Bengals Booth Podcast: High Hopes

for the Bengals this season and beyond. Plus, it's week three of voluntary spring practices, and I'll talk to Dave Lapham about Joe burrows improved arm strength, what the team is likely doing when the media is not allowed to watch, and lap will answer the questions you submitted on Twitter, including this classic what's the biggest animal you think you could wrestle? The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by bud Light.

Seltzer refreshed the game 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 Chloe Kovaleski. The US Women's Open Golf Championship took place in San Francisco last week, and the leader in driving distance at the end of round one was Chloe Kovaleski, who averaged three hundred three yards off the tea that

was about ten yards ahead of any other player. Now here's the catch. Chloe is fourteen years old. She was the youngest player to qualify for the US Women's Open this year, and while she missed the cut after shooting eighty one eighty one, I have a strong feeling that golf fans will be hearing the name Chloe Kovaleski for many years to come. Now let's get to my first guest. There's a story on NFL dot com today with a following headline nine NFL Bandwagons to hop on in twenty

twenty one. It was written by columnist Adam Shine, who is hopping on the Joe Burrow bandwagon out the following It looks like he'll be ready for Week one and I can't wait. This cat has it. He's what you want in a franchise quarterback and he's going to be a superstar. Adam Shine, as you probably know, is a very entertaining national sports talk show host, and he was kind enough to work me into his insane schedule this week. All Right, people seem to think that I'm busy, but

it's nothing in comparison to my next guest. He is the host of Shine on Sports Weekdays nine to noon on Sirius XM Radio. You can watch him weeknights at six o'clock on CBS Sports That. He is a columnist for NFL dot Com. He has a podcast. We're talking about my guy, proud Syracuse University graduate Adam Shine. Hi doing buddy, Oh Dan, I'm excellent and it's great to be with you, my friend Hope Ball as well with you.

Things are great here. And I want to start with something that you wrote a couple of weeks ago on NFL dot Com. You made nine bold predictions. One of them involved the Tennessee Titans winning eleven games with Julio Jones, So you nailed that way before it actually went down, So your credibility is looking good. And you also made this prediction, the Bengals will win more games than the Steelers. We obviously love that here in Cincinnati, but Pittsburgh won

eight more games than the Bengals did last year. Explain your reasoning, Well, it was for a variety of reasons. Number one, and I know how difficult it is to win in the NFL. I thought last year Mike Tomlin did a phenomenal job winning all those games in a row early because frankly, I didn't think the Pittsburgh Steelers were that good. And Tomlin's never been under five hundred and deserved the contract extension, and he's a heck of

a coach. And I thought Pittsburgh really overachieved. I never thought they were going to be a super Bowl team. Never thought even when they were winning these games, they were going to go on some kind of playoff run. And I think Ben Roethlisberger is the first ballot Hall of Famer. I think he hit the wall and he looked like someone who's pushing forward. He was coming off of unprecedented surgery. And by the way, that's all factual more than in his opinion. And you know, I thought

the Steelers run game. I said last year at this time it was gonna be literally the worst in the NFL, and it was thirty two out of thirty two. And look, I don't think the Steelers improved. Look Naj Harris, I think has the ability to be a strong running back and I like him a lot, But the weakness of the team was the offensive line, and they got worse

Ben's not getting any younger. The defense is not what it was, and look at how they played on defense last year without bud Dupree, and bud Dupree left and went to Tennessee. So I'm not high on Pittsburgh. I think that Cleveland and Baltimore debate the order top two teams in the division. And Dan, I'm I'm high on the Bengals, I really am. I think since he has

a chance this year to surprise some people. I think all I needed to see was Joe Burrow and his health and just knowing that he was going to be ready for the start of the season. That was it. And I love what Cincinnati did in the draft. I mean Jamar Chase to me is special and the fact that you don't even have to have an educated guess about the chemistry with the quarterback and the receiver. You saw it in college had a historic a winning a

championship level. Boy I screamed forever. I'm one of the Packers to draft t Higgins instead of Jordan loved Higgins. I thought out a strong rookie year. You factor, Boyden, Listen, I'm still a believer. Joe Mixon is a stud at the running back position. And here's what I think the NFL defenses have become. You don't need to necessarily have a great defense as long as you can create turnovers. And I think Cincinnati can do that on defense and

get the ball back to Joe. And it's almost like Joe was a little lost in the shuffle last year, which is crazy because he was putting up big numbers, what the offensive line was poored, he was getting sacked left and right, and since he wasn't winning games. I mean, it's still Joe Burrow and I love Herbert, and I thought Herbert was going to be a star. And you know, I still think Tooa is gonna be a good player in the NFL. It's still Joe Burrow, and I think

this guy is gonna be special. Nothing has changed, so I didn't really even hesitate. I normally have a feel when I give it a strong opinion, and I only say or write what I believe. You know, when something's going to be you know, I'm gonna get me getting tweets positive and negative, left and right, or calls on my serious XM radio show. This one took on a fun life of its own, and I stand by every thing I said. I'm sure Steelers fans reacted very kindly

on social media. Oh yeah, oh yeah. I'm very very popular in Pittsburgh. But look, you know, I've been critical of the Steelers in recent years. I think in a lot of ways. You know, I like to say, if you're a Stealer fan and you're going home at night and you know you're you're snuggling with your Drome Bettist Teddy Bear, or you're looking at a poster on your wall of Stalworth and Swan or a Bradshaw, then you know, we really can't have the discussion on what's going on now.

And you know, they haven't won a playoff game in five years. And again, different teams, different standards. I'm not talking about the history of the Steelers, but I think they they've been living on planet delusional a little bit. You know, It's one thing to let Bell and Brown go, it's another, and they were right, it's another thing not to replace them. And I think that Pittsburgh can almost do that because of their history. You know, I would have signed Jameis Winston a year ago. I stand by

that take. You know, I would have let Ben Roethlisberger go this offseason, I would have cut the cord and moved into the future. I stand by that opinion. I would have signed Leonard Fournette last year if I was Pittsburgh. I stand by that opinion. I think Pittsburgh has kind of been kind of been treading water and has been

a forget the wins and losses. They have won a playoff game in a while, They're not that close to the super Bowl, and I think, if you're being honest and objective, and this is not gonna be a Bengal super Bowl season Sincecinnati's closer to the super Bowl for twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three and beyond because of the star quarterback. I also think the big three receiver and Cincinnati is gonna be fun. Like I always go back to something Phil Simms told me years ago. You

want your receiving cord to be like a basketball team. Right. You want your point guards, you want your center, you want your small forward who can run the point, different types of guys at the receiver position. I thought there was such a brilliant line and the Bengals are gonna have that, you know. I think the offensive line should

be better. I think it should be pretty good. I don't think it's gonna be the Hogs for Washington in the mid eighties, but I think Cincinnati is gonna be in a lot of games in the fourth quarter, and I think if they can get off to a good start and going through the Bengal schedule, I think it's favorable. And I think that Burrow helps change the attitude. You know, there's not going to be a loser's lament or here we go again in Cincinnati. Joe Burrows going into the

season thinking he's winning every game. That's part of the Joe Burrow it factor and I can't wait for it. He has definitely added some swag to this franchise, There's no question about it. My guest is Adam Shine. You can follow him. You should follow him on Twitter at Adam Shine scchi N. When the schedule came out, you pick the top nine prime time games in order. Number five on the list Jacksonville at Cincinnati on Thursday Night Football early in the season. In your words, I am

obsessed with this game. Listen. I think when you get the top two picks back to back years at the quarterback position and everything I'm saying about Joe. You know the scouts or gms or execs you talk to, you know, Trevor Lawrence is supposed to be better. Right Like, if you talk to people around the league in terms of projecting on Saturday and how they translate to Sunday, you know, it's John Elway, It's it's Andrew Locke, and it's Trevor Lawrence.

I also think putting this game early in the season is great. I mean, we don't know the win total for Since or for Jacksonville, even though fans in both those cities should be excited. But when you can get these quarterbacks going head to head, they're both gonna take it. Personally, they both want to show off their skills. They both have solid surrounding pieces. Look, I love stuff like this. I think if you're a fan, you know, and I'll never I'm never one, you know, I don't. I don't

get bored by Kevin Duranta, Lebron James. I I don't get bored by greatness or success. I like watching great athletes do great things. But if you're looking for new blood, and I think the NFL is in a great place Stan at the quarterback position, I think that Burrow and Lawrence. That's gonna be fun for a long time and comparing them and then we'll get to have the instant conversation and reaction. I'm genuinely obsessed with this game. I love it.

On your podcast, your recent guests have included Boomer Assiasin and Carson Palmer. When you've talked to them about Joe Burrow, what's caught your ear? They love them, They both do that. That's a great question, and you can tell that how much. And I work with Boomer on on CBS on Sundays and he'll do his hits with us on on that of the pregame show and then on the podcast. He loves Joe. He loves every his skill set, his demeanor, his ability to tune out the noise, his arm, his accuracy.

And it was interesting talking to Carson. I always enjoy talking to Carson because I find Carson to be a really fascinating individual. And he loves Burrow and he loves the fans in Cincinnati. And I love talking to Carson about his Cincinnati experience because he loves the fans in Cincinnati so much. He genuinely does and has such a great attachment and he's rooting so hard for Joe Burrow, so he loves the zip on the fastball, the accuracy, a lot of the same things that Boomer did. But

both those guys were very high on Joe Burrow. Last thing for Adam Shine, because you have places to go. You praise the Bengals when they hired Zach Taylor a couple of years ago, and the first two years have obviously been rough. Injuries have been a huge factor. Where are you now on Zach Taylor, Dan, How's this for an answer? I don't know. I genuinely don't know. I think the first year I felt like I was wrong on being high on the hire. The second year I

feel like was a little bit of a wash. I do think after the Borough injury in the Pittsburgh game, they played hard down the stretch and I thought that was a positive. I think we're gonna learn everything we need to know about Zach Taylor this year. I think that's fair. I thought the first year was a bit of a disappointment. I thought the second year there were

some good signs late. You know, I think this year and I still like him for all the reasons I documented when he was hired but I expect the Bengals to be relevant. I expect the Bengals to surprise some people, win some game games that they're not supposed to win. You know that they're not favored to win. I expect Cincinnati to get off to a pretty good start. I think we're gonna learn a lot about Zach Taylor, how he can handle success, how he can deal with some expectations.

I think this is a big year for Zach Tayler. I'm not gonna say hot seat. I'm just gonna say learn a lot about whether or not. But we start talking about the what I view as glory years for Cincinnati with Joe Burrow, if he's going to be the guy for the Cincinnati bas There is a reason why you have a national radio show, TV show, podcast and column. You're awesome. I know Bengals fans are going to love this conversation. Thanks so much for the time. I really

appreciate it. You're the best, Dan. Anything for you. I mentioned this the last time that Adam was on this podcast, but I'll tell the story again. After graduating from Syracuse, I worked there for nearly ten years in radio and TV, and after moving to Cincinnati in the late nineties, my friends back in the Queues started telling me about a young sports talk host right out of su that they thought was going to make it big. He went by prime Time Shine, and they were right. Adam has become

a star and I couldn't be happier for him. He's one of my favorite people in the business. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with a hint of fruit flavor. Now time to bring him my broadcast partner Dave Lapham, as we share some observations after watching practice on Tuesday and answer the ask lap questions you submitted on Twitter. Lap I want to start with one of the hot topics from the three weeks of OTAs, and that is Joe Burrow's

arm strength. Is it noticeably better in your opinion? Yeah, I thought so. I mean definitely, like by the second the second workout, I thought maybe the first one he was adrenaline juice, you know, a little bit so excited to be out there after not having been out there for a while. But then watching him throw it just seemed like it had it had a little bit more

zip on it. A few more RPMs, and so in the in the Zoom conference call started asking some of the receivers about it, and guys like Tyler Boyd and CJ said, yeah, you know, definitely, boy you can get the gloves on, you can definitely feel it coming in coming into the hands. And I thought, it's his mechanics,

you know, doing the working out that he's doing. He's made his core so much stronger, his hips, everything is torque, you know, it all looks like he's gotten a little bit more powerful and everything that he's doing, and I think it's translating and hasn't lost a bit of accuracy,

which is key. And that's the biggest thing is to make sure you're throwing it straight and hitting the spot you want to hit, and don't get so consumed with trying to throw it harder that you know, it starts to distort those kind of things, and it hasn't at all. So it's I think it's going to be exciting to see him throw it this year. I'm glad you said that because you talk to his dad, Jimmy for your podcast, and that's something that he pointed out. Accuracy is his

super hour. And while you'd like to be able to throw it a little bit harder and a little bit deeper. It can't be at the expense of what got you here, no question about it. And uh, you know, I played with a quarterback that his calling card was his accuracy,

Kenny Anderson for for quite a few years. And you know, Joe Montana, another guy that might not have had like a howards were thrown on Kenny Anderson's arm strength was plenty strong, but it wasn't one of those like Burt Jones or one of these guys that could throw a football through a wall kind of thing. And uh, but Kenny's was man. He would hit tight, tight spots. He was uncanny his accuracy. And I think that's the biggest thing.

I think if a quarterback could ask for one thing, the first requirement, the first requisite thing to have as a quarterback would be thrown it where you want it to be thrown, hitting that spot, tight spots, throwing it to good spots. Receivers haven't confidence you're going to hit those spots. I think that's what it's all about for

a quarterback. Excellent Bert Jones reference another LSU legend. There you go, Bert, I'll tell you that guy man when he was played at the same time we overlapped careers when he was playing with the Colts, and he could fire it. And Joe Worm and Syracuse defensive tackle was a teammate. And I remember, you know, playing against Joe and we played the Colts, and I'd say to him, apt to us, and man, your quarterback, man, he can

he can fire the pill. He goes all brother, he said, all I hear about his receivers complaining about him, you know, dislodging fingers and all everything goes along with it, splitting the webbing you actually, you know, have a receiver having that skin between the fingers split a little bit. That's when they're really bringing it. Man. This is the first podcast we've recorded since the first week of OTAs, and after that first practice we talked about how they were

being uber conservative with Joe Burrow. He was not rolling out left and right. They weren't even having a running back lineup with him in the backfield, just in case there was an accidental collision. Well, over the past couple of weeks that's changed. He is rolling out left and right. They did do some play action fakes today, so nothing crazy. It's certainly not a case of risking further injury or

some sort of setback in his rehab. But they are gradually inching things forward just a bit right, and I think obviously he wants it, you know, he's all in for that. And then when they talk to the trainers and doctors, they're all on the same page as they're all on board and watching them today, he would he was jogging at a pretty good clip. I mean half jog half not sprint, but he was leading the pack.

They'd go from one drill to another, and he's leading the pack, you know, so he's showing his teammates, hey, look man, I'm feeling pretty good. It's getting stronger and stronger by day. They're halfway through you know, these Ota Slash mini camp practices, So I think he feels like it's time to turn it up another notch. And I think he's progression along great and his teammates right now.

If I were playing with Joe Burrow with the Cincinnati Bengals and teammate is I'd be like, Okay, he's showing not only physical toughness, he's showing mental toughness. He's showing he's about as tough as anybody we have in this football team. So let's follow this guy. Let's follow this guy's lead. He may be able to take us to the Promised Land. It's like the message you give your kid, be the first kid in every drill when you send him off to a basketball cap or whatever as a kid. Absolutely,

you know, and I think it's a definite message. You know. It was like teammates were saying, you know, Joe, Joe could have said, I still want to rehab. No, instead, I want to be out here with my football team. Now take it to the next level. I not only want to be out here with my football team, I want to lead my football team. I want to show that, you know, by being the first guy to every drill and everything that goes along with it. I think I

think a message is being sent there. I think it's an intentional message, and I think it's a really good message. During this phase of the offseason, we're only allowed to watch the team once a week, and over the past couple of weeks, they've made us wait while they were doing some stuff that they didn't want the media to see. What are they doing during those periods? Yeah, I think I think I have a feeling the installation has been fairly aggressive. You know, I think that there's two ways

to look at it. You have all these new players. Do you take it along slowly and is it a gradual install or do you throw it all at them and then have them Okay, everything's installed. Here's the whole whole shebang, the whole ball of wax. Now you have the rest of June when they're done with the mandatory mini camp, and almost all of the month of July, and then you come back to training camp. How much of her retention has there been? You know, you have

it all. Now you have a chance to review it and redigest it in that month and a half as you're waiting for training camp to start, and then you can reinstall and it might be a lot shorter process during the training camp installation period. And now I have a feeling that they're installing quite a bit. And I think that's what they're doing an earlier portion of camp that is off limits to the media. I think they're showing a lot of a lot of different formations, personnel groupings.

I think a lot of diversity in fronts for the defense and on the back end and coverages. So I think that they're I think they're going to be very aggressive, both offensively and defensively in terms of the volume of looks and different things that are going to show the opponent. I think they're going to make the opponent have to think a lot. And I think they're attacking it as early as they possibly can as they're installing it. I'm going to plug You're in the Trenches podcast again because

it's awesome. You had Jesse Bates on a recent episode and he was great. His play speaks for itself, But what else impresses you about Jesse Bates. Yeah, I think the person, you know, the character of him, um, you know, leadership. I think he's he's not bashful about I'm going to be the guy to bring everybody together. I'm going to be the guy to reach out to people. I'm going to be the I'm gonna be the glue not only

on the football field, but in the locker room. I'm going to be the guy that people can turn to and uh, you know, be the conduit. I'm going to be the conduit between the coaching staff and the rest of the players. I think he's taken his role of captain, very very seriously, and I think it comes naturally to him. I think it comes easily. And I think his raw intelligence, you know, is real obvious as well. I think he's

a really good communicator. I think he's a heck of a leader, very intelligent, and just a solid human being. I mean, he's he's one of those guys that you know, is a rarity in terms of as great a football player as he is, he's even a better human being. And once you start to get your share of those kind of guys in your locker room, you're gonna have really something special. And I think they're moving in that direction. We got a little treat when he walked out to

practice today. Rehab coordinator Nick Cosgray was holding his drills right in front of the little area where the media is allowed to stand, so we got to see the status of DJ Reader, Renelle Wren, and Trey Hopkins right there in front of us as they were doing footwork, drills, pushing a sled, etc. How did those three guys look. I think they looked really good. Renelle Wren is a

physical specimen anyway. That guy's a freaka zoid. I mean he's he's unbelieable to look at just a good lord blessed him with a football body man in every sense of the word. But I think, you know, when you're being very critical with your eye, you can still see a slight hitching to get along. But they're moving at a very very good clip. You know. It's it's not half speed. They're they're they're testing it. Um, they're change in direction. Uh, there's hesitation in what they're doing, and

then acceleration off the hesitation. So there's not a whole lot of violent cutting going on yet. But it's all straight ahead stuff. But it's not straight ahead. Same type of speed, same type of gate, same type of steps. There's there's some jumps to ups, you know, jumping and landing and holding freezing that and then accelerating off of it.

It was interesting to watch them and then hit the sled, you know, pushing the sled, not really hitting it, just driving a sled and then getting their body their back angle straight and their bodies low, bending at the knees and not at the waist, you know, to get in a football position while they're doing it. Um and Nick. Nick's as good as there is in the league, and every player for the Cincinnati Bengals that's rehabbed with Nick Cosgrey has nothing but great things to stay about him,

and rightfully so he does. He does an outstanding job, and he's brought a lot of guys back way ahead of schedule, and um put guys in situations where if they did have any inclination of oh man, is this the end? Far from it. Nick's gonna bring me back, and he's gonna be bringing me back as strong as stronger than I was before Trey Hopkins tore his ACL

in the final game of the year against Baltimore. I would have said at that point, Okay, he'll be back during the season, but I don't know if he'll be back in time for Week one, and I can't say that anymore. Based on how he looks. I think there's at least a chance that he's able to answer the bell in week one. I don't think it's out of the question. I'd be I'd be shocked if there if anybody has said, you know what, now, that's that's not happening.

I think that if he doesn't come back week one, it's certainly not going to be it's going to be shortly thereafter before when he does return, and uh, and that'll be a site for sore eyes, and I think for for Frank Pollock. And you know that there's returning and then there's being able ready and able to play in an NFL game for you know, X number of snaps. So um, you know, he'd have to be able to

a training camp. I'm not saying play in preseason games, although you'd almost like to test it in a preseason game, particularly if you're alignment before you go out there in that first regular season game. So it might you know that that might be the sticking point. What can he do? How far can he push it in training camp? But I wouldn't rule anything out looking at him out there today, and I did have a chance to just say, hey, trade man, you look good. How's it feeling goes great,

It feels really good, man. So you know, talking about it's one thing, you know, lacing up the pads and the pleats and getting out there and going against these behemoths and doing what you need to do to play in the National Football leagues another. But again I agree with you, Dan, I would not rule it out all right. I aimed the lap signal into the Cincinnati Sky this week. That means we've got some asked lap questions. Are you ready ready to roll star? There are always questions about

the offensive line. This one comes from Will in the current NFL landscape, which approach works best, zone blocking or straight up power blocking, and if it depends on personnel,

which suits the Bengals current roster best. Well. The Bengals went from a zone blocking team to a gap blocking team where you block down and pull lineman and run powers and pull offside lineman and that sort of thing last year, and that's when Joe Mixon started to really show some gains in terms of his UH yards rushing yards. But Joe Joe feels good about Frank Pollock's system, and Frank Pollock's system is a is a zone blocking team, a wide stretch zone blocking team. But that's not to

say that you don't incorporate some angle blocking. I think the best run games in the National Football League incorporate a little bit of you know, some of each. And I'm not saying it's fifty fifth or anything like that, But if you're having trouble, if a defensive configuration or personnel grouping or whatever it is is causing you problems. You have to have the flexibility in the in the ability to to try something else. And so I think that, uh, I think there's a there's a place for all of it.

But I do think Frank's primary run blocking or run game philosophy is zone stretch, zone type things. Really getting a defensive line to have to run and then cutting somebody in half. That's that's the key to the success in the in the zone scheme or the stretch scheme, as you get the defense flowing and somebody gets somebody on the ground and that's a natural cutback lane. You can't make plays when you're on the ground. It's it's impossible.

So that's the big deal. Either you get somebody walled off on the backside for a cutback lane, or if they're on the ground, the back has to see it and hit it. And Joe Joe's done a really good job of doing that. When Frank was here as the line coach, it wasn't working real well in Zach Taylor's initial stages of running games, so they went to the gap, blockdown, power, pull the off side, get more helmets at the front side of the play, try to outnumber them helmet wise

and try to create gaps that way. Kyle has this offensive line question. How much of an upgrade have the Bengals made in their offensive line personnel and how much of an impact will Frank Pollack have as the coach? Yeah, I think at Frank's all about you know, technique and uh fundamentals and hammering them over and over and over again.

I think he's going to have a major impact. I'll just go back to nineteen eighty one when Jim McNally, you know, was our line coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, and Jim was, you know, in the early stages of his career as a line coach then, but one thing that we did from the very first day of training camp to the very last practice before the Super Bowl, we did the exact same drills every single Wednesday, every

single Thursday, everything single Friday. You can set you could set your clock to it that this is what we're gonna do. We're gonna you know, warm up at the duck walk. Make sure that you know we were doing it the way he wanted and having our having our feet in the proper way and and having your knees bent and duck walking and and and then you'd have targets that you had to hit on pads, you'd have hand placement drills, you'd have all all these drills, and

it was like every single day was the same. So you become a creature habit, and uh, it becomes something you don't even have to think about the technique. It's you've done it so many times you get in the game, you've wrapped it so many times. In practice, it just happens. I mean, it's automatic. And then when you're working in tandem with a with a you know alignment that you've done it with over and over and over again every single day in practice. The old repetition breeds comfort level

thing I think is real. I think Frank believes in that can. It worked for Jim McNally, and I know Frank Pollock is a disciple of Jim McNally, and uh, watching watching his drills. All starts with your feet and ends with your hands, and it always will. We've talked about almost every athletic endeavor starts with the feet ends

with your hands. Blocking and tackling the same thing. And you can't tackle as an offensive linement, but you damn well better be able to do some blocking and uh and and I think Frank's going to do really good things with this, with this group of offensive linement. I think I think they're gonna The thing you have to do is believe in it because it's it's mundane. And Frank has a great saying master the mundane, because it's sometimes it's like, oh man, we gotta do this again.

You knew exactly you'd walk out on the field, and you knew exactly what the next forty five minutes we're going to be every single step of it, every single movement. But it worked. It worked, and that repetition led to a great performance for sure. One more offensive line question, it comes from Johnny. What are the chances that Billy Price keeps the starting center spot, assuming that he does begin the year as the starter. Yeah, I mean, that's

that's a great question. That's up to Billy. Billy's in control of his own destiny as far as that's concerned. Trey Hopkins get an opportunity because of injury to Billy Price. Now Billy Price gets another opportunity because of an injury to Trey Hopkins. And that's that's life in the National Football league. That's why when you're alignmenting, you do get injured, you try to get back in there as quick as you possibly can because you don't want anybody else getting

your reps. But yeah, Billy, obviously, Frank Pollock had confidence. He was on the staff that drafted Billy Price, so he saw something in Billy Price in his tape up at Ohio State, and you know, respected him and respected respected his play. He was drafted high in the Cincinnati Bengals, a first round draft pick. So I think I think Billy feels good about Frank. Frank feels good about Billy. And it's a clean slate, and that's one thing that

every lineman has to understand. It's a totally clean set slate. Now, Frank Pollock is the guy. He's the new sheriff in town. It doesn't matter what you did with Jimmy Turner, it doesn't matter Hill of Beans. You're starting. Everybody's starting fresh and new with Frank Pollock. And that's why I think Trey Hopkins, in his mind, he wants to get back as quick as he possibly can too, because he wants to make an impression, a positive impression on Frank Pollock

and right now. He's missing all of these reps we're talking about. You know, you can't take them mentally. It's like it's a muscle memory thing. You have to go, you have to go through it, and your body just has to get used to it, and then it becomes something where you don't even need your mind. It's just it's total muscle memory. Here's a question from man, what player or position group has surprised you during these OTAs. I'm not really surprised by, you know, by any any group.

I mean I'm thinking that, you know, groups are living up to billing. I think as such. I think overall this football team is so much younger and so much more athletic. It's ridiculous. In my opinion. It's just about every position group. The linebacker corps is one that just jumps out. I mean, they drafted three young linebackers last year that they're counting on a lot as second year players,

and that's where you normally make some major strides. I think the secondary is light years better than where it was today and today's OTA for the first time in the halfway point, so they didn't even do seven on seven until halfway through OTAs. This was the introduction of seven on seven, the old skeleton drill as such, everybody's

working except the offensive and defensive lines. And it was very interesting to see this, you know, wide receiver corps that they like a lot um, you know, Tyler Boyd, T Higgins and Chase you know, working against these new guys in the back end in the secondary and there was no pass rush. But I thought that everybody belonged, you know, I was looking at the far end of the field where those guys were working against each other's like, yeah, I mean, all these guys belong out here, and it's

it's pretty competitive. It was that that seven on seven then only lasted ten or fifteen minutes, was the most competitive aspect of OTAs that I've seen, you know, in the first week and a half here. So I think at some point, probably during mandatory minicamp next week, they probably will do eleven on eleven. They'll probab we run some team um team plays. But they're they're ramping it up, and they're they're staying very very careful and cautious and

elementary to be sure. But I think the message that I'm getting is just about every position group is as advertised. You know it's they've they've made additions, and they felt good about the additions they've made, and like it's now you've you've got your presence. Now you've had a chance to unwrap them and assemble them, get them out on the field, and as billed as advertising, didn't waste my money.

Here's a question from Rob. The Bengals have clearly improved the secondary, but have they done enough to stop the run better this year? That's the that's the they have to have. That's the big key. Um. You know, over the last two years, they've given up more ground yards than anybody in the National Football League, and uh, you know that that has to stop. You you earn the right to stop the pass by, you have to be

able to stop the run first and foremost. I mean, if you if you're going to get gashed on a regular basis in the running game. Every successful defense that I've seen and it's looking like they're, you know, trying to build this one this way. You have to have your big run stuffers inside, and they can't. They don't necessarily have to be big blobs that are stiffs. They've got big guys that have same athleticism and ability to stay on their feet and good feet and able to move.

So you're you're big on the inside the stuff to run on the edge. You want speed off the edge, you know, to rush the pass or and be able to set the edge in the running game. Some athleticism there, and they've really you know, emphasized that both in the

draft and people that they signed in free agency. And then you know, again, once you've got that front seven built to where okay, now, inside linebacker, okay, we've got youth and athleticism like we talked about at the inside linebacker position that they drafted, and they've you know, resurrected or reconstructed the secondary in the form of free agent

see over the last two offseasons. So they're they're trying to build I think a defense the right way, but it has to start with a couple of run pluggers inside and uh, you know, I think I'm inter see how two poll he looks like he's got himself in

pretty good shape. Will DJ Reader come back from injury the way you know, everybody hopes that he will, Ogan Joby, Will he be a guy that will help, you know, stuff that inside running game they've addressed it, but that that's the key if they, If they, if you can own a team between the tackles and just line up and say, you know, I'm going to impose my will

on you. I'm not going to do anything fancy. I'm just gonna smack you right in the mouth and I'm gonna have my big running back, you know, uh, just destroy you. That. That's a that's a great feeling. When you're up front as an offensive lineman, that's a very very bad feeling. And if you're on the other side of things defensively, so you know, I hope the Bengals find themselves in that mode. The offensive line comes to the line of scrimmage and like, yeah, we're gonna give

you a doso Joe Mixon. When you think you've had enough, We're given you another spoonful and you're gonna like it, you know. I mean that. I hope they run the hell out of Joe Mixon like that. And I think I'm sure Joe does too. Here's a question I love it comes from Bengals John. Who is the best player you have seen at each level, high school, college and pro Oh, my goodness, so many. I mean so many great players high school. I'll probably have to go back

to this guy running back in my high school. I wasn't play I did not play with him. He was like probably my first I don't know about sports idol, but sports player that I was like, Wow, Mike Martello. He was a running back at Wakefield High School. And I just remember, you know, like as a sixth seventh eighth grade a going to Wakefield High School football games and Mike Martello, who's in our high school Hall of Fame, just destroying people. And I thought, man, Mike Martello, if

I could just be like Mike Martello, you know. And all of a sudden, one day I answered the doorbell rings in our front door, and I answered the front door and it's Mike Martello standing on our front porch selling some kind of ticket, raffle ticket or whatever, some high school fundraiser. And I couldn't even talk. My mother comes to the front door and I said, buy a bunch of mom. You know, that's Mike Martello. But he was the first guy that I can remember Thanksgiving Day

games against Melrose High School, our big rival. I just remember him just putting his foot in the ground and making these unbelievable cuts. He was a low center of gravity, tough, you know, tough Italian kid that just you know, you could give him the ball a hundred times, it seemed like in a game and he was going to give you everything he had. So he probably made made the first impression on me as a as a high school player.

But I mean I did see a bunch of really talented high school football players in the league that I played in up in the Boston area and then in high school. Man, just so many guys. But to pick to pick one guy, that's, uh, that's so hard. But I mean, honestly, a guy that that I really had a ton of respect for Joe Orman, And we talked about a little earlier. It was an All American defensive tackle at Syracuse, and I was a freshman, uh at Syracuse,

and we couldn't play freshman a varsity as freshman. We had a freshman schedule, and so the freshman was still you know, the lowly freshman football players. But Joe Orman, the first time I scrimmaged against the varsity, you know, I guess I showed him enough where he just said to me, uh yeah, let's stay out after practice. I want to work with you, you know. I think you've got some uh some potential, you know, and you want to work I'm like, yeah, I'll work with you, you know.

And and he, uh he rubbed my nose in it, and you know, the first few practices after practice. I mean, he was just he was a great player, and um, you know he I think he really helped me improved from freshman to season to where as a sophomore I ended up getting a starting job as a sophomore lineman and I think Joe Orman helped me big time in that regard. So he was a tremendous football player. I'll

never forget well. Sitting in the stands as freshman football player, were playing Kansas, and there was this unbelievable goal line stand, and the last player of the goal line stand, John Riggins, the big fullback to play with the Jets, great running back. He is carrying it on fourth down and he and Joe worm and hit helmet the helmet and it was the loudest crack I've ever heard in my life in

the middle of his Riddell helmet. Joe's helmet crack right from his mask, halfway up his helmet and Joe just you know, walks off the field, tosses the helmet to equipment guy. They take it was fourth down, we have a big goal line stand. Joe just you know, they changed the face mask, how to take all They got the drill and they're taking the screws out in their frantical putting the faceback. He puts the helmet on with the new face mask and goes out the next defensive

series and just dominates some more. I'm like, that's a football player right there. And and uh he and John Riggins there was I watched the two of them after the game. They met at midfield and talked and I'm sure they were talking about that that play. And so I guess Joe probably comes to mind for me, you know, as as a college player that maybe really strong player that had a big influence on me. And I'd say in the National Football League, man, there's so many unbelievable players.

But the guy that I just had so much respect for his game and the way he played his game was Walter Payton. And I get to meet him at a wrist wrestling thing out in Las Vegas, and I was just so impressed by the dude, and how strong he was. And I'll never forget he put down Curly Culp in a wrist wrestling thing. I was my jaw hit, my hit, my kneecaps probably one hundred and thirty pounds lighter,

Oh yeah, and just so explosive. And you got him on the jump and I'm like, you better run walk because I mean Curly Culp started swelling up and everything. But then Walter Peyton one of the days we were doing the wrist wrestling stuff, you know, we get done with what we're doing, and he jumps on his hands and he walks around the whole room on his hands,

and I was like, oh, Mike, this is unbelievable. So the strength that that took, the balance, the gymnastic ability, and that the thing about him is he was he did everything. I mean, oh, his Splitz pick up, He'd embarrassed linebackers, he just wouldn't block him. So I think I think I just had a a such an enormous respect for how hard he played the game, how much

the game meant to him. Knowing the kind of human being he wasn't all that, I'd have to say, sweetness was was pretty special and died way too young man. Only the good die young and not good. It might have been the greatest. And that one that one hit me when Walter Payton died, that one hit me hard. Excellent question, excellent answers. All right, we try to end ask Lap with a couple of wild card questions whenever possible. We've got two good ones this week. The first one

comes from Casey. Casey asks could be could be Casey in the Sunshine Band. Here's the question, what is your favorite breakfast meal? And if you say yogurt and half a grapefruit, I will call BS. Don't worry about that no way, Jose. I'm I'm a I'm a guy that likes his pancakes and waffles. I'm that kind of breakfast guy, and I have to stay away from it. If I ate what I wanted for breakfast that way all the time, I'd be in real trouble. But I really, uh, you know,

a really good waffle, really good pancake. Of course, you know, I'm gonna throw some bacon and sausage in there as well. But I used to like to go to the eyehop, you know, with all the flavored syrups and just try like a little little dollup of each. And I wasn't big on trying. I don't know. If I didn't like it ruining my whole breakfast, I'd ended up going back to the old stand by maple syrup. I mean really good maple syrup, the natural maple syrup out of Vermont.

But yeah, I'm boysenberry blueberry. You know. I'd try a few of those things, strawberry, maple syrup, whatever, But I really liked m I guess it's because when we were young, it didn't have a ton of money. But my dad on Mother's Day would take the family out to I hop and it was a Mother's Day breakfast. So that was a big deal because when you know, mother didn't

have to cook and all that. And I remember how how big it was, almost like our big is getting up there with Christmas and you know, Thanksgiving and all those kinds of things. Because it was a special thing. We never went out to eat. And when we went as a family piled up in the car and went to I hop Man, there was some pancakes and waffles and syrup. There there was some consumed because I got I got two brothers, who was about as big as

eater as me and man. We I think the servers thatt, I hop were like man because it was all you could eat. We busted, We busted their bank man. When they saw us coming, they put up the white flag. They started waving that white surrender flag. Closed nine Mother's Day. That's right, Mother's Day, breakfast off limits to lap them's. It's funny the things you remember. I'm the fourth of five kids, middle class family. We didn't have a ton of money. Every now and again, my stepfather would bring

a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken home. I thought that that was the greatest thing on God's green earth. I'm telling you, it's the simple things, you know. I mean, that's when life's the best. You appreciate the simple thing so so much. And yeah, I remember just when we would get roast beef, an actual roast beef for dinner. It'd be like maybe once a month, but it was like it was like heaven, man, just seeing that roast beef and carden and thinking, yeah, I'm gonna have a

meal this day. Boy, this is high cotton. We never had steak, I mean, growing up, we never really I mean, I remember going on recruiting trips and coaches like you want to steak dinner? Oh heck, yeah, let's do that. Man. That's a big time all right. Final question comes from Tom McDowell. We met Tom at the Admiralty in London when the Bengals have played overseas. Here's his question, what's the biggest animal you think you could wrestle? Now? Probably a tomcat? But I did, uh. I think I've told

this story. I'm not sure on the podcast, but I saw jim Leclair uh Russell Victor the wrestling Bear, and I thought, yeah, I might be able to like, you know, muscle with Victor a little bit. But Jimmy, Jimmy McClair was like a heavyweight wrestling champion at North Dakota State. So, I mean he was he was shooting the leg and he was doing some things with Victor. Victor wasn't sure what was happening, but um, that was that was impressive to watch that big old bear swat people around. They

had a big swimming pool set up. It was like a you know, a line and garden show or a camp or show or whatever, and they had a big swimming pool and Victor would backhand people into the swimming pool. Um. But I guess, I guess uh. If I could have hung with Victor for a little while, I would have been would have been pretty happy about that. I think you wrestled an animal named crum Rye before your NFL career was finished. I'm telling you, Tim crum Rye, that's

I mean. You start thinking about great football players. That guy, I mean, all football all the time. He had scar tissue on the bridge of his nose that looked like cottage cheese. I mean, he had just that helmet came down on the bridge of his nose so many times during his football career that it had built up scar

tissue that was incredible. And it just you know it was football season when Tim would always have a bandage on that thing and it would always be weeping blood, you know, on and off the field the entire season, and you knew it was football season for Tim crum Rye. Another great addition I've asked lap keep those questions coming. Appreciate the time. Thank you, my pleasure, Dan the man, You're the best. This is week three of the voluntary

spring practices for the Bengals. Next week, the hold of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday, and then the players will be off until the start of training camp. That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast, brought to you by Bud Light Seltzer, refresh the game. 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 thanks for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast.