Bengals Booth Podcast: On The Road Again

moves that happened on Wednesday. My one on one player interview is with second year running back Trey Von Williams, who finally got a chance to carry the ball a few weeks ago and is hoping for more opportunities over the final five games. And in our Know the Faux segment, we'll get the scoop on the seven and four Dolphins from Cameron Wolff, who covers the team four ESPN. The

Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Bud Light Seltzer. Refresh the game, and here's a quick reminder that you can add 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 Season two of Peyton's Places, So This is an update of a previous Greatest Thing Since last year, future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning hosted a thirty episode documentary series called Peyton's Places in conjunction with a celebration of the NFL's one hundredth season. The series looks at key moments in NFL history, and if you love football,

you'll love this show. Manning is a fantastic host, and his appreciation for the history of the game shines through in every episode. Season two just started with an episode about Marshawn Lynch and it's hysterical. So look for Peyton's Places. In my opinion, it's well worth a subscription to ESPN Plus. Now time for my conversation with Dave Lapham. We started with a couple of roster moves that the Bengals made on Wednesday. Offensive lineman Xavier Suaphilo is activated from the

injured list. He hasn't played since hurting his ankle in Week one. Unfortunately, to make room on the roster for him, wide receiver Auden Tate went on the injured list with his shoulder injury that will require surgery. Auden's expected to be back in time for training camp. But the Bengals will obviously miss his contested catchability over the final five games of the year, no doubt about it. Dan, he is probably the guy that makes more fifty fifty players

than anybody in his mind. It's not fifty fifty, seventy five, twenty five or better in his favor. He's got the length, he's got vice grip hands, he's very very good one covered. In today's National Football League a lot of times there's not a whole lot of separation. So Auden Tape becomes one of those guys where he's open when he's covered

kind of dealing. They are going to miss him. They gonna miss him in on third down conversion possibilities, are going to miss him in the red zone where he can really step up and cause issues when there are tight quarters, compressed field, all those sorts of things. So that's a weapon that you'd like to have for sure, as in the final five games of the season. Let's turn to Xavier to a Philo. He signed a three

year free agent deal in the off season. He got injured in Week one when he was starting at right guard. What do you think happens with him for the rest of this year. That's a great question. I think I wonder if you know they're still monitoring how he's coming back. Had a severe ankle injury obviously, and the guy like that though, with the leadership that he has, and he will provide consistency and level of play, and that's that's

what's been lacking a little bit. Redman just can't stay healthy, you know, elbow and concussion and just he seems to be one of these players that that just can't can't stay healthy on a week a week to week basis, and Sue A. Philo could be a guy to go in there and provide and see at the position. You know, the thought was that Michael Jordan was going to sit down for a little while and just kind of collect himself.

And his play has been wildly inconsistent. One week he'll look like a pro bowler and the next week he'll look like he shouldn't be a starter, and everything in between. So that that graph has going to level out a little bit into a good high level of play. So there's there's options there. I mean, I think Sue Philo would be the right guard, and then of course Quentin Spain, mister versatile, he could he could be plugged in there

at left guard very easily. And if Redmund is still nicked up with concussion protocol, and if they decide that they still want to do what they were thinking about doing with Michael Jordan, just let him sit back and observe for a while and think about things. And the thing he has to do. Dan playing as simple is just lower as pads. If he plays with a lower pad level, he'll be fine. But he gets he gets a little bit sloppy, I think with his pad love

when it comes back to haunt him periodically. The Bengals are obviously trying to figure out what they're line is going to look like next year. They may use their first draft pick on an offensive lineman, particularly if they have the ability to draft Piney Sewell out of Oregon.

But I wonder, with five games left and then two years left on Xavier sue Philo's deal, if they want to try to figure out over the course of the next five games, all right, should this guy be the right guard next year when Joe Burrow is healthy and back in there at quarterback. Yeah? I thought that in training camp. I thought he was a little bit spotty. I thought his best performance was the quote scrimmage that they staged, you know, and then and then the injury

occurs and and there's there's problems. Um, so you know, he may be one of these gamer type guys when the when the whistle blows and you you start to play full contact, meaningful games that count towards standings. He's he's one of those guys that shows up and shows up big, and you just don't know. You don't have a, like you said, a category or a log of plays to be able to evaluate from. And I mean you

can evaluate him from his time. I'm down in the state of Texas with the Texans and the Cowboys, but that's not up here in Cincinnati with the Cincinnati Bengals. So yeah, it's I think they are gonna I if he can go, if the doctors feel like he can go, and obviously they do because they brought him off of injury reserve and he's been he's been you know, on that twenty one day UH protocol deal. And if they feel like he's physically able to go, I think the

Bengals are gonna have to go evaluate some snaps. They're gonna have to let him go out there and play and see what he can do and make some decisions like you're like you spoke of Dan So at some point this week, possibly even today, Joe Burrow is having reconstructive surgery on his left knee. It's being done in Los Angeles by doctor Neil el Atrotch. I have no idea if I'm saying that correctly, but he has become

the go to guy for sports stars. Used to be doctor James Andrews, but now it's doctor Neil el A Trotch. He repaired Tom Brady's knee a few years ago. They remained very close. He operated on se Quon Barkley's a cl earlier this year. He did multiple surgeries over the years on the late Great Kobe Bryant. So Joe Burrow is clearly in good hands. Here is Joe's close friend Sam Hubbard and Joe Burrow going forward. Joe's hanging in there. He's, uh, you know, he's on his way out to West Coast

give the surgery and starts path recovery. Mentally, he's he's staying up and you know, my heart goes out to him as the surgery approaches and his recovery process begins. He's still pretty upbeat. I think he's just ready to get this process going and uh, you know, get healthy for next year. He's he's as about as positive and upbeating as you could be with the circumstances and the injury, and he's being strong and you know, like I said,

I'm thinking about him, We're all thinking about him. Lap It's only been a week and a half since Joe Burrow's injury. Do you take it as a good sign that they are planning do surgery this quickly? I do? You know? They're swelling obviously is the big issue. So you have to get the swelling out of there. That could complicate matters. So the fact that that his body has reabsorbed a lot of that issue, I think is a positive sign. And I think that speaks to his age,

his condition of his body, and his conditioning overall. I

think all those are positive signs. And he's represented by um CAA creative athletes and artists, and a lot of times these agencies have relationships with orthopedic surgeons and it becomes you know, that's that's where the political ping pong might say, Okay, the organization wants their orthopedic surgeon to do the do the job, and the representative of the agency, the agent wants somebody else to do the job, and they have to settle those kind of those kind of

political volleyballs. But it's not unusual that there's a there's an orthopedic surgeon on another team that is highly guarded, and everybody goes in that direction. This isn't the first time, obviously, as all the littan you guys that you mentioned that he's operated on, Andrew Wortworth has just had a procedure done with him as well, and speaks very highly of of course, he's the RAMS team orthopedic doctor, which is

a different situation. But he's going to go out to LA have the surgery and probably the early early rehab part of it will be out there in LA and then he'll work his way back here to Cincinnati and continue that rehab process. It's interesting reading about his relationships with some of the patients that he's had over the years. He and Tom Brady remain very close. They are frequent to golfing buddies. Apparently when he did Cooper Cups acl and as you mentioned, he has the RAMS team doctor,

so there's a relationship there. But Cooper cup and his family lived his house, lived at his house for a while in and around the surgery. So he sounds like a guy that players definitely have a lot of trust in. Yeah, Andrew Wortworth quote was, this guy's a great man. And in my opinion, if Andrew wort Worth gives you that that kind of thumbs up, and that's good enough for me. That's all I need to know. Because Wit knows people and he understands people, there's no doubt about it. That

is an excellent point. So this week we have the two eight and one Bengals against the seven and four Dolphins, and let's turn the clock back to last year because Miami got off to the worst four games start in NFL history last year. They lost to Baltimore in Week one, fifty nine to ten. They lost to New England in Week two, forty three nothing. They lost to Dallas in Week three thirty one to six. They lost to the

Chargers in Week four, thirty to ten. That is the worst four game deferential at any point in any season in NFL history. Both of these teams started the season oh and seven last year, but Miami finished five and four. Now they're seven and four this year. That's twelve and eight combined, whereas the Bengals during that same twenty game span our four fifteen and one. So one team has learned how to win, the other team hasn't yet. Dolphins

coach Brian Flores says, that is a real thing. Yeah, you do need to learn how to win in this league. I think there's there's something to that. Um, I'm not sure if I wish I had, if I had the formula, i'd probably you know, bottle it up and but I don't.

But I think it is. You know, part of that is just working every week, preparing every week, good good good meetings, good walk through his good practice, good routines, um, you know, on the field, off the field, and then you know, let the chips fall away fall What stands out to you about Brian Flores and this Miami team.

Brian Flores is ready for his opportunity. Four years in the scouting department, special teams coach, defensive coach, defensive coordinator, now head coach, and all of his time spent in New England, the best organization that you can spend time, and I think to have an apprenticeship as such. And the thing that stands out to me, Dan in that process that you're talking about, that nightmarish process. This guy

is all about defense. He's a defensive oriented head coach, the first one they've had since Nick Saban and his patience, no panic, so Brian Flores. He has answers. You know, when problems arise, he's got an answer. He's got a plan, A, B C. He's ready. The guy. The guy is very, very smart. He's very honest with his players, very tough on his players, extremely disciplined. It sounds like a mini Bill Belichick. This may be the guy of all the

assistance that Bill Belichick's coaching tree has produced. This may be the guy that has the brightest future. Yeah, bell O'Brien did well for a while in Houston, but most of those Belichick disciples have not done well as head coaches. I want to follow up on free agency because you alluded to that the Bengals were the number two free agent spending team this past offseason. They spent almost one hundred and thirty five million on free agents from other teams.

The Dolphins spent more than one hundred million more than that. They were the number one free agent spender. They spent more than two hundred thirty nine mill on free agents. And what they did was they said, it's an organization. As an organization, we are ripping it up and starting over. They just shredded it and had obviously more cap space than anybody in so doing. And they said, we're going back to square one and we're gonna build it block by block from square one. So again they had a

plan and they thought, okay, it's tank for two a time. Look, they're getting rid of everybody all they're good players, they're getting rid of them. They're moving guys. They had players that they let go, you know, quality players, wide receiver, running back, different players, defensive pass rush guys, and Flores whole. His whole philosophy is you want to be good on the back end, and you want to be deep on the back end. And he has the most expensive tandem

at cornerback in the National Football League. They got Byron Jones from Dallas fifty seven million guaranteed. Howard, they've got an expensive tannem back there, and they've got death back there. He'd rather have outstanding back end and not have that premier pass rush guy and just get pass rushed from a lot of different ways. With his pressure packages and good solid football players. Twelve different players have a quarterback sack. Now Ogba has eight, you know, and that puts him

tied for seventh in the National Football League. But he's got, you know, twelve guys total. Seven different guys have a quarterback sack or less. So he's bringing them from everywhere, everywhere and anywhere. And third down, man, you want to stay out of third down against them. They lead the National Football League. And that's when he does all of his crazy stuff. He's real aggressive. He'll have a bunch

of people up at the line of scrimmage. He'll bring small bodies and then he'll he'll rush his big guys. I'll notice he'll rush his big guys for a step or two into the offensive lineman, engage him, and then disengage and drop back into coverage. And that's really tough on the quarterback. You don't know which four or five of the seven are coming because these guys are engaging, and then the big guys drop back and the little guys come and everything else in between. I mean, that's

when third down, that's when it gets crazy. Against the Dolphins, just like it does against Billy B. Billichick. Dolphin's rookie quarterback to a Tungo Vyla, the fifth pick in this year's draft, did not start last week four Miami due to an injured thumb. At their practice today, he wore black tape around his wrist and his thumb, but no word on whether he'll be the starter on Sunday against

Cincinnati if he can't go. Thirty eight year old Ryan Fitzpatrick will start the NFL leader in combined beard and chest hair. Here is his head coach, Brian Flores on Fitzy. You know, Ryan's a very good leader, um, talented player, smart, gritty, you know, tough and it really embodies a lot of the characteristics we're looking for in a Dolphin. Can handle adversity, mentally, tough.

You know, it's been it's been, you know, great working with him, I would say these last two years it's been a great mentor to tour and a lot of other young players. So, you know, it's one thing, you know as a coach to try to teach you you know, these young guys and mentor and teach them how to be a pro. It's another thing when you have a guy like Ryan in the locker room, in the huddle with them, you know, really saying a lot of the

same things. So you've been a very, very valuable piece to our to the growth of some of our young players, I would say, lap Since the injury to Joe Burrow, I've heard a lot of people say, why didn't the Bengals go out and sign a better veteran quarterback than Brandon Allen And many have brought up the name Ryan Fitzpatrick. Well, fitz he wasn't available prior to last year. He signed a two year, eleven million dollars deal with the Dolphins

that is up at the end of this season. You know him from his time with the Bengals in two thousand and eight, and knew of him before that from his days at Harvard. If he wants to keep playing, should the Bengals try to sign Ryan Fitzpatrick? Absolutely, if he wants to keep playing. And that's the key. In conversation with him down there before the Miami game last year, he said that that you know, he's got seven kids,

He's got one for every day of the week. So and now and now they're they're getting of an age where he doesn't want to hop scotch them around to different places. You know, he's interested in stability of education and all those sort of things, and he really likes it down there. So, um, he was you know, he's trying to make a decision about whether we would come

back to Miami or not. So if he's trying to make that kind of a decision, I wonder how much it would you know, he'd have to be guaranteed playing time in my opinion, because he was looking to be guaranteed playing time for Miami to come back, you know, after last season. So uh, it's it's it's an interesting dynamic, you know. And would he leave his family down there, because that's the thing that he loves is that he doesn't have to hit his family's with him all the time.

You know, he doesn't have to relocate to be somewhere else as a player at this stage of his career, and he doesn't want to necessarily relocate that entire family, the size of the family we're talking about. So there's a lot of circumstances. There are a lot of extenuating circumstances. But I will say that he does have a high respect from Mike Brown being a you know, an Ivy League grad himself and the Brown family, and he had a good experience with his first day in Cincinnati. So

there are a lot of positives there. It'd be interesting if if both parties could come to some kind of an agreement that would make sense economically and all the intangibles that we just talked about. Fitz he doesn't need the dough made seventy one point five mill over the course of sixteen seasons, So this Harvard grad has done well,

like many Harvard grads. I just wonder, because of the uncertainty over Joe Burrows timetable, if maybe something can be worked out where, hey, we may need somebody that's starting for us at the beginning of next season. Would he be willing to sign on with the possibility that, you know, he could be the starter at the beginning of the year, and then if Joe comes along at a great rate and is ready by the beginning of the season, he could, you know, take whatever chunk of guaranteed money he gets

and sail off into the sunset. Yeah. I think those are the kind of the parameters we're talking about, because that's what he was I think talking about with Miami, and he wants to play at this stage, he wants to play. He doesn't want to be separated from his family and not play. That's that does that doesn't ring

true to him. And on top of the seventy one million you're talking about, he's got a bunch of Harvard buddies that may have doubled or tripled his money in terms of investments and things that they're they're involved with around not only the United States, but worldwide. There's no telling how much money fits he has made at this point because he's a very intelligent guy with his money as well. So yeah, it's he still has the burning

desire to play, and I think he still does. He was he was pretty vocal, kind of unfits you like, you know, when Brian Flores decided to sit him, It's like I have to go to a meeting and sit across and look at a guy who fired me. I don't like that, you know, I mean, that's that's very very strong statement coming from Ryan Fitzpatrick. But I think coach Flores respected it. You know. He basically he likes his competitive fire. Um, he likes his his toughness and

all that sort of thing. So it wasn't an issue. And uh, like you said it, there'd have to be um parameters involved. If this occurs, that occurs, if this does, that does, there's gonna have to be a lot of stages, I think, and levels and to any kind of a deal that might be struck. Head coach Zack Taylor often talks about building a winning culture in Cincinnati, but at some point, every coach has to win games. Zach is

four twenty two and one as Cincinnati's head coach. So how does he convince the players that they are headed in the right direction. We show him the tape, we show him where the mistakes are, we show him that the directions we're headed in the right way. Oftentimes this thing has come down to one play and we got we gotta find that way to make that one play at the end of the game, and we just haven't

done it yet. But again, all I can say is that when you stay in front of the team at the end of the game, winner lost, and you preach those guys, you know that they're all in it together and they believe in what we're doing and they can see it because they see it every day in practice. They see it on the game tape. They know where we're close, and we're just not getting done yet. And

that's our focus is keeping these guests together. That hasn't been as difficult as some might think it is, just because we're trying to build it of the right talent and character combined, and that has really helped us through these trying times. And um, you know the other part, you just you just we keep doing everything that we believe in and keep making progress. And UM, I know there's a day where we're gonna bust down this wall and there's gonna be some great times ahead. I know

that right now. It's it's very difficult sometimes when you deal with these losses, but UM, I also know what our future holds for us, and we just we got to keep working towards that. And in these two years that we've endured, UM, we'll service service incredibly well in the future when we're win a lot of football games, we're playing for championships. These are times that we look back on and reflect on as almost necessary for for

where we end up being. With those four wins in two years, do you feel any extra pressure personally as you get closer the end of year two. I feel pressure every single day to be urgent, um to do my job at the best I can. And it shouldn't change if if you believe in the way that you're approaching things and what your vision is UM, it shouldn't change based on based on wins or losses. You know, I'm We tell the guys we want consistent players as

they walk through the building every single day. We need to know what to expect from them. I sure as heck and not going to be any different than the day I was the day I showed up on the job and believing what the staff is asking these players to do. Believe that the players have bought in and they know that this is the right way to do it. And we're not going to change just because of We're not going to change our personalities or the way we go about our business just because of the trials that

we faced. Mike Brown gives coaches a chance. There's no question about that. He values continuity and a coaching staff and doesn't like to make changes unless he is absolutely forced to. David Shula started out five and eleven, three and thirteen, three and thirteen. He not only got a fourth year, he got a fifth Bruce Coslet seven and nine, three and thirteen, four and twelve, he got a year after that and then decided to quit after an oh

and three starts. So having said all that, we know that ownership is patient, but do you think this coaching staff have to show them something in the final five weeks? Yeah, you would, you would think so, Dan, And uh, honestly, two, this organization doesn't like to pay two head coaches. I mean, that's that's a big part of it. If you if a head coach is under contract, you still that's guaranteed, you know, it's not it's not like there's guaranteed portion

and not guaranteed portion like in standard player contracts. Coaches have to be paid if they are under contract and they're still not providing services where you still have to pay them. Uh, And then you don't want to pay necessarily two coaching staffs, two head coaches and a bunch of double paid assistant coaches. That that becomes part of

the part of the equation, part of the process. But um, yeah, I mean when Zach talks about knocking the wall down, you know, a lot of fans think there's walls behind walls. You knock one wall down and then another one pops up. It's right there. You know it's it's at some point in time and everybody understands it. You know. It's it's

not like you're it's not like you're developing. You're like the the D League for the NBA, you're not developing players to play at the highest level, and in wins and losses may not be as paramount as they are at the NBA level. This is the national Football It's not like minor league baseball getting guys ready for their major league career, and wins and losses are important there, but not as much as at the highest level of the Major league baseball team. There is no other team.

This is it. You're competing at the highest level in the National Football League, so you're you're evaluated on wins and losses. So at some point in time, you know, you got to start winning these games where it takes one play. You got to make the play, make the play, avoid the mistake that will win you football games instead of so many of them going in the wrong column. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with a hint of fruit flavor.

Now time for this week's one on one player interview. This week, I caught up with running back Trayeon Williams, a sixth round draft pick last year, who is starting to get the opportunity to show why he had such a great college career at Texas A and M Trevie had a lot of Bengals fans, myself included, have been eagerly wondering when you would get the opportunity to carry the ball, and you did recently. You got your first five regular season carries a few weeks ago against the Steelers.

What did that mean to you? Man? It meant the world. It just really showed that, you know, if you have a dream and you have something that you want to achieve, and it always might not work out the way that you want it, but if you stay persistent, if you stay dedicated to it, it'll it'll come around full circle at some point. So it meant a lot. You had a thirteen yard pass reception last week. Do you think

a play like that might lead to more opportunities? Oh? Yeah, for sure, I'm hoping, you know, hopefully, you know, with the game plan every everything this week hopefully I get another opportunity to go out there and just make players. You know, I just I just want to play, that's it. I just want to be able to help my team and put them be able to put my team in the best position win. Just want to be out there with my guys and just having fun to play ball.

That's it. We're visiting with running back trevy On Williams. You are in a talented room with Joe Mixon, Giovanni Bernard and Sam J. P Ryan. That requires patience. Are you a patient person? Oh? Yeah, and it's crazy. First off, man, we gotta outstanding room. I don't. I don't think people believe and really understand how talented this room is. You know, all four of us are guys that can go in

and make plays at any point in the game. But um, and it's crazy that you say patience because I never knew I had this much patience until I got to

the NFL. Um. You know, they don't tell you this kind of stuff when you're a kid, that this is out of the NFL it might work out like this, But um, you know, throughout the time, my patience has been tested in and I've been doing pretty good so far, Trev and a couple of years ago you led the SEC in rushing for Texas A and M. That puts you on a list with names like Dre Henry mark Ingram Ammt Smith, Bo Jackson, herschel Walker and many others. What does that accomplishment mean to you? Meant a lot,

meant a lot. But that's dedication to hard work, you know, that's testament to hard work. And just um, all the guys that was around me. Um, I had outstanding line at Texas and Mum, you know what we were. We're able to have one of our guys keating Southern, he's here with us. We had Jim Turner officive line coach and um, you know that was the first year with jimbo Fisher. So it was really running that pro star offense and had a fullback in front of me. It was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun.

Absolutely enjoyed it. And then it's crazy because I ran for exactly a mile. Sixty ran for exactly a mile, So I enjoyed every bit of it, enjoyed every carry and it was it meant a lot because you know, it was a be able to be a part of some great names. Like you said, do you remember the details of your last college game? Oh, I mean I remember a couple of details of it. Um, you know, NC State. I was able to play Ryan Philly and Jermaine Pratt. Jermaine Pratt didn't play. But oh man, it

was so much fun. I can't explain the level of fun that game was. Playing in the Gator Bowl and enjoying those last moments with my teammates and doing all that. It was an absolute last I couldn't I couldn't change that moment for the for the world final score fifty two to thirteen Texas A and M wins. Let me give your stats. Twelve carries, two hundred and thirty six yards. I'm twelve carries. Oh jeez, dog, that's crazy that you said. I don't remember I had twelve carries. I could have.

It felt like I had more, but all the running that I was doing. But man, that's a that's a that's a good game, pretty good game, including a ninety three yard touchdown run. So you showed off your wheels, Oh yeah, yeah, for sure. I had to have to, you know, get them old up and all the gas and to think to finish it off. We're chatting with

trey ViOn Williams. It's obviously been a tough year for the team, including a couple of weeks ago when Joe Burrow suffered his knee injury as a young teammate hoping to play alongside him for years to come. How tough was that for you? Man? That was tough. Talk about a guy first off, with Joe Burrow, a guy that can come in immediately and gain the respect of all his teammates. So to see him go down like that,

oh man, it was devastating. And if you were in the stadium, it was no fans in the stadium, so it was already quiet. But when he went down in a year to hear the whole stadium with pitch silent, and just to hear him, you know, grimace and kind of you know, being pained, it was hurting. That was that was bad and just fell for the guy because he's a great guy and guys that comes to work every single day and puts his body, in his mind and everything on the line just to put us in

positions to be great. So that was tough to see him go down like that. But um, you know it's you hate to say it, but it's those are the bad things that comes with this game. But you know, we're all behind them and hopefully he gets back one hundred percent healthy and ready for the next year. Trey ViOn, You've got a very up eat personality. What keeps you grinding for the final five games of the year. Just my son, I would say, my son, and and just the guys around here. Man. We got a great group

of guys. Um coach Taylor Man, he's a coach that we all love, and we all go to war for him every single every single day, every single game. And you know, we just gotta keep keep pumping. There's a lot of things that we can still achieve with the remainder of this season, So we gotta take a game by game and hopefully we can still achieve that. So your son was born in early June. What's been the best part of fatherhood so far? Oh? Man? Just um

just saying that smile. It's crazy because he's turned six months in a couple of days. So just to see him every day and just see him gain so much personality day by day. Man, It's it's an absolute blessing. And just to see a little me. It's it's it's absolute blessing. I'm so blessed to have him and wouldn't change it for the world. There a little mini football in the crib. Oh yeah, most definitely coming coming. You already know there that there's a football in play. And

he's very centible with his hands. He loved to use his hands and stuff. So hopefully he takes after his dad and he wants to play football. Well. As I said at the beginning of our conversation, it was great to see you get those carries against the Steelers a few weeks ago, and I think on behalf of all Bengals fans are hoping that you get a bunch of opportunities for the rest of this season. Best of luck and thanks for the time today. Oh thank you so

much for having me. Hopefully the opportunity takes itself and the best of the year plays out. Thank you out time for our know the faux segment. The Miami Dolphins are seven and four. They're currently one game behind Buffalo and two games ahead of New England in the AFC East. Cameron Wolf covers the Dolphins for ESPN, and he joined lapping me on the Bengals Game Plan Show. Let's start

with a quarterback situation. Cameron, as of today Wednesday of game week, what's your best guests to UH or Fitsie on Sunday. It's up in the air. I think if I had to make a choice, I would probably say tah, he's practicing. We drip talked to him about fifteen minutes ago on the media call. He said he's feeling good. Um, he left it up to the coaches and the training statum. We talked to one of his receivers, to Keim Grant, and he said he looked great to him and he

was throwing it normal. So all that, to me kind of gives the indication that he's healed enough to play. But you know, ultimately it's going to be Brian Floors watching and does he feel like a ninety is better than one hundred percent fit. That's something that I don't know for sure. So I think this is something that will probably go down to maybe Friday, maybe he's in game day if they want to push it. But if

I had to choose, I think it'll be TOA. Okay, besides TOA, they had six picks in the first three rounds, so five picks besides tah and all the money that they spent in free agency. They stripped the franchise down basically and had all this cap space and went out and they got all these players and all these new editions. It's a it's a very different football team and what played last season the Bengals, in the in the Dolphins.

In your mind, which player or players, a player or a couple of players have made the most significant difference in terms of what they got in the drafting free agency from last year. Yeah, I think the most immediate difference has been on defense. And you got to look at you know, maybe two or three games they were

able to sign in free agency. They spent a lot of money bringing Byron Jones in a cornerback, and he has really helped really all set Sabian Howard on the other side, Xabian Hollar has already been you know, their star corner for a while, but now he has a tag team partner, so teams can't avoid him anymore. And you know, now x has seven interceptions, So I think Byron Jones has been a big part of that. And

then Amahuel Ogba, He's at eight sacks. They've signed him in free agency defensive end, and he's been a wrecking ball up front getting pressure every week. He's in top ten in sacks, top ten and QBE pressures. And then Kyle van Noy's their signal caller and the linebacker in the middle is another guy they signed in free agency. So they really overdid this defense completely, and they've gone from the thirty second scoring defense in twenty nineteen to

the second scoring defense this year. So it's been a heck of a turnaround and I think those guys are at the center of it. That is an amazing stat we're talking to. Cameron Wolferd covers the Miami Dolphins for ESPN. Miami's defense has nineteen takeaways, third best in the NFL. They've had at least one and seventeen consecutive games. That's the longest streak in the NFL. Is there a simple explanation for why they're coming up with so many takeaways? Yeah,

I think they've been super aggressive. This is a team that even last year, they like to play a lot of man the man defense, and you can have the talent to be able to hang up in those situations. Now, like I mentioned earlier, they have the talent, so it's going to present offenses for the situation where they have to make a lot of quick decisions and drest. They've been sending a lot more blitches. They've been doing a lot of pressure upfront to really confuse quarterbacks and and

sort of disguise pressure. And then on the back end, they've got two really good corners who can play man and man coverage. Of those those takeaways that you mentioned, Exabian Hours got seven of them. He leads the league in interceptions, So he's a guy where if you're a little home with the pass, he's going to take it away. So I think it's a combination of there, you know, there residing scheme up front and also having guys in

the bank they can make plays on it. So they draft twa with the first pick, the first first round pick. But then they then they go and they draft Austin Jackson with the other first round pick. One of the second round picks, they draft Robert Hunt. Then the fourth round they draft Kinley. So they draft three offensive linemen to protect the quarterback that they drafted. How have those rookie offensive lineman performed this year? They've been They've been

prolatively solid. I won't say they've been great. They've handled up in Septon down, particularly over the last couple of weeks. But I think you look at him particularly awesome Jackson at leftop. Well, he's the guy who's been a week one starter and he's been pretty solid throughout, and he's a guy where you feel pretty comfortable that he's going to be your left Tapple for next five or ten years.

And on the right side, they got two big guys like you mentioned in Solomon Kinley and Robert Hunt, and they're still trying to figure out what's the best position for rob Hunt where there's gard Tapple. But all those guys in are starting some disky games this year. When you have pretty rookie alignment who were starting in your holding uple okay on offense, that's good for your long term future team. So I think that's the way they

wanted to build this team to their trenches. And you know now they've got three guys they believe in who could protect their quarterback for years to go. We're spending a few minutes with Cameron Wolf, who covers the Dolphins for ESPN. Early last year everybody said they're taking they're taking for twa they traded Menca Fitzpatrick, they traded Laramie Tunsell and Kenny Stills. They traded Kenyan Drake. Well, they

got a lot of draft picks for it. They opened up a bunch of cap room, and now one year later they're seven and four and currently the number six playoffs seed in the AFC. Is it generally the feeling now that it worked. I mean, whether they were tanking or not, the strategy clearly seemed to work. Oh yeah, absolutely,

It's been such a change in atmosphere. You know, I was covering this team last year and it was it was rough at times, you know, in the locker room around the facility, that's talk around, whether it's nationally or locally. And they've made it through it. So I guess they've made it through the roughest part of the storm and

now they could to taste their fruits. And the other part of it is they still have two first round picks and two second round picks this year from the Houston Texans trade of Laramie Tunsels, so that even done finishing building this team. So yeah, I guess you can say it's worked to an extent. You know, you still have to figure out can you win when matters? Can you get to the playoffs? Can you win those games?

But I haven't seen a turnaround like this in a long time, from being a laughing stock, you know, probably the least talented team in the league to a team that's you know, got a good chance to make the playoffs. So I definitely think that the team building deserves a lot of credit, and now they just have to finish the job and gets her playoffs. The all important third phase,

special teams. Miami's outstanding I mean, Flores has a special team's background, Danny Crossman's great and unbelievable coach number one in the NFL in punt returns, number number two in the NFL covering punts, number one in the NFL covering kickoffs and then returning kickoffs down the line a bit. But I mean three out of the four phases either one or two in the National Football League. Who gets credit for it? Is it just a connglomoration of everybody,

head coach, special teams, coach players. What's going on special teams wise? Yeah, I think you start got to start with the coaches, right, I think a lot of it depends on do you have a head coach that carries about special teams, And you mentioned Brian Forward having a background there. They've really put assets into that that group. You know, jackiem Grant's the best returning the league. He's already ran two touchdowns back. He's a speedy guy. They

really they signed him to an astension last offseason. He's a guy who hasn't really made a name for himself as a receiver, but they spent money on him because they believe in him as a returner and they're getting that back. You know, Jason Saunders is a guy they drafted a couple of years ago. He's you know, eight for eight on kicks over fifty yards this year, and that's something that just doesn't happen in the league very often.

And they even drafted a long snapper in the sixth round this year, which all of us scratch our head at. But that that, to me showed how important special teams is for them. So yeah, I think it's a It starts with the organizational and a coaching perspective that hey, we value special teams, so we're gonna put the resources in it, and it's paid off. Howe has two unlooked in the four games that he started, I'd say the

best word to describe it would be efficient. He's had six touchdowns to zero interceptions, so he hasn't turned them all over like a lot of rookies done have done. But he hasn't had, you know, a superstar game yet. He hasn't thrown for four hundred yards even three hundred yards, and a lot of the the question marks around him is is he willing to take those chances down the field. So I think that you've been, you know, sort of happy with what he's done, but you want to see

him take the next step. He's shown that he's mobile, he's shown that he can, you know, make plays when put into those situations. He just has to learn his personnel a little bit better. He doesn't have the receivers that he had at Bama who are streaking, goping down the field, so he's been forced to throw into tighter windows,

which he's been a little headed sensive to do. So I think they're happy with the development, but he has to take that next step for him to be you know that justin Herbert types of sess that he's happening happened, so far as a rookie. Ryan Fitzpatrick was the leading rusher on the football team last year and as a team averaged three point three yards per carry, last in the league. This year, at this point in the season, three point six yards per carry dead last in the

league as well. Why can't get the running game going? Yeah, that's been a Chilees heel for them for three years now, even before Brian Floors got here. I think it's a fun Like we mentioned earlier, they got a lot of young golphins, a lineman who are holding up actually a pretty well. And pass protection but they haven't really made a name for themselves yet. And run run blocking and

to me as husually as the opposite. But for some reason, this group has got pass blocking earlier than run blocking. So I think they've got to grow and be able to, you know, get better in that unit. And also they just don't have a true running back that they can believe in and give the ball to and trust for to get the dirty yards. You know, They're probably gonna get Miles Gasking back this week. He's been their lead back for motional the year. But he's a guy who

was a seventh round pick a year ago. Who didn't play much at all, so you sort of unheralded guy. So I think you'll see them off this offseason, really spend resources at running back and receiver and try to get more playmakers for two of going forward because they don't have them right now. My last question for Cameron Wolf, who covers the Dolphins for ESPN, I want to turn the clock back to the last game of last year because they played into England. The Dolphins really had nothing

to play for. New England was playing for a first round by the Dolphins win the game in the final minute, New England is forced to play a first round playoff game, which they lose. The Chiefs jumped up to the number two seed and won the Super Bowl. How big was

that win for building Miami's momentum so to speak going forward. Yeah, I think it was huge, mostly because I think it was sort of the calling card for that team to show that, you know, we aren't tanking, you know we aren't just the lasting sight that everybody was gonna do.

Like you mentioned that Patriots team, that they would have won that game, they would have had a first round by so they had the lock to play for and the Dolphins had nothing to play for and they went up to New England and being so I think everybody on that roster I've talked to said that was their favorite game of the year, and I think it created

some momentum. You know, I think people already started to believe in Brian Floors, but that win said hey, you know this guy can really, you know, really make make make chicken salad out a whole lot of stuff. So what happens when we get talent? So I think that helped him get free agent to come side here. A lot of people saw that and said, Okay, that's something we can believe in. And it also, like I said, sort of put a stamp on his culture and say, hey,

we're not just about the talk. We're going to turn this thing around. So I think that was huge and it didn't really impact their ability to get too like a lot of fans worried at that point. So it all worked out for him. They were able to win, not to take us off the pedal stool and get two all on one del song. Final question for me, Cameron, and appreciate your time. You've given us a lot of it.

It's regarding Ryan Fitzpatrick. He wasn't happy obviously when he was benched for TUA, and I guess if he was happy, it wouldn't be a good thing. Obviously he's competitive. But do you anticipate him playing after this year in the National Football League or do you think he retires, goes off from the sunset with his wife and seven children. Yeah, it's a good question. I mean, he just turned thirty eight last week. He doesn't really have anything else to accomplish.

He played for every team in league. Just about UM and he But the one thing that I keep going back to is every time I talk to him about um, you know, playing and what he's gonna give it up, he says that he loves playing more than just about everything else. So I still get to feel that if there's an opportunity for him, and I think this is important, if there's an opportunity for him, a real opportunity to be a starn in twenty twenty one, then I wouldn't

move out him coming back to do that. Um. I think if it's just a backup opportunity, I don't think he comes back for that. But if he really has a chance to play, UM, I don't know if he's ready to give it up. He's a guy who's played World this year even though they got too and he's starting now and is a starter. We've seen Ryan Fitzpatrick lead them to a four and three record and looked pretty solid doing it, so there's zero question that he

still has the ability to do it. It's the one and I think if he has a starting job, or at least a chance to one and starting job, that might be enough for him to say, hey, I'll come back for another year. I agree, he's not gonna he's not gonna move, leave his family, or relocate his family for a backup job anywhere. I agree, he's got to start or it's over right. I think you're own the money there. Don't forget to tune into The Bengals Pep Radley Show Friday from three to six on Fox Sports

thirteen sixty. 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