H I get everybody on Dan Hord and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast the.
I Will We I Will We for you audition.
As we only have to go one more weekend without Bengals football. Coming up, I'll talk to the two rookies who were probably the biggest long shots to make the Bengals fifty three man roster, and my broadcast partner Dave Lapham checks in to discuss the latest Bengals news and
our training camp MVPs. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corp, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber, future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare
provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet or computer by some subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since tailgating. I have the greatest job in the world, and thank Heavens, I was able to get into sports broadcasting because I am incapable of doing anything else. Shoot, I can barely
fill my gas tank or change a light bulb. But having said that, the one downside about my job is that I can never take part in pregame tailgating. For many of you, it's one of the best parts of the football season, getting together with friends and family and getting fired up for the game, tossing a football or playing cornhole, having a sinsy light and a brat. Just know that the next time you're tailgating before a Bengals game, the bald guy in the booth wishes he could be
there with you. Now, let's get to football. The Bengals single season sack record is held by a player who is not selected in the NFL draft, Coy Bacon. Since tackles became an official NFL stat and too thousand and one, the only Bengal to lead the league was another undrafted player, Bontes Perfect in twenty thirteen. This year, two undrafted rookies made the Bengals fifty three man roster, punter Ryan Rico
and linebacker Muma John Meta. Muma was clearly the biggest long shot to make the team This year, and I talked to him about the achievement. When your linebackers coach James Betcher called you with the good news, you shared that you were getting a massage. So what felt better the news or the massage?
The news?
Now the news the news was releading. I was that was pretty awesome. It was. I saw the video.
I was like, bro, I did not know that were recording, but this is hilarious, but that it was a wonderful video.
Very touch on.
Did you have a good feeling that you were going to make it or were you on pins and needles?
No, I mean I think.
I think it was one of those Okay, I feel pretty good about Honestly, it was one of those that, you know, no matter what happens, I'm happy with what I've done. You know, forget the result at this point. I feel like I put it out there and at the end of the day, that's really all you can ask for. It ended up going working out in you know, very positive outcome. You know, I love this city, I love this team, and I really wanted to be here. So uh, I felt good about what I had done,
but I so needed to wait for that call. We really feel good about it and the call Cave and it was it was it was a really good day.
We're visiting with moment, John Matta. You finished second in the NFL in tackles in the preseason. Did you become aware of that as the preseason was going along and did it become a goal to lead?
No, I mean, honestly, like it's one of those things that reporters tell you. I'm like, oh, let's didn't know that, and so yeah, I did not. Honestly didn't really know until the second game. Like someone was like, oh, like.
You're leading NFL tackles. I was like, that's crazy, you know.
I think it's just a testimony to my teammates kind of the scheme that we have and coaches just putting us in the right position. Yeah, so it was awesome. It was definitely really cool. It's a fun thing. I'm telling my kids that forever. So something to brag about is a dad one day.
You read All League onners a couple of years ago again at Wisconsin, and then last year with a coaching change, maybe it took a while to to fit in the defense. I don't know. You tell me what what happened last year Wisconsin yeah.
I mean, I think last year was just an unfortunate cocktail of events. You know, I broke my hand early on, made a scheme change, you had a coaching change.
It was just, you know, I asked me to gain a lot of weight.
It was just a lot of things where you know, I found myself just not playing my best football. And then you know, there were there were times when they felt like they needed to go with a different person.
But I felt like when I you know, I wasn't there, I did some of my best work.
So it was it was one of those things that you you learned every lesson, every loss can be a lesson, and I think it definitely shaped my mindset coming into camp here about like, hey, this is what I want to do different. You know, this is a new opportunity and I'm gonna just do with it what I can.
So last year it was just honestly crazy.
Looking back, you know, your life can really change in the year, so it's a blessing to be here.
You did finish strong last year, though.
Yeah, no, I think so. I think it was just.
You know, I was they benched me in, you know, they the coaches wanted to go in a different direction, and I'm honestly been a damn the team player.
So I was captain the defense, and I found a way to lead from the.
Bench, and it was just like, hey, coach, you're gonna throw me in for three four reps a game, like, I'll shoot those will be my best three or four reps.
You'll see it.
So and honestly just prepared me for coming to the league where you only get three or four reps as a young guy, you know, like you don't and that's your resume. So in a crazy silver lightings way like it actually last year prepared me so much for this year.
It was actually a blessing kind of the way it shaped out last year.
The Bengals fans great players in their history that weren't selected in the NFL Draft, and obviously you weren't. What did teams miss Why did thirty two teams that make seven rounds of draft picks and somehow miss out on you?
A shrug of the shoulders.
Hey, well, the story is still being written, so I can't really call it quite yet. But you know, things happen. People say what they say, and that they all love about football.
As the tape speaks for itself.
So that's something I always have with me and something I always mean back on. So it's not.
How you get here, it's what you do when you get here. You are a spot on the fifty three. Congratulations, appreciate it, Thank you. A little later in the podcast, I'll visit with another long shot who made the club, a guy who started his college football career at Division
two Shepherd University. Seventh round draft pick Dejon Anthony. But first time to discuss the roster and the latest Bengals news that broad cast partner Dave Lapham lafter Bengals fifty three man roster and sixteen man factors squad is now officially set.
What if anything, stands out to you.
One thing that stands out, Dan, is the youth of this football team. They're averaging under twenty six years twenty five point eight, which is less younger than last year's team, which was like, what, third youngest in the league. They've only got eight players with seven or more years of NFL experience, four defensive lineman, three offensive lineman, and a tight end. So I mean they've got fifty four. I mean, yeah, fifty four of their sixty nine players are less than
five years five years or less. Thirty eight of their fifty three five years are less. I mean, it's the depth of the team falls on these second year players, in these rookies. You know, it's it is a young football team, but I think it's a very talented football team in spite of that youth. I think, you know, that's what that's what sticks out to me is they've only got one guy going into his tentier, Trent Brown at thirty one years old. Carris is going into his
ninth year. Both those guys are the oldest guys in the team, just thirty one years old. I mean, it's it's young, yet it has individual and team achievements that are extraordinary by by you know, quite a few of the players. And I think it's going to be a pretty good club.
It's no secret lap when you have a highly paid quarterback and the Bengals obviously do you need inexpensive depths. The Bengals kept twelve rookies, all ten of their draft picks, plus two undrafted guys. But they're not keeping them just because they're inexpensive. They really like that young group.
They do. Dan and all eight rookies that made it last year have some sort of role on the sixty nine n roster this year, you know. So it's like ten draft choices this year, eight last year. Two college free agents make it again this year. The most in the National Football League by any team is three college free agents that made the team with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bengals are amongst a few that have two. So you got to tip your cap to the you know, Duke Tobin and his personel department and unearthing a lot of these young players. And you're right, you know, you've got a a very very highly paid and rightfully sole quarterback. You have to surround him with cost effective talent, There's no question about it. And the last two years what they've done a heck of a job of it.
The position group that is in flux to begin the season is the defensive line. Miles Murphy and McKinley Jackson begin the year on I are they will miss at least four weeks. So the Bengals went to the waiver wire and they found kJ Henry, a fifth round draft pick last year by Washington out of Clemson, started three games as a rookie last year for the Commanders and He was their highest graded pass rusher in the preseason, according to p f F. Do you think kJ Henry will play a meaningful role.
I do.
I think he's gonna, you know, like his surroundings, his defensive mind coaches there is, they're both very familiar with each other having come from Clemson. He's got teammates from that that team at Clemson on the on the football team.
Uh.
He's said to be a gregarious sort and uh makes relationships strong relationships with his teammates right away. I do. I mean, I think that he's got a he's got a potential to uh, you know, to make to have an impact on on the football team. He's uh, he's obviously got physical talent and they that's You're right, that position group in general, UH is probably as big a question mark assan team. I mean, he makes the fifth
defensive end. They have five defensive tackles that they've settled in on, and you know, he he becomes the fifth edge guy, and like you said, grated out well as that as that edge guy. He's basically here. A big reason part of a reason why he's here is Miles Murphy's injury. You know, I mean if that didn't take place, it would be a much different dynamic. And also, I think Cedric Johnson basically has an opportunity to assume a
pretty significant role, you know. I mean, now, all of a sudden, you got a young guy that I think showed that he could play in training camp, and he's going to be leaned upon to take some significant snaps, potentially in a significant role for the football team.
They also picked up a couple of defensive linemen from other teams for the practice squad, three hundred and thirty five pound Justin Rodgers, who was a seventh round pick by the Cowboys this year, and defensive end Isaiah Thomas, who was a seventh round pick by the Browns a
couple of years ago. Is that just a matter of these guys are a little bit better than the guys that we already had in camp or does it indicate that the Bengals are really churning through all of these rosters to try and find as much defensive line depth as they can.
Yeah, I mean I think that honestly, their approach is best fifty three guys that they can or actually sixty nine guys with these practice squad auditions. I think they're trying to put together the best football team that they possibly can. And Isaiah Thomas was a seventh round pick out of Oklahoma and Cleveland in twenty two and he played ten years, you know, ten games, I should say as a rookie, but justin Rodgers also, you know, defensive
tackle inside from Auburn. Dallas Cowboys draft him sixty three, three hundred and thirty five pound guy. Again, pretty good football team at Dallas. You know, players, coaches, you become a sponge. You try to absorb as much knowledge as you possibly can with the environment circumstances that you're presented with, and you try to try to make yourself a better football player.
They kept five tight ends, which is a little bit unusual. You've got the three veterans Mike Kasicki through Sample and Tanner Hudson and the two rookies there were draft picks this year, Eric Ball and Tanner McLaughlin. I'm guessing you won't have five active on game day. Was this a matter of not wanting to lose any of them?
Yeah, I think I think you're probably right, Dan. I mean I think that you know they're they're looking at the fact that they all have some potential, some traits that you'd like to have that at the tight end position, and they can deactivate one of them on a on
a weekly basis. And the other thing is with the new kickoff rule, the body types that these tight ends are are very, very valuable to Darren Simmons in terms of getting down the football field with a good sized body and separating from blocks from return teams and sustaining blocks on your return team. So, you know, I think that a position group that as the kickoff rule kind of evolves, you know, you want to make sure that you've got good sized linebackers that can run, good sized
tight ends that can run. So I think all of those guys you know, fit that bill, and some will be better than others in that regard. Obviously, for for Darren Simmons, I don't think we'll see Hudson Usiki doing doing that that type of thing, but the others are all capable of doing it, and if one of them gets nipped up, you get another one on the practice squad ready to roll.
There's a delicate dance for an NFL head coach during training camp between trying to make sure that your players are worked hard and ready, but also trying as much as possible to avoid injuries. All of the Bengals projected starters before training camp should be good to go for the season opener next week against New England. Are they more battle tested as well from this year's training camp?
I think so, Dan, I really do. I mean I think that you know, having joint practices with with two teams back to back, one on the road, went at home, it kind of stimulated, uh, you know, to travel and getting ready to exert as much physical activity as you can uh shortly thereafter, you know, and and uh, and then having them do the same thing when they come to your place. I think all of that is important.
I think all of that gets you into into like a rhythm, you know, both physically and mentally, into a rhythm. And I do think that the practices, in my mind were pretty darn and tense in terms of it was football, you know, it was it was more it was fewer individual drills, shorts and T shirts, you know, running around looking good and all that. It was. It was more team oriented, situational football and then unscripted offense against defense. You know, if you stop us, okay, we have to
start over again. If if we generate a first nown, we're going to continue to sustain the drive and see if we can score. I mean, it was football, and there was a lot of it, and I think a lot of veteran players took a lot of snaps that I thought, from a practice standpoint, were probably as as intense as maybe anybody's or close to anybody's in the National Football League. Then you throw in those you know, those joint practices. I thought that was really good intensity,
particularly in the in the trenches. I thought it was. And then you know, the number ones get on a twelve play seventy three yard drive to start the preseason off, and you know that was it. But that twelve play drive challenge your football party vascular a little bit. And I think I think they are. I think they're I think they're ready to put their best foot forward and get off to a good start, which is obviously the goal.
Training camp is essentially in the books.
Now the Bengals are preparing for Week one against the Patriots.
Do you have a training camp, MVP?
Yeah, this one's interesting. You know, I've got I guess a few guys that jump out at me for very since sundry reasons. But Joe Burrow and Von Bell I think had a huge impact on the offensive and defensive football team. The common denominator is they're both unbelievably quick processors and phenomenal communicators. You know, before the before the ball even snapped, they're making big impacts on their football team.
And the coaches will tell you that. You know that that you know, Zach will say the feedback that they get meetings from Joe Burrow as important as anything that the coaches talk about, and and lou Anoumo just things the praises of Von Bell's ability to communicate and he's like a coach on the field. So all of that is even before the snap of the football. So I think the the two two of the Killer Bees, Burrow and Bell had had great camps. And I mean, Joe,
I can remember Dan my my rookie year. I'm thinking, man, once the last time Kenny Anderson threw an incompletion, when when did the ball actually go on ground? You know that nobody came up with it. I mean it was like like three days. And that's what Joe Burrow is capable of doing. That's what he has done, you know, I mean he he completes passes, man, I mean, he's accurate. He puts it where he wants to put it. He puts it in a good spot where his receivers can
make a play on it. And man to see some of those practices and how many throws he made that never hit the ground then during the course of the preseason completed like what eighty three percent. I mean, that's that's a pretty darn strong camp and that's an obvious MVP. I think Bell is an obvious MVP. And then you factor in expectations and impact on the team. You expect his high expectations for both those guys. But I thought Yosi in the slot was consistently effective on a day
to day basis. I thought Yosi Vosh made a statement said, you know what, I know this slot position is available, and you know, Tyler Boyd moved on and I'm going to put the flag on the ground for this particular position. I thought he really, he really went after it. I thought we talked about Cedric Johnson. I thought, Cedric Johnson, you know, he's going to play more than expected, probably at a very important position. And so Cedric Johnson, you know,
I think stepped up and showed that he belonged. I think Eric al Amon strong and he could have a real impact on the football team. I thought his training camp was effective. And then Mumah obviously is a great story. You know, you get a kid coming out of nowhere, I'm making tackles all over the football field, and he earned a role. Now that role might not have as big an impact on the football team initially the role that he's carved out, but you know, god forbid injuries
or whatever else. You never know how roles might expand. But I think it's a sign that they had a very good camp and they have a pretty good football team that all these guys you can talk about man maybe having a bigger impact on the football team in some cases than you anticipated, and you know, meeting the level of expectation the impact on the foot faul team that you were hopeful of. So I think that's pretty good indicator that they might be pretty decent.
All right, you mentioned a bunch of guys that had great camps, all worthy of consideration for MVP of training camp, but you did not mention mine. So this works out well. My training camp MVP is a guy who only took part in the first half of training camp in one preseason game, and that is a Marius Mims.
Yeah, and here's why.
If we go back to the twenty twenty one draft, we all remember the debate was going on in Cincinnati. Should you take Jamar Chase or should you take Pine Sewel. I think the Bengals now have both. If a Marius Mims is able to stay healthy, he can be Pane sewell. So it took a few years to get both, but I think based on what we saw in that first half of training camp, a Marius Mims can be that type of player had right tackle for the next decade for the Bengal That's why.
I love you, Dan, you love you picked an offensive lineman his MVP.
Who is only there for half of camp.
Yeah, that was that was only there. But I'll tell you what as far as and I couldn't agree with you more as far as making an impact, Oh you kidding me. This guy is a genetic phenomenon, man. I mean his his physical attributes, not only his size, but the athleticism in all regards that go with that size, and in size everywhere you can have size. I mean he is big everywhere, there's no question, and strong and physical.
I mean that that pectoral will heal up. I think he will have an impactful season, and I think he will have an impactful career as well. And on top of that, his intelligence football IQ and his willingness to learn and his overall personality, I mean, he is. He could be very very special. He could And I don't want to jink with any future Hall of Famer talk and all that kind of stuff, but man, he's got he's got those kind of possibilities.
When he has the green light and can play again. Would you like to see them work him in for some series during the course of the game. What kind of game plan would you prescribe for Amarus Mims to get his feet wet?
In the NFL it's a twofold thing house Trent Brown handling things. And how much can he can he take?
Uh?
And then how much do you want to go with Mems? If? If, if only, if, and only if he's ready to go, Because I did. I did have one of those, Dan, and mine was right in the belly, right in the middle of pectoral, and I remember I tried to come back too soon, and I you know, I probably tried to come back two days too soon, and I learned a lesson, and I sat out again for two more days, and when I came back that time, yep, okay, So don't rush it. And they've done a really good job
in that regard. I don't think his you know, obviously no surgery or anything. So I'm not trying to sound an alarm bell. I think he's going to be fine, and I think they handled it well, even though he's a young rookie and the temptation is, man, we got to get him back out there. He needs these snaps, he needs these reps, practice, the way we're conducting training camp, one on ones, team drills, all these things are important. Eh. You got to make sure that thing does not recur.
That you don't want it to be a nagging injury. So I thought they handled it very, very intelligently. And I do think that when he can, when they feel comfortable both medically and coaching staff wise and all of it, I think they will work him in there. Will they throw him out there as the starting right tackle in week one? I'm not sure about that. Have to see how much he practices this week, which is done. You know,
so next week is big. He gets just the rest of this weekend off and he has a week to you know, to show that he's ready to do something. And then you make an evaluation. Okay, what can Trent Brown give us? We've got this insurance pulse and this guy's been effective. It's going to his tenth year. He's get more experienced than any other player in the team. Nobody else is going into their tenth year and he's
played effective football. How do we handle this? How do we just how do we distribute the snaps between these two guys. So it's it's good that they've got options, that they got a couple of ways they can go. But you know, I guess my cautionary tale is make sure that bad boy is good, and I think they have because if it's not, and it can literally be a pain and not just a chest but other places.
Lamp Enjoy your last weekend before the grind begins. Have fun with the grand kids because we are going to be working until f I'd be worried this year calling Bengals games right up to New Orleans.
That sounds like a heck of a plan. Dan the Man, I'm all in Let's do it, my man.
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the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. On the first day of training camp, rookie Dashawn Anthony intercepted a Jake Browning pass When I asked him after practice if he was looking forward to seeing it when the team watched video that night, he said, I really don't want to see the good plays. I want to see the bad ones, so I know what I need to get better at.
That attitude is one of the reasons why the Bengals drafted the Ole Miss safety in the seventh round and helps explain why Dejon made the fifty three man roster. As it looked like you were asleep when safeties coach Jordan Kovac's called you with the good news? Did it seem like a dream.
When he called me, I was like, really in the dead sleep?
So I didn't It was ringing so long, didn't I didn't see who was calling me. I just answered it right quick, and I just seen coach and I'm like, like it, it didn't click until like after he said it. So it was just a blessing, man. But it definitely felt like a dream.
So if you were in a deep, peaceful sleep, you must have felt pretty good about your chances of making the fifty three man roster.
Yeah, I feel like you know, I got a guardian angels protecting me, and like it seemed like throughout my.
Whole process, God always made away.
So I just knew as long as I put in my I don't do what I needed to do on my side, then God was gonna do what he needed to do on his side.
When Coach called you, he said, what was the first thing you wrote down in training camp? And you said, to make the team? That was your first goal. You're one for one.
Yeah, one for one.
That was the first goal, and I mean it start with that. You gotta make the team to get to the other goals. So that was just a big one of the big things that coming in, Like that was the only thing my mind was get to making the team.
And now we're working on interceptions for the year and stuff like that.
Are you comfortable sharing goal number two?
Goal number two? Uh, it was it was carve out.
A role on the team on defense, like already swept teams. We already know that, but carve out a big role on defense.
And then the.
Third one was, may how makeover three turnovers this year? Force over three turnovers and interceptions, force fumble, fourth down stop.
But just three turnovers. That's it.
We're visiting with Dejon Anthony. That's a good segue to my next question, because you had an interception on the first day of training camp, and you had three in the first of training camp. When that happened, did you start to think, you know what, I'm gonna be on this team.
I started seeing it once they put the don package in, and OTA's like, they're not gonna do that, and then they continued to do it through camp.
So as they kept doing that through camp, I kind of had an understanding.
As long as I stayed healthy and kept getting better every day, then I felt like the coaches trusted me enough to have me on the team.
So it was kind of like from day one. I seen it.
Once they put the down package in, and now I just know just had to keep praying hard and just keep doing I need to do every single day.
You broke your nose in the second preseason game. You've got first preseason game. You got a little bit of a scratch at the top of your nose, but it looks pretty good. Did you have you ever broken your nose before? And how are you doing?
No, sir, I never broke nothing. I've never been really injured ever in my life, So do nothing to me. Like I was practice in the next day when we was right this in, they just put it. I I'm wearing a face mask regardless. Now, no matter what the face mask, the visor is on every single practice, it could be raining the advice they gonna be on because it doesn't hurt.
Until somebody hit it. I guess I hit my nose that it hurt, but I don't feel it normally. I could breathe normal. I'm good.
And you didn't wear the visor previously because it is a little bit harder to breathe.
Is that the case? You know?
When you start camp, a lot of coaches and people recommend like, don't have the visors in because you gotta get your breath back in. Uh, you start warning advisors when they get a little cold or stuff like that.
That's what I usually do.
So I didn't have it in the first game, and I didn't have it the whole first couple of weeks of practice.
Was I regret it?
Now you're a visor guy. Now you you told me in a previous interview early in training camp that everything you do you do for your family a How did they take this news that you have made the Bengals fifty three man roster.
Is our rais is on Facebook right now? They all on Facebook.
Monty called me krying, my dad called me krying. So they took it just like the draft day draft party. It's just a lot of emotions in there because now it's like official. So now they's just where they getting all they jersey's more jerseys now getting ready to come to the first game.
First game, My birthday game. Good timing.
Yeah, we play sit to my as my birthday septem a knife, So it's gonna be a good birthday celebration.
The final thing for dayshon Anthony, You've come a long way from Division two Shepherd University in West Virginia. Does it seem a little surreal that you are now truly an NFL player.
Yeah, it definitely does. Man.
It's like I said all the time, I'll just give the glory to God, and I'm super blessing.
I'm just ready to you working. I'm just ready to keep working.
But it's definitely one of the biggest blessings that a lot of people lost jobs yesterday and I'm one of those guys that didn't. And I knowe is only one person that can make that happen. That's the Man above.
So I'm just blessed you earn this objective number one achieved onto objective number two.
Thanks. I can't wait to get to it.
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Of the Bengals.
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