the case. I think that'll be a Ring of Honor induction ceremony for the guys that are lucky enough to be selected in That should juice up the crowd big time. It should be a big factor in that regard. Just got to go out and play sound football. You know, when you're playing a team that's in the in the mode that the that the Rams are in, you don't want to help them. You know, you never want to turn the football over in any
football game, but reality says you're going to. But you just hope that you don't have a ridiculous number of turnovers. I mean, nobody's perfect. You're going to have mistakes, but you can't have mistakes at the most inopportune times. If you can avoid mistakes make big plays on a more regular basis, you're going to have a successful season and successful games. That's what they got to get done against the Rams.
In Week four, it's back on the road for a one o'clock game at Tennessee. Third year in a row the Bengals have played at Tennessee. Beat them in the playoffs years ago, beat him in the regular season last year. It was interesting when they played last year Tennessee. We all thought they were good. There were seven and three the Bengals beat him. That was the they got a playoffs game for the first time for Mark Duffner, and
then Tennessee didn't win again. There were seven and three and finished seven and ten.
Unbelievable, And Mike Vrabel knows that, and Mike Vrabel is going to use that as a rallying cry. Was were we walking together when Mike Vrabel was leaving the stadium that day, I'm trying to think of who I was walking with. And he walked to his car, he kicked his car, got in his car, and took off at a pretty high speed. I mean, Mike Vrabel is serious about the game of football. He's a physical guy. He'd like to decide a game instead of going overtime, go one on one at the fifty yard line and a
nutcracker drill with the opposing coaches. That kind of a guy. So it's going to be a physical game. And you got to remember it's a short week. Fortunately the Bengals are at home on Monday Night football against the Rams. But you know, lick your wounds quickly, because one thing Tennessee's gonna do, Mike Vrabel is going to make sure
of it. They're gonna hit you. So you better take care of your body on that short week when you travel down to Tennessee to take on the Titans, because you're gonna have to buckle the chin strap up, you know, get the shoulder pads anchored and buckle the chin strap up a couple of times get it going.
Depending on how Ryan Tannehill plays and how the team does. I wouldn't expect Will Levis to take over at quarterback by week four October first. If he does it.
All, yeah, I mean that that might be a little early. Potentially, if he does, it's probably not good for the Tennessee Titans. It means one of two things. Either Tannehill has struggled or Tannehill is injured if Levis is in as a starting quarterback at that point in time, So for Tennessee's take to sake, I should say you have to think that Levis will not be the starting quarterback unless those circumstances or eyes.
Twice during the course of the season, the Bengals play back to back road games, and this is the first time because after the Week four game at Tennessee, Week five is at Arizona four to five Cincinnati times. So, like I said earlier, you hope to avoid West Coast time zone night games because that's brutal when you come back and at six in the morning, but in any case, based on everything I've read, it doesn't sound like Kyler Murray is expected to be back by October eighth. He
tore his ACL in mid December. Maybe that gives him a chance of being back by then. I guess Colt McCoy could be the quarterback. If so, I would like the Bengals chances on the road at Arizona.
Yeah, no doubt. Old friend. Colt McCoy did a lot of his games when he was at the University of Texas. A very very smart football player at the quarterback position, has immense football IQ. You know, he's one of those guys that is like a coach on the field type guy. Teammates respond to that. So I think Colt McCoy brings more to the table than just the physical skills, because they're not upper echelon by any stretch of the imagination. But he gets the most out of what he has.
And the one thing that his teammates and coaches know is that he is not going to put his team in jeopardy. He is all about making the right decision at all times. So you're gonna have to play a clean, smart football game to take care of the Arizona Cardinals, but I think they're going to be able to do that.
The Cardinals went four and thirteen a year ago. So after the back to back road games in weeks four and five, it's a home game against Seattle. That's the game before the bye. Seattle is one of eight playoff teams on the schedule. People forget with Gino Smith having a Pro Bowl year last year they went nine to eight and made it to the postseason.
Gino Smith is somebody you can't fall asleep on. There's no doubt about that. He's got weapons to throw to. That's a solid football team. Pete Carroll is a football lifer. He always maximizes effort of his foot ball team. He's one of those guys that you know is quote cheerleader in the most positive sense that you can possibly think of. They respond to it. It's not phony. It's who he is. It's what he is, and he gets his players to play at an extremely high level. So you can't expect
the Seattle Seahawks to travel in from Seattle. They're used to traveling. I mean where they are. Every road trip is a monster trip, so they're used to handling that and playing at a high level on the road, and he'll have them ready to play. So that's the last game you want to go into the bye week on an upbeat. On an up note, you don't want it to go into the bye week with Gino Smith having shredded you, or you've made mistakes against that Seattle defense
who's more than inadequate as well. So that's a big game.
Gino Smith only started one game in his career prior to this against the Bengals. It was a forty nine to nine loss when he was with a Jets. He threw two pick sixes in that game, so a repeat of that would be nice. The bye the Bengals are at San Francisco, a team that went thirteen and four a year ago, And I mentioned thirteen and four because the Bengals all time record against San Francisco is the opposite of that four and thirteen, including the two Super
Bowl losses. I assume brock Purty will be back by then, as he comes back from his injury when he was healthy and started last year, so I'm removing the playoff game where he got hurt and they lost. He was seven and zero last pick in the draft. Mister Irrelevant and he turned out to be the guy that they expect to be their long term quarterback.
Mister Irrelevant certainly was relevant, you know, and he played that way, There's no two ways about it. Yeah, but if he doesn't make it able to get there physically, Sam Darnold, Trey Lance, I mean, it could be a three headed monster at the quarterback position. In the early stages of the season. You don't really know. You got to figure by that time October twenty ninth, the end of the month of October, they will have had to settle in on some and if Rock Perdy is healthy,
you think that he would be the guy. But this is where we talked about earlier. The rubber meets the road after that bye week, and it's good you have to travel to San Francisco after the bye week is the perfect time to have to do it. You know, you can rest up during the week, travel out there, play the game, come back and get ready for a doozy the following week because it's going to be a big, big battle in the next week.
That's for sure. Sunday Night football at home against the Buffalo Bills. So back to back games against teams that had thirteen wins last year, and the Bills obviously smarting for another crack at the Bengals after a twenty seven to ten playoff loss at home. The thing that I'm wondering is if DeMar Hamlin could actually be back and play in that game. He's been fully cleared to return to football. That happened in mid April, so I guess
it's at least possible. Can you imagine. I can't picture a visiting player ever getting a bigger ovation from Bengals fans then DeMar Hamlin would if he's able to play in that game.
You know, I think even if he's on the non football injury list, you know, to start the season or that, I would think some way, shape or form, he's going
to be part of this, the Buffalo Bills franchise. If he's not able to play this year, he is going to be a big part of it, because the guy isn't Just the fact that he's walking around with his Buffalo Bill teammates is a rallying cry, and it is amazing because Monday night football game the season before, on a nationally televised game, is when he suffered the unbelievable injury that that basically postponed and then canceled that football game. And if he's back, I would think that Buffalo would
travel him. He would be on on the on the sideline in some way, shape or form, and I think that that would probably be good for the Cincinnati fans to to just Okay, let's let's close this chapter. We just saw him about a year ago in a very very vulnerable situation. Looking at him today, it's remarkable. That game has a lot of juice around. There's no doubt about it. And for that reason. It's on NBC Sunday Night Football and Josh Allen and Joe Burrow tee it.
Up Tariico and Collinsworth in the house for the eighth game of the year at home against Buffalo. So the next week the Bengals stay home. This is the ninth game of the year. After playing the forty nine Ers and Bills great teams back to back, they take on a Houston team that's lost twelve or more games now in each of the last three years. They've got a new coach and Damico Ryans CJ. Stroud I assume would be their starting quarterback. In the under the category of
games you got to win. I would assume a home game against the team that went three thirteen and one last year is probably at the top of the list.
Yeah, I would agree with you, CJ. Stroud. The second pick of the draft is quarterback and form and Will Anderson they traded up to get him. Third pick of the draft is anchoring the defense coming off the edge, you know. So they feel like they've got two marquee franchise type players that they just got in this year's draft.
But to expect both these guys as rookies to be, you know, Pro Bowl performers, I think is asking quite a bit, and they should be able to handle the Houston Texans, there's no question.
So I think the toughest game strictly in terms of day of the week or where it's being played, etc. Is the Week ten game at Baltimore. It's Thursday night football. We talk about this often. The Thursday night home game might be the biggest advantage you get because of the short week and the lack of travel. Seems like most of the Bengals Thursday night games in recent years have been at home. Well not this year. They're on the
road on Thursday night. It's in Baltimore where it's always tough to win, and the Ravens are especially tough in primetime games at home.
Yeah, a home division game nationally televised, the Baltimore Ravens are going to ratchet up up another notch as high level as they can play physically. From a focused standpoint, a mental approach standpoint, you have to realize that you're in for a battle, a battle royale. There are no two ways about it. You know. The good news is that you know you play that Thursday night game. And we talked about the bye being a little bit early
in the season. Like we mentioned when we were talking about that, they get almost like another mini buy with this Thursday night game because they get the extra days. They don't play for ten days against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is good. Another division opponent at home for the Cincinnati Bengals. That'll be very, very physical. So hopefully the Bengals will beat the Baltimore Ravens. You'll be able to still lick their wounds. As such, it will be a physical,
physical altercation, there's no two ways about it. And then get ready for Pittsburgh. And the fact is, you know, the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise as well as you know any franchise. So you have a long weeks it's you know them cold. You have time to rest your bodies, rest your minds, and get ready to play as good as you possibly can at the end of November on the twenty sixth, against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
No games against Pittsburgh in the first ten games of the season, and then two games against Pittsburgh in a five week span, basically, you know, two games in one month. Pittsburgh's going to be a really interesting team to me. They started two and six, they finished seven and two to extend Mike tomlin streak of never having a record below five hundred. I still don't quite know what to make of the Steelers. Are they back to being really good with Kenny Pickett? Are they just going to be
you know, five hundred or slightly above. I'm not sure.
Yeah, I'm not either. I don't think they're gonna look to Kenny Pickett to be the savior. I don't think he's gonna throw everything on his shoulders. But I do think that he is capable, and I do think that he's a quarterback that can adapt to you know, not being not being second fiddle as such, but knowing that the Pittsburgh Steeler philosophy organizationally is We're going to run the football, and I'm going to compliment and supplement that
running game with a passing attack. And I think Kenny Pickett has the mindset to take on that role and to execute it at a very high level. I think he's got his ego and check. I don't think that's going to be an issue, and I think he might be the perfect fit for what they're trying to do from an organizational standpoint. But will that be enough in
the era of these great quarterbacks. I mean, you're talking nine quarterbacks NAFC potentially could uh you know, could make the Pro Bowl if they have great years and all of them aren't going to make the playoffs. And he's not one of those nine, you know, he'd be the next level guy. So it's going to be interesting to see what transpires.
With Pittsburgh, depending on their health and how their team is doing at the time. The Bengals could face Pro Bowl quarterbacks twelve of their seventeen games, including the next one on the list. Their twelfth game of the year is at Jacksonville, on Monday Night football. Trevor Lawrence went to the Pro Bowl for the first time last year, just like Pittsburgh, the team they faced the week before.
This is a Jacksonville team that started poorly three and seven, finished strong six and one, rallied from twenty seven nothing to beat the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs and then had Kansas City on the ropes in the second round of the playoffs.
They were playing their best football at the most opportune time. You know, every team hopes to peak at the right time. The Jacksonville Jaguars peaked at the right time. They have a coach they believe in, they have a quarterback they believe in, and in this era of the National Football League, the head coach and the quarterback are huge. I mean they're huge factors. And Jacksonville feels like they're on the right track. There's no doubt about it. They've got, you know,
good players on a lot of places. This is a solid roster up and down their roster and all three phases of their football team can be a big factor in winning football games. And nothing to sneeze a Monday night football in Jacksonville. Challenged to say the least to start the month of December.
After that game, the Bengals come home for back to back home games, beginning with a rebuilding Indianapolis team in Game thirteen. The Colts only won four games last year. They drafted Anthony Richardson number four overall, and I've got to think by December tenth, Anthony Richardson will be their starting quarterback. I could see Gardner Minshew to begin the season, but you gotta think thirteen games in, a guy taking fourth overall will be the starting QB.
I agree with you. I mean, no one nursay a little bit, and he will be very impatient. I think in that regard, they are high on Anthony Richardson. They're high on what he can bring him bring that football team. I should say he is a freak of an athlete. He's a big guy and his athleticism is off the charge. But seen it before. Sometimes it just doesn't translate totally. But I think he has the ability. His floor is
so high, he's nowhere near his ceiling. You know, I think he's he's going to be I don't know how special, but he's going to be unique. He's going to be different. He's going to be Cam Newton like, will he perform at his higher level as Cam Newton did. I think he has the potential the ability to, But it'll the proof will be in the pudding. But it'll be very interesting the Indianapolis Colts at that stage of the season.
I think at that point in time, Anthony Richardson will not only be starting, I think he'll have a few starts under his belt.
So the week after that, we know the Bengals have a home game against the Vikings, a team that won thirteen games a year ago and made the playoffs before losing to the Giants. But we don't know when it is. Could be December sixteenth Saturday, could be December seventeenth Sunday, could be primetime, depends on how good the teams are. The one thing we do know is that with Kirk Cousins and Jefferson and their skill position talent, that is going to be a difficult game for the Bengals defense.
It will Bengals defense is going to be challenged. Minnesota Vikings defense stunk, There's no doubt about that. They struggled last year. How much of an improvement can they make That's going to be the key because this one could literally be a track meet. I mean, Kirk Cousins and Joe Burrow could put up crazy numbers. And I have confidence in the Bengals defense at home to not let Kirk Cousins go wild. I think Joe Burrow, if the Minnesota Vikings played defense like they played last year, Joe
Burrow could tear them apart. And if Kirk Cousins can't keep up on a score by score basis, there's a lot of pressure on the road, you know, to do that, particularly if both teams are a vying for the playoffs. If the Bengals were making a playoff push, we know pay Corps is going to be rocking man, It's going to be going wild. It's gonna be tough for Kirk Cousins.
So the next two after that are on the road at Pittsburgh at Kansas City. The Pittsburgh game is on Saturday, December twenty third, at four point thirty in the afternoon. That's going to be a huge TV game on NBC. It's interesting Christmas falls on a Monday. This year, there is a Christmas triple header for the second year in a row. I think the NFL loved the way that
that worked out last year. They are full slate of Sunday games on Christmas Eve, the Bengals get to play on December twenty third, which you know, it's a nice thing for family members of the players and coaches, and in a high, high profile game at Pittsburgh.
Yeah, they're going to maximize the NFL as a five hundred pound marketing grill, and they're going to maximize everything Black Friday. They're taking advantage of this year from a scheduling standpoint, So expect the NFL to not be tunnel vision in terms of when they're going to play games, where they're going to play games, and everything that goes along with scheduling, because revenue is the objective. There's no question about it. It's it's my Sunday's birthday. He's mad
that it's in Pittsburgh. He was hoping that it was going to be a game. If they were going to play on that Saturday, it would be here in Cincinnati. But four point thirty on NBC, the rematch with Kenny Pickett and that Pittsburgh Steel a running game and that very salty defense that they always have and and Mike Tomlin will have his team playing very intelligent football. One thing that you can count on. The Pittsburgh Steelers, traditionally at this stage of the season, are not going to
beat themselves. I mean, they're gonna make you finish them. They're gonna make you knock them out. They are not gonna, you know, let their guard down and let you take a haymaker on them. It's not gonna happen.
The next last game of the regular season is at Kansas City on New Year's Eve at four to twenty five in the afternoon. The NFL did a solid for CBS to give them that game and that window. I think many of us wondered really from months Cincinnati would be Kansas City's opponent in the kickoff game on that
Thursday night before the first weekend of the regular season. Instead, the Chiefs are going to open up at home against the Lions, and the NFL is putting Cincinnati Kansas City in the sixteenth game of the year, thinking this could very well be for the number one seed.
No question, this is a potential seeding game in their estimation of things that go. According to Hoyle, in the Bengals right now, Joe Burrows serene won against Kansas City just lost in the playoffs to Patrick Mahomes last year in a three point game. I mean, they've been just riveting contests. It's just I think every fan in the National Football League is going to circle that December thirty first game at four to twenty five, that second game of the doubleheader with CBS Must See TV. That is
going to get stupid numbers. It's going to get probably record setting numbers for a time frame of a Sunday afternoon. Would not surprise me whatsoever. It's a football game that people can't wait for, and it's going to be right and a very very significant decision making potentially time frame of the season for two franchises that have been battling out the last few years.
And then a home game against Cleveland to wrap up the regular season. No word yet on when that game will be played. The NFL saves times and Saturday or Sunday for based on how things look going into that final week of the season. My dream is that the Bengals clinch the number one seed against Kansas City on New Year's Eve, and then, as they did two years ago when they ended the regular season in Cleveland, they can rest a bunch of guys before getting a playoff.
By three of the first five games of the season, the Bengals are on the road. Three of the last five games of the season, the Bengals are at home, and they finish up in a in a division game at home against Deshaun Watson and the Cleveland Browns. Uh. Be interesting. I can't remember a time where a division opponent you started the season and ended the season with the with the same division opponent. That's that's very unusual to have bookends games like that. For the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Battle of Ohio Part one is going to be right away, the Battle of Part two is gonna be. You're gonna have to hang on for a while. And uh and it's not It's not what it used to be. The Battle of Ohio used to be unbelievable. It's lost some of its luster. Uh And I hope it does, Honestly, I hope that it doesn't. It doesn't become what it was when both of those franchises were playing at that high level. I mean, I don't think everybody in the
AFC North can be a playoff uh contender. I mean, somebody's gonna take up the rear somewhere, so hopefully Cleveland might stay there for a while. That would suit me fine.
There are four opponents hosting international games. The Bengals were not selected to either go to London or Germany. Dave Lapham is not heartbroken by that development.
No, not heartbroken whatsoever. And the way you, as busy as you are during the fall season, that's got to be a relief for you from a scheduling standpoint, travel standpoint as well. I did get my fill of York travel doing NFL Europe games, and I really enjoyed it. But yeah, at this stage, I don't know.
Dan.
I think next year though, how do we miss it? Next year?
Well, next year the Bengals only have eight home games, so they can't host an international game. They could travel. Two years from now, when the Bengals have nine home games and it will be nine years since they gave up a home game to go to London to play Washington, I think you can virtually guarantee go ahead and book your tickets. Well, we don't know where it would be, but I bet two years from now they're hosting an international game.
So in that case, maybe next year was safe. I don't know, if they'd put them on in Europe two years in a row. They could though, because I mean, obviously it's it's one of the franchises everybody wants to see, including people in Europe, and they want to waive the the marketing banner as much as they possibly can to expand the National Football League. So it's going to be interesting to see how that how that all shakes down.
Do you have any memory of getting the schedule and you're playing days? Was it, you know, a phone call at some point in the offseason. It certainly wasn't a nationally televised TV show.
Basically, the the local newspapers found out before anybody. Just check your paper find out who we play. Oh well yeah, I mean the writers they had the information distributed to them from the from the teams, the league, to the team's teams to the to the writers, because I mean in the radio there were radio shows, but not like it wasn't sports talk, you know and all that sort of thing. I mean, it was it was crazy. I mean the daily newspaper literally was the bible. It was the sports Bible.
Things have changed, who have they ever? A couple of follow ups on that conversation, Lapp was right. In their twenty seven year history, the Baltimore Ravens have never had a Pro Bowl wide receiver. Devin DuVernay was chosen last year, but as a return specialist, not as a wide out. On the other hand, the Ravens have had four quarterbacks go to the Pro Bowl, including Tyler Huntley. Yes, Tyler Huntley, who went last year despite finishing forty eighth in passing
yards in a thirty two team league. And this is not the first time that the Bengals will open and close the regular season against the same opponent. It's happened three times before, most recently in twenty seventeen, when the opening and closing foe was Baltimore. That was the year that Andy Dalton Tyler Buyoyd knocked the Ravens out of the playoffs on New Year's Eve. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Kettering Health, the official healthcare
provider of the Bengals. With more than one hundred and twenty care facilities and fifteen hundred care providers, Kettering Health is committed to guiding you to your best health. Visit ketteringhealth dot org to learn more. The Bengals open their three day rookie mini camp on Friday, and we were allowed to observe them on the practice field for about one hour. Here's an observation about each draft pick. It's easy to see why Miles Murphy was their first rounder
at six five, two seventy. He's extremely quick, and in individual drills he showed the ability to bend low to the ground coming around the edge like a motorcycle racer making a turn. We know that second round pick DJ Turner ran a four two six forty at the Combine, the fastest of any player in Indianapolis this year, but it was interesting to see him run. He goes from zero to six in a heartbeat and has long, fluid strides. You'll hear him talk about that in just a bit.
I was eager to meet third rounder Jordan Battle after hearing coaches and scouts rave about his in person interview at the Combine. When I asked him if he could tell how impressed the Bengals were at the time, he said, quote, that was the goal going into every interview. How can I make these guys like me? How can I make them want to draft me? Unquote? He's a smart kid. I spent quite a bit of time watching wide receivers Charlie Jones and andre Yosi Vash, chosen in the fourth and
sixth rounds, respectively. Jones showed his quick feet and ability to get in and out of cuts. Yosi Vosh is all of six three two oh five and can really run. I'm looking forward to seeing Jones return punts in the preseason fifth round. Running Back Chase Brown is chiseled and I love his attitude. When I asked him about being in the locker room for the first time, he said, the first thing I did when I came in here was to take a picture. I sent it to my
mom and put it on my social page. It's unreal. Not only am I in the locker room, but my name is on a locker I love that. While most of the players worked out in the indoor bubble, punter Brad Robbins kicked outdoors with special teams coordinator Darren Simmons. Reporters weren't there to observe, but one onlooker told me
that Robin's hangtime was consistently around five seconds. Leading NFL punters typically have an average hangtime of about four point eight you'll hear from Robins in just a few minutes. And finally, I watched cornerback DJ Ivy do some boxing type drills with cornerbacks coach Charles Burks, and you can't help but notice his length. He's six ' one and
his arms are nearly thirty three inches long. He has longer arms than two offensive linemen who were drafted in the top fifty, Peter Skoranski, who went eleventh overall and Cody Mack, who has chosen forty eighth. The Bengals Booth podcast is brought to you by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play with tickets and Sidne merchandise up for grabs. Find both inside the Bengals app. Now time for my conversation with second round draft pick DJ Turner.
This is like getting to know you type weekend. You're meeting new teammates, you're meeting new coaches, you're meeting new staff. What are you hoping to accomplish? I guess, for lack of a better word, in this opening weekend, I.
Mean just get laying, just get comfortable around here, looking forward to meeting the Holy sam It is doing the Rocky so far, and you know, just having to a relationship everybody in the building.
You're sitting in front of your new Bengals locker, you got Bengals gear on. Does that make it all seem real? Nah?
Definitely does, definitely does. And you know in the NFL Bengals the logo like it definitely does.
Since the draft, how have people reacted to you being selected by Cincinnati?
Oh? Man?
Good? I mean just on my former teammates all happy, you know, and my teammate here, you know, Chris Sevens, Dax, you know, they they're all happy, my family, you know, and they're just like this what you worked for. So, you know, just great that it's all worked out.
I'm glad you mentioned Chris Evans because everybody has talked about how you and Dax we're teammates of Michigan, but you've got another guys that you spent a considerable amount of time with.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I mean because being absolutely in the same secondary. So but not me and Chris Sevens. He was there my sophomore year, came back when he came back, and we have relationships. As soon as I got drafted, he texted me too, called me and so yeah, now you just like, let me know you get here, all kind of stuff like that. So I just said, it's good. You know, I already have relationships with people in the locker room before I even can.
For visiting the DJ Turner. The forty yard dash time at the combine speaks for itself. But just seeing you run around out in this initial rookie workout, the amount of ground did you gobble up with every stride really stood out to me. It seems to just flow so easily.
Yeah, that's that's actually why I hold when people don't really know I am that fast because I gain so much ground and not really look like I'm straining. And so unless you really look at how far around or because you know, some some people take small, like short strides, so it makes them look faster, but I don't. I take long strides, not just cover ground, so you might not know. But yeah, like I said, since the forty it's on everybody radar now, so it's noticed now.
So yeah, are you looking to put on weight in the NFL?
Uh?
Yeah, I mean I'll put on a little bit of weight, but like I said, I don't want to put on too much weight because speed is my thing wet size isn't so, but of course, you know, always trying to get bigger and stronger, faster.
So yeah, it seems like, based on everything that I've heard and read, despite the fact that you're not a two hundred pound guy, you have no problem sticking your head in there and tackling people.
Oh yeah, I have no problem with that. Uh yeah, it makes it gain fun. You know sometimes that corner. You might go a couple of series without some action, but you know, it just makes you get involved a game, so you're not falling asleep.
Since the pick. Have you studied the guys in the Bengals secondary and tried to find okay, you know who can I learn from? How do I fit in? Oh?
Yeah, for sure, for sure. I've been watching film. I mean, like just the Corners Wooziah, he had vet Mike Hilton. He from Georgia, so he trained with my trainer back at home, Cam Taylor Bread. I remember playing him at when we played Nebraska, so I remember him all the way back then, So I was watching him last year. So yeah, No, it was just everybody you know, DA said I'll played with him, So I just been looking at everybody.
My final thing for DJ Turner, tell me about your first name and why you go by DJ.
Oh yeah, my first name is one Drego. I go by DJ just because it was easier as a kid. Nobody can say my name for real, and I was gonna frustrated, so I just said DJ. But everybody who knows me, everybody who like knows my name, they call me one. It's either one, one, Drego or Drego. So like, if you go back to my high school, I MG Michigan, like Dax, don't call me DJ, Like you know what I'm saying. Like it's if you know my real name and won't calls me one, Draco or Drego something like that.
But DJ is just you really don't know me for real. That's really what it is.
So when I'm broadcasting the games on the radio and you have your first NFL pick six, do you want a touchdown one Drago Turner or should I stick with DJ?
This is no I like my name.
You know what I'm saying.
You said one Drago, DJ Draco.
You know what I'm saying.
I know I'm cool one though, Uh yeah, So like I said, that's what I'll go. But I mean literally, like even even here, I'm watch, I'm gonna go about one dre here because there's three DJs on the team, so I already know. Like once once they hear Dax call me Drego, be like, why is he talking about my name with one Drago? About one Drego?
And then watch.
I'm telling you it happens every every single place I'm at.
I like it. Unique names than are great, Welcome to Cincinnati. Great to have you on the team. Look forward to getting to know you better.
Thank you, Thank you.
In twenty fifteen, the Bengals had AJ Green, AJ McCarron, and AJ Hawk. Now they have DJ Reader, Djivy, and DJ Turner. He's right, I suspect his teammates and coaches we'll be calling him Drago. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet capable of delivering multi gigabit speeds designed to take your home, business, and community to a new level. Elevate your connection with
Alta Fiber. Did you watch the video the Bengals posted after they drafted punter Brad Robbins when he got the call from Zach Taylor it sounded like he thought he might be getting punked bred.
This is Zach Taylor at the Bengals. Oh, Zach Tayror, how's it going. How I'm doing?
Great? Man?
You want to come by a Bengal?
Oh?
Absolutely, all right.
We're gonna drop you right here.
Oh yes, sir, appreciate.
That you're up in Columbus right now.
Yeah, I'm up in Columbus. Awesome, awesome.
We we're happy to have you, and we're gonna put the pick in right now and then we'll be in touch with you later.
Holy appreciate that. All right. We might have to edit that out on the video, but that's great, man. I'm fired up that you're fired up. Thank you, fired up, thank you.
I discussed that phone call and much more with Robbins when we met on Friday. Will your fellow rookies were working out in the practice bubble. I saw that Darren Simmons pulled you away to do something outdoors. I guess what were you guys up to.
Yeah, we were just punting a few balls up in the air. Got over to the stadium. Uh was pouring down right a little bit earlier, so we had the chance to be able to get out there and hit a few balls, get some holes in and all that kind of stuff and wait for the returners towards the end of practice to come over there and catch the balls for us.
He probably liked the opportunity to get you out and inclement weather.
Oh yeah, oh yeah, nothing different from me being from the North, you know, and well originally from Ohio. I live for this kind of stuff.
You've got kind of a petuall ear to ear grin going on right now. You're pretty excited to be here.
Yeah, definitely, definitely a dream come true. Definitely the best case scenario for me. I just feel like overall, being from the Midwest, I've always wanted to stay in the Midwest, close to home, being from Ohio, would like to come back to Ohio, right I'm just really excited to, you know, kind of play my role and do what I can do to help the team and just be a member of the culture and help create a positive culture.
We're visiting with Brad Robbins, everybody here. It's it's an incredible accomplishment to be in an NFL camp. In your case, you're competing for one of thirty two jobs in the world. It's hard to be an NFL partner. To make it this far has to be incredibly gratifying.
Yeah, definitely, and especially after, like you know, the draft and stuff like that. I allowed myself about two hours to kind of let it set in, and you know, my mindset is just like I'm ready to get to work and show what i can do and prove I can be the guy and just enjoy the competition and join the environment. Right.
So, yeah, definitely. I'm guessing that most of the people listening to this have seen the video of the phone call. People are wondering if you thought you got pranked? Did you think that was the real Zach Taylor? What was going on in your mind?
It was a little surreal, I mean, just thinking about it. I have a lot of friends down in Cinci and I had expressed to them I was like, yeah, I would really I think this situation could happen. I would really like to be in this situation, and it wouldn't be far fetched for one of them to call me and kind of, you know, egged me on a little bit. And I still didn't really believe it until I saw it on the TV and I was like, ah, wow,
really yeah, yeah, let's go. You know. But at the end of it all, you know, I'm just really excited to be a part of this culture and what a great opportunity to be. I think it was one of three guys that were drafted this year's as punters, and definitely very blessed, very fortunate, and uh, just excited to get to work.
So you didn't see the pick on TV until after you hung up the phone with the person you were quite sure was Zach.
It was about it was about twenty second. I was pretty convinced at the end of the phone, cause like, yeah, that is Zach Taylor, that was that was probably Zach Taylor, and you know all that kind of stuff. Then I saw my name on TV and my parents are pretty excited, and I was pretty excited. But yeah, just allowed myself to settle in and take about two hours and then you know, it's right, it's time to get to work.
They've given you Kevin Huber's number. I'm not reading too much into that. There are only so many available for specialists. Was that a choice? Did you want ten or did you just show up and see ten?
So, yeah, the story behind it, I mean I was texted like, here's a list of numbers, pick what you want. I hadn't been number ten yet, and I think it had slipped my mind that he, like Kevin Huber, was ten, right, So I was like, ten is probably the best option here. I think that would be good. But I'm not too picky or particular about numbers. I kind of just closed
my eyes and picked one. I was like, ten works, you know, And sure enough I googled, like punters that were number ten, Let's see who I can endulate here, and it was I think one of them was like Johnny Hecker, but the first guy that popped up was Kevin Hubert. And I was like, it's gosh, Dart, So I can just blend in. You know, the fans won't know who it is. Maybe just sneak in and you know, hopefully continue to you know, have a have a good career, long lasting career.
You punt right footed, though right right footed, they'll know, they'll know, they'll know, Well, he was the last punter they drafted and he had the job for fourteen years, so that's pretty good, mo job.
Oh yeah, guy never left Cincy. And you know, I think definitely this this environment. I think the Cincinnati Bengals in general. This is just my thought process really, Like especially specialists from like the Midwest, North all that kind of stuff that kind of grew up and punning in this you know, challenging conditions, especially you know, the division war, and it's all the games are outside. All the games
are tough. There's always challenging wins. So growing up and being in that and always uh, you know, learning in that environment I think will benefit me as well as.
The other guys in the specialist room. I've asked several of your fellow draft picks this question. You're in front of your locker, You've got the name tag, you've got the gear. Does it make it all seem more real? Oh?
Yeah, yeah, definitely. It's a step in the right direction. I'm never going to be a finished product. Just in my mind, I think I have plenty of room to grow.
You know, my dad tells me, once you know everything, you can't learn anything, right, So just taking that attitude of being really approachable and coachable by all the coaches and just in all the vets and players and stuff like that, and just whatever I can, however, I can be a sponge to them and just kind of soak in what what I can learn to stay in the league and on this team as long as I can. I'm going to try to take that and run with it.
Welcome Cincinnati, have a great weekend.
Thank you as well.
That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast. Brought to you by Kettering Health, the official healthcare provider of the Bengals, by Bengals Picks and Ultimate Bengals. They're free to play with tickets and signed merchandise up for grabs by pay Corp, the official HR software provider of the Bengals, and by Alta Fiber future
Proof Fiber Internet elevate your connection with Alta Fiber. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Hord. Thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.