Bengals Booth Podcast: School's Out

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, Stitch, your Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since old guys shooting hoops at the gym. I belong to a local fitness club. My physique provides ample

evidence that my attention said said club isn't great. But one thing that inspires me to drag my butt in there as often as possible is seeing a handful of elderly guys who regularly shoot hoops. I'm guessing that some are in their eighties. There's not much running and jumping involved, which is how I played in my teens. But they're out there having fun and staying active. I should probably start working on my set shot. Now, let's get to football.

When aj Green was still with the Bengals, he used to host a youth football camp in Cincinnati, and one of the teammates he brought with him at the start of that player's NFL career was Joe Mixon. Now Joe hosts his own football camp, and last weekend he brought a rookie out to meet the campers, number one draft pick Jamar Chase. I'm sure it was quite a thrill for the hundreds of youngsters that attended the camp last weekend at Sycamore High School, and I caught up with

a rookie wide receiver out of LSU. Got a couple hundred kids here, leasually get a thrill out of meeting somebody like you. What does this do for you? It just, you know, it shows that you know, I have a humble heart. You know I want to get back to the community. You know, show that I'm willing, you know, show support. So you know, it's it's just good will. It's Joe Mixon's camp. Did Joe reach out and say, hey, ruck,

can you help a brother out? Joe did kind of hit me up, you know, he told me, you know, to come out here and have a little fun with him. So I decided to come show and show some love. Did you ever meet a professional athlete when you were these kids age? I don't think I did. I don't think I did, but I wish I would have. I wish I would have. What would it have done for you at that age? I don't know. I'd probably just

been excited and had asked a bunch of questions. I think that would have been my goal to what kind of message do you give kids when you have the opportunity to talk to them? UM? My message to the kids, you know, still be a kid as you're a kid now. You know your life will go by fast and you won't know UM, but you know, have fun and live the life that you're in right now at the moment. And I know you might not understand it, but you know, have all the fun that you can right now at

the moment. Let's talk about Bengals Camp. So far, you've had three weeks of OTAs. What have been your impressions of your teammates and Joe Burrow in particular. Yeah, I think right now we're going to be We're doing a little good. We're getting everything back in motion. I feel like the offense getting a little better with the with the offensive signs and whatever else we've got going on.

But for the most part, I can't wait till we get at it, you know, really see what competing is with the other guys and the defense, and we all see how that plays apart. Have you've been excited by the fact that Joe has been out there basically doing everything this soon since his injury. I'm excited that I'm on the field with Joe right now still, so of

course I'm excited for him to be back. You know it just you know, it brings everybody else's energy to see Joe on the field, you know, practicing with us. Even though you two guys had two years together at LSU, we've seen you after practices getting an extra work with him. Why um, that show work is always going to come, you know, you never know when you might need it.

So we gotta be p pefet in situation, especially in the NFL now so you know, that's just old old me and Joe getting out work together, make a show. We're on the same page. Looking around the NFL, there are several teams that have just maybe half of the roster, even less than that at their voluntary camps. The Bengals have had perfect attendance. What has that meant to you

and the other guys on the team. It means a lot to me and the rest of the guys, you know, showing that you know, we want to work, we need to get better, so we all need to be here at one time. And I think that's the reason why we all in attendance. The Bengals receiving corps were atted you to, Tyler Boyd, T Higgins, etc. How good is this group? This group is amazing right now. Man, there's so much work we're putting in at the moment. We still have a long journey to go through. Um you know,

but you know, I can't, I can't. I don't even know what to say. I'm just excited to see what we all can do on the field. At the same time, kids are out here today sweating on a hot Cincinnati day. Does this feel like you're back home in Louisiana. It does almost it almost feels back home. You know the signs. I'll feel bright, so as sunny as heck. The team has a mandatory camp coming up this week. You'll go through that. Then what happens for you between that and

the start of real training camp in July. Yeah, just make sure I stand in consistent shape, you know, make sure I keep my hands clean and making sure I'm on top of my fundamentals that i need to make sure I'm on top of so that I'll play a part in the long run as a rookie. Are you just trying to blend in with the veterans right now and kind of you know, do your job, work hard, not say much or is that not your personality. I'm all a blend in type, but you know, I want

to stand out while I'm blending in. You know that's always up going about things, and I want to, you know, stand out while I'm blending at the same time, appreciate your time. Thanks for being out here for these kids today. Thank you. You know what was nice about that interview It was done in person. Due to the pandemic. I still haven't met Joe Burrow T Higgins or the other

members of last year's rookie class face to face. I've talked to them on the phone and on zoom calls, but thanks to vaccinations, it's going to be nice going forward to introduce myself again and get to know guys on a more individual basis. Now time to hear from one of those guys from last year's rookie class, third round draft pick Logan Wilson. Last year, Josh Bines took the most snaps on defense of any Bengals linebacker. He was on the field about seventy two percent of the time.

Since the Bengals elected not to re sign Bines, who turns thirty two in August, Wilson figures to slide into that starting spot in the middle of the Bengals defense. Logan, the offseason after your rookie year was probably the first time in several years you've had a significant chunk of time off, no school, no getting ready for the combine. How was it and what did you do with your

time off? I was very, very nice just to kind of have some time to relax um My fiance well, prior to the off season starting, she wasn't my fiance, but during the off season, we got engaged and we were back at the University of Wyoming. She was finishing up her student teaching, so we kind of spent most of our time down there, and then we got a house back in Casper, a hometown. So, um it was a really good off season and we used to had some time left, you know, after mini camps will head

back out there. But it was it was good, to say the least. Congratulations on the engagement. I saw that you posted the footage on Instagram. You dropped down to me at the football stadium on a snowy, snow covered field. You got the video board operator involved. You did it upright. Yeah. I talked to some of the meeting guys that worked there that um I knew from my time there, and they helped me set up. They did all the graphic

and everything. I just sent them the pictures and told them what the it on it, and um yeah, it was it was very very helpful that they did that for me. And then it was a It was funny because seriously thought that it wasn't gonna be a m She thought it was an interview for me, and then I just wanted her to come along just for some pictures purposes, and um, we tricked her. So well done, very well done. We're talking to Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson.

So when I've talked to some players in the past after the rookie year, some guys have said I needed to get stronger after seeing NFL competition, or I needed to get leaner, whatever it might be. Did you feel anything along those lines? Truthfully, not really. Um. You know, I feel like the size I'm at and the weight i'm at I've been at for the last few years, and I feel pretty good. I think there's always room to get stronger, you know, Like I definitely got weaker

towards the end of the season. I feel like that's kind of natural. Um, you know, when you're not lifting heavyweights all the time. So I definitely put some muscle back on this offseason, which was a point of mine. I went well since we were back in Wyoming Leary, Wyoming, back at the university. I just trained with my strength coach from my time there and just kind of did the work as I did in college. And I put some weight on and now I'm back down to where

I was at. So you missed the last three games last year with an ankle injury. How bad was it and when were you fully recovered? Oh? Man, it was it was tough. It was just Um, I mean, there was a high ankle sprain and those things just take so long to heal because I just don't get as much blood flow so far away from the heart, and so it was it was tough. You know, I don't know. I've got rehab on it for probably three months after the season, Um, maybe four really, I mean it took

forever to seriously heal. Um. I had some stuff in the back portion of my ankle that needed to work its way out, and just so sadly it's take just takes time sometimes, So it took it definitely took its time healing. But everything is fine now. Yes, yes, yeah, just took its time for basically until, like I want to say, until by April. We're talking to Logan Wilson. I imagine any player's first year in the NFL is pretty crazy. Was there anything that was even tougher than

you thought it would be? Um? I think just playing against professional offensive lineman. I think, I mean they're just guys that big, that move that fast is freaky going

against them. All the time, and it was definitely crazy year obviously with COVID, and I think it was really weird, truthfully, playing in front of no fans, just fake crowd noise, and um, I don't know, I've never done that in my entire life, ever played a football game in front of zero fans, even when I was playing major football back in Wyoming. We still I used to your parents and family and friends, and so it was definitely weird. On the flip side, was there anything easier than you

thought it would be? You know, I don't even I don't know if if there was anything. I knew it was going to be a challenge regardless, you know, and I there's just so much that goes into it, and especially having no like in person anything until training camp, so we're just trying to learn the system I knew there was. I mean, it was definitely tough learned system just with Zoom, you know, not being able to actually

go out there. And I think that for me that was hard because I I learned best like going out there and then making a mistake and understanding why I made that mistake and then trying not to make that same mistake again. If that makes sense, and so that was definitely tough. You sound pretty excited to go through an NFL season when things are back to normal, or at least close to it. Yeah, I mean it'll feel

like some sense of normal. Say, I feel like last year it's just like I said, it's just it was just so weird, you know, going out there, or then there's like limited fans in certain stadiums and it's just not anything you would expect to hear, you know. But also so much happened with COVID. No one expected any of that stuff to happen. So those kind of the way of twenty twenty. So to say, um, but yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to having full capacity um in

stadiums in the fall. We're visiting with Logan Wilson. In free agency. This offseason, the Bengal spent a lot of money on defense, Trey Hendrickson and Larry Ogan Joby upfront, Shuitabaya Wouge and Mike Hilton among the guys in the secondary. Then in the draft they drafted for defensive linemen, but they did not add linebackers in free agency or the draft. What did that say to you about how they feel about the position group. UM, I think they feel they

feel very strong about us. UM. We brought back obviously brought back Jordan Evans too, and I think we have a very strong linebackers group and they were very smart and we've kind of have a year under belt under our belt to understand the system and what needs to be done. So, you know, I think that that kind of speaks for itself. How do you expect your role

to change and grow? I would just say that I'm you know, I want to kind of be the guy that kind of runs the show now step in where Bynes was, so to say, you know, Bynes was, I couldn't have asked for a better linebacker truthfully, to learn under he was like a walking football library. So you know, I'm just gonna try to make my own mark, you know, on this team and just kind of do what needs to be done for to help us with football games.

That's kind of my goal. You've been here for a few weeks with the voluntary spring practices and now the mandatory mini camp is happening this week. Has anything stood out to you about the practices that you've been through so far. I mean, it's hard to say, truthfully, nothing's been like full speed competition, you know, so, UM, you know,

it's definitely nice having there's definitely some fresh faces on defense. UM, and it's kind of exciting to see the guys we brought in in free agency and the guys that we brought in in the draft. UM, seeing guys like Trey Henderson, Trey Wayne's back out there, you know, after not being able to play last year. UM, it's nice to see see those guys around on the field. How fired up were you to see Joe Burrow out there in day one?

That is good? It was really I mean, obviously he's he's a leader of a franchise, so UM, anytime he's out there, it's just kind of a blessing to be able to watch him play. And you know, obviously, UM, he's a very good player. And you know, as his knee continues to heal, hopefully gets back two hundred percent and you know, I don't know the the in depth about all his rehab process, but it seems like he's doing really well, and UM, we're definitely are hoping to

have him out there for the season. You guys have had perfect attendance basically for voluntary OTAs and that has not been the case around the NFL. The players union actually encourage you guys to skip if you wanted to. What did that say to you? And how significant do you think it is that everybody has been here? I mean, it's definitely significant. Our leaders kind of talk, negotiated, so to say, with coach Taylor, and figured out a plan for us to come back and then and be able

to kind of protect us from getting injured. So I think that's why a lot of guys came back for it. And obviously, you know, we didn't have the kind of a year as we would have liked to last year, and so we know that there's work to do, and that's kind of what our everyone's mindset was in terms of why we needed to come back and get some get some some sort of work in. How fired up are you for your second NFL season? I'm definitely excited.

You know, there's gonna be new challenges that present itself, but that's life in general, and you know, how you attack adversity, it kind of says a lot about you and your character, and so I helped myself to a very high standard. You know, I'm excited to see what we can do on defense and then as a team, so it'll be a very fun year and hopefully, like I said, get some sense of normalcy with some full stadiums. We are looking forward to seeing you in the middle

of the defense. Congratulations again on the offseason engagement, Stay healthy in twenty twenty one, and thanks for the time. Thank you very much. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Bud Light Seltzer. It's light and refreshing with a hint of fruit flavor. We expected the Bengals to have a three day minicamp this week, but it ended after day one as head cood Zach Taylor sent the players

home for their summer vacation early. It was partly a reward for perfect attendance during the nine voluntary practices, but Taylor also apparently dangled the possibility of an early break as incentive for the players to get vaccinated. Like Major League Baseball, it appears that the NFL is going to use eighty five percent of the roster being vaccinated as

benchmark for relaxing COVID protocols. Eighty five percent of a ninety man roster would be seventy six point five and it appears that the Bengals are among a handful of teams with more than seventy players vaccinated. Now time to discuss that and much more with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham. Lap Let's start with Zach Taylor's decision to end the three day mandatory minicamp after just one practice and send

everybody home until training camp in late July. You played for Paul Brown and Forrest greg How do you react to this news. Well, if the two guys you mentioned, I could see Paul Brown doing it potentially. Paul Brown was a guy that if you got your work done and he felt like things were in good order, he never really had you out in the field for long pirds of time and didn't really beat you up. Forrest Gregg, in the other hand, you know, he has a Vince

Lombardi disciples. I'm sure we would have been out there, maybe even longer. He would have taken every minute that he would have been allowed. But it was I think when you look at it, Dan, they the reward that that carrot that Zack dangled out that the guys really appreciated was they showed up, you know, they had I don't think there's anybody in the league that can claim the success the Bengals had with OTA's and got a

lot of work done. And so I figured, what the heck had had a bunch of good workouts, that a lot of guys on the field working together, you know, advancing uh, mentally and physically. Let's um, let's just use this Wednesday and Thursday as at least today. I know today there's probably quite a few guys down there getting vaccinated. They were a handful, maybe a few more guys short of getting that eighty five percent, they're right there. So if they can get that done and uh and say,

you know here, here's here's the incentive. Shut down the last two days you guys. See, we can get a few more guys vaccinated and make it easier with the protocols or training camp. Because my understanding is the protocols, the guys that won't be vaccinated, they're still gonna have to get tested every day. They're gonna have to wear masks, all that kind of thing. I mean, it's it's gonna be kind of like the scarlet letter. Oh there's wine,

he's gonna mast on, you know. It's like, so it's gonna it's gonna be a very interesting, very interesting dynamic all that unfold. So I bet, I bet there's a few guys down there today being Wednesday, getting their getting their vaccinations. I wouldn't be surprised. Yeah, no doubt about it. And it sounds like the decision to end the camp after one day was definitely tied to that vaccination level. The Washington Post reported this week that more than half

of NFL teams have at least fifty vaccinated players. Three teams have seventy or more. Four teams have a very low number, the Colds, the Jags, the Cardinals, and the Chargers. I'm assuming the Bengals are one of the three teams that have seventy or more. Based on this decision, and as you were saying, I mean, even thing as simple as being able to eat in the cafeteria if you're vaccinated, as opposed to you know, grabbing a box lunch and

eating it in front of your locker. All of those little things make a big difference in a group of you know, what ultimately is going to be ninety guys in training camp. There's no doubt, Dan, and uh, you know just here listening to uh you know Sports on ESPN this morning, Chris Paul tested positive and they're not sure if he's been vaccinated or not. That hasn't been made public. But if he's been vaccinated, he's going to be quarantined for a much shorter time than if he wasn't.

And that's right in the middle of the playoffs. And you know, that's the thing. It can it can linger on all of a sudden, You lose a guy or maybe more than one guy for a critical division game against Baltimore or Cleveland at some point during the season, or you know everything's going along smoothly through training camp, then all of a sudden, you get a positive test right before the opener and it starts to mess with your roster. And those kind of things are nightmares for coaches.

So the after effect, the hangover from COVID nineteen isn't isn't gone yet. They're still suffering through you know, some of that hangover for sure. So we learned on Tuesday that offensive lineman Hakima Dentagy has a torn pectoral muscle that required surgery. He's going to be out for months,

maybe the entire season. How big of a blow is this, Yeah, it's it's it's almost unbelievable to me that Trey Waynes and now Adenogy back to back season, same thing lifting weights and identagis lifting weight soft site is my understanding, you know, had had had the injury, had the problem. I don't know if it was the bench press, simple bench press routine like Trey Waynes was doing, but it was something you know involved in the chest, dumbells or

free weights or whatever. M's It's sad really because I think I think he's he's got a bright future. I don't think this is going to be something that he won't be able to recover from. But I think he would have been a very valuable candidate for that left guard position. And now all of a sudden, you know they're they're one less person competing for that left guard spot.

I think I think the other four spots are pretty much not cement cemented, but I think they have a pretty good idea of the way at least they're going to line up initially and uh, and then it's kind of a free for all at that left guard spot. Um and the denis you won't be won't be part of that, and you know, early to lose the season this early in your career too, you know, when you're

just starting through that developmental process. He's the raw tools in terms of we've talked about his footwork, and you know, he's got pretty good hand placed been pretty good punch and all the all those kind of things are great. Boy, there's nothing like you know, getting reps and when you start to miss reps after having the you know, the first few blocks of the foundation are there from your rookie year. And like I've said many times, I know

it was the case for me. I know it is a case for a lot of teammates and guys that I played against year one to year two. Man's well, it's a whole new world. Your eyes open up a much different perspective. But what the heck you're you know, you're looking at and you're trying to get accomplished and

how to go about accomplishing it. That's for sure. Assuming he did not win the starting left guard spot that that goes to a veteran like Quentin Spain or suet Philo, would he have then been more likely to be one of the top guys in the tackle depth. Yeah, I think I think that that he's a guy that is somebody that's capable of playing you know, right and left side, both inside and outside. I think he's got that type of you know, that type of mentality, that type of ability.

I do know that I did mention what desk strength about him? You know, what do you what do you think of a chem identity? And this was obviously before the injury, and he was impressed with him. It's hard not to be impressed with with what he shows you, you know, from an athleticism standpoint, the work to change the direction. Um, he's he's he's really pretty gifted that way. So it's it's it's unfortunate, it really is. I think,

feel feel bad. All you're trying to do is improve yourself, you know, working out, trying to get better, trying to get bigger, trying to get stronger, and those those kind of things take place, they happen and you get bitten. So does this increase the possibility or likelihood even that the Bengals try to sign a veteran to add to

their offensive line depth. I was looking at the tackles that are still out there, Rick Wagner, Russell o'coon, Mitchell Schwartz, Morgan Moses All between the ages of thirty and thirty two. Now Morgan Moses, I think is probably still looking at a big contract. Not sure about the others. But what do you think, Yeah, that's you've hit the magic you know, the magic sauce for the answer. I think, what kind

of contracts are they looking for? And um, you know, some some guys get to the point of their career, well, you know, I've I've earned quite a bit of money and this is what I'll do it for this, but I'm not going to do it for anything less, and they'll just decide I'd I'd rather not put my body through it for the sake of one more year, particularly what the price that they're offering. It just doesn't it

doesn't make sense to me. It's not worth while to me. So, you know, where where are some of those guys' mindsets at? You know where where is their basement? You know, we know where their sailing probably is. It's going to be easy to find out, but where's their basement? Where's the floor? So yeah, it's I would think you're going to start

kicking tires. There's there's no doubt. You always have to you have to find out which of those guys where their mentality is, you know, and the only way you can do it is pick up the phone and or you know, or if you do want to fly them somewhere, or you fly somewhere or whatever. If there's that kind of an interest, you have to you have to do

your due diligence, that's for sure. And I'm sure they're in the process of deciding that right now and trying to explore who the more of liable candidates might be of that list of guys you're talking about, all right. Speaking of contracts, the Bengals have historically extended the contract of their key players as they go into the final year of their current deal and other words, don't let them become free agents. They did that last year with

Joe Mixon. It often happens in training camp, and the most obvious candidates when camp begins are Jesse Bates and Sam Hubbard. Will it happen with either or both? In your opinion? I think if I think it's definitely going to happen with one, I'd be shocked if it doesn't happen with one of them. And I think there's a chance it could happen with both. I really I really believe that that those two components, those two players are are big pieces or what they're you know, what they're

trying to keep intact and then build around. And you think about it, those are the only two guys left from like three years ago. You know that the starters, they've turned everything else over. Everybody else's is either a more recent draft pick or signed a veteran free agency

in the last couple of offseasons. So though those two guys are definitely the type of players that the Bengals would target for this kind of thing for sure, and it would not it would not surprise me if they're both under contract once training camp is underway at some point in time, or you know, in during the course of one of the three preseason games there was an announcement made, or even before camp, Like you said, what would surprise me is if neither one of them are

extended before the regular season starts. That would be a pretty more than a mile surprise to me. I think it's going to happen with both. Maybe I'm just being overly optimistic. I don't know, but it just seems to me that they've got the room to do it. They've set their cap situation up well in order to be able to extend those guys, and I think they feel that they are very important the culture that Zach Taylor

has created. I agree with you, Dan, And the philosophy of the team has always been and really the last two offseasons it's been against that norm of rather would sign guys that have proven themselves that they drafted in the process developing, would like to continue along that path, then bring somebody else in, somebody else's guy and try to fit him into your scheme and your philosophy and all that sort of thing. The Bengals historically have liked to try to reward their own and build a culture

like you're talking about. And these two guys are you know, are big on that side of the football defensefully for that part of it. So yeah, I'd I'd be pretty surprised if at least one isn't done pretty quickly, and then both before the start of the regular season. I agree with you. We were allowed to watch four practices this month. What were some of the things that stood out to you. I think that showing up is one thing, but showing up and going to work is the next thing.

And what what stood out to me is I'd be I'd be surprised if anybody in the league got not only better attend or at tennis that was better than what the Bengals had. From a participation standpoint, I think they might have been about amongst the best, if not the best. But what they did when they showed up, it wasn't just I'm here. You know, that's done. I'm gonna not go through the motions, but I'm just, you

know whatever, I'm just here to be here. They were Paul Brown used to call it in the spirit of it, and they were definitely in the spirit of it. You know, you've got to be in the spirit of going out and working and getting better and be with your teammates and all the things that are are what you try to get done in these offseason programs, and they were. I was. I was impressed with the level of enthusiasm,

the level of activity. Um, you know, I do think that it wasn't burdensome with with the with the OTAs. They couldn't even do any eleven on eleven team. You know that the seven on seven was done one time and the very last OTA they had a seven on seven where you know, defensive backs went against receivers, and linebackers went against tight ends and uh and backside of

the back film all that sort of thing um. The only time that they were allowed to go eleven on eleven offense against defense was in the one day of the mini camp that they had, the mandatory mini camp, you know, and that's because the players at that point in time, they're on the coaches time. Now, the coaches league directives. The league still you know, had some requirements, don't overdo it when you do the team and all

that sort of thing um. And teams have been fine, and they've been fine draft picks for being too physical during mini camps, mandatory mini camps and so forth. Now, so the league is is player safety is a you know, a big factor and a big issue. But I do think that what they were asked to do, they were doing it at an all out level. I mean, there was there was no you know, coasting, no you know, uh, I'm gonna I'm gonna go half speed. So I'm letting you know I'm going half speed. You go half speed

against me? None of that, you know, playing Uh, let's let's just dance through this workout. It was pretty good work. And that's what impressed me is the is the level of level of interest, the level of activity, um, the level of commitment. All of that was was a big, big deal considering that everybody was out there, and I

think they I think they made some advancement. Stand you know, it's it's seeing it on the board is one thing, But being out in the field, breaking the huddle and lining up and making adjustments with teammates on the field as things unfold in front of you, there's no substitute for it. And I think they got quite a few workouts in that way. The biggest thing that stood out to me was how much Joe Burrow did. They talked about how cautious they were going to be, and they

were to a certain extent. But if you had asked me prior to the OTAs what I expected to see out of Joe Burrow, I thought he would be there. I thought he would throw some passes to the wide receivers, and then I think I probably expected to see him more on the rehab field. But he basically took part

in just about everything. They kept him out of the eleven on eleven stuff in that final mandatory or only mandatory minicamp practice when there are defensive lineman and offensive lineman engaged just in case somebody trips or something like that.

But other than that, I mean, he was rolling out left and right, running forward and you know, to lead the drills as we talked about in our last podcast, maybe not sprinting one hundred percent, but moving well and giving us all a lot of Optimis him in confidence that he'll be able to answer the bell for the season opener. Yeah, And I think I think basically he put his individual rehab on hold as such. You know, he said, okay, because I think a lot of teammates

expected what you're talking to describing Dan. I think they expected him to be out there and doing some things and showing support, but still doing rehab things with guys that were on the rehab field, you know, like the offensive and defensive lineman, DJ reader, Ronelle Wren, you know, and Trey Hopkins and the guys that were rehabbing. I think they expected a mix like that. But his whole thing was no, I tried to work with Jesse Bates

and others trying to get everybody here. So since I did that, I'm doing everything I'm doing as much as I can, like you guys are. And I think that's a big statement by him. And basically, you know, he said, you know, I'm still eighty five percent. I told you I was eighty five percent at the beginning of this process, and this month rehabs on hold, I'm still eighty five percent.

Now they'll go back to work with Nick Cosgrey and and and you know, get right back to the the finer points of rehab and finish off and come as close as he can to one hundred percent as quickly as he can for training camp. So I think that that was intentional obviously, and him him just being a you know, a leader and proving that he wants to step up to his leadership game in every play shape

or form that he can. I think from watching those practices, I have also identified what I now consider to be the Bengals biggest question mark and or potential weakness. And believe it or not, it's not the offensive line. Here's what I think is the biggest question mark. Do the Bengals have a game changing player on defense? Because I think the defense is much better, but I'm not sure I see a guy there that's going to get that sack or force a fumble or come up with interception

when the game's on the line in the fourth quarter. Yeah, I think you know, you're looking for somebody to uh, you know, to be a playmaker when when you have to have somebody step up and create a game changing opportunity. Who is that guy going to be? I agree with you. I think they do have, um, you know, very very talented guys as a group. I think they got effort guys. I would never question the effort that I've seen, you know, at this point in time, obviously from Sam Hubbard Hendrickson,

the Age Brothers and and others. I wouldn't question their effort whatsoever. Um. I hope I hope the guy that uh that that continues along the path he's continuing on, and I think his teammates are starting to think that he might be This guy would be would be Jesse, you know, being the ball hawk Jesse Bates, the ball hockey safety type guy that that quarterbacks are really going to have to look out for. They're gonna have to,

you know, keep one eyeball on at all times. But yeah, who is who is the guy when when you break the huddle, come to the line of scrimmage as an offensive line, where is he? Okay, where you know what? Where Where's where's lt? You always had to identify where's this? Where's the guy that we have to take an extra precaution and put an extra body on and make sure we take care of him. You know, when you break the line of scrimmage, come up to break the huddle,

come up to the line of scrimmage. Where is the guy? For the Bengals, I agree with you, who is the guy who's going to step up and be that guy?

And really, from a lineman standpoint, I mean the safety and all that, that's that's the quarterback and receiver's issue, you know, unless he's a guy that mixes it up and and as a heavy and blitz packages or whatever, um you know, and that's why, you know, part of me says, well, you know, maybe maybe it's somebody like like Mike Hilton who who can do so many different things. Maybe is he the guy that you're gonna have to come up to the line of scrimmage as a team

and say, identify where as Hilton? Because this guy blitz is from everywhere and he's capable of, you know, staying in coverage. He might be somebody that that's going to come free if we don't assign an extra body to him, or if we don't have an extra body quarterback change formation because he's on the edge of the defense and formation, he's gonna you know, high percentage of blitz. Now you

have to start to account form. And if you've got a guy like that, a chess piece like that, did you make the offense have to adjust to you know, you're punching and their counterpunching. That's what you're trying to get done for sure. Or maybe this is a defense that doesn't have a guy, but it's counting on a different guy in every game. So it's Hilton one game,

it's Hendrickson and another it's Jesse Bates in another. As opposed to having that Miles Garrett T. J. Watt kind of guy that when the game is on the line, that's the guy that that typically makes the play. Yeah, and the defense that comes to mind a little bit when you're talking describing what you just talked about, Dan, the Miami Dolphins defense of the perfect season. You know, there wasn't like, oh, here's this perennial problem. They had

a bunch of guys. You know that Wanta Contie was a really good linebacker, Standfill was really good defensive line. But they weren't like, oh my gosh, you know, some of the best players ever. But they had a you know, Dick Anderson on the back end, and they they had players that very very smart, always where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there, understood the whole defensive structure and h concepts, you know, as

well as anybody could. And maybe maybe it's going to be that type of defense that you know is boy, nobody's ever not where they're supposed to be. These guys are always they're lined up right. Nobody's lining up if you if you line up wrong, you're you're beating before the snap of the football. That's the first thing you have to do to make sure a big gets lined up right. And those guys were always lined up right. And then if you change the strength and formation, do whatever.

They always made the right adjustments and they were always hit the right gap. You know, they were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there. And if you can get that done with everybody on the defensive side, of the football. You're way ahead of the game. I'm tempted to call the OTAs and the abbreviated mini camp camp kumbayah because there seems to be such a spirit of harmony and unity. Do you feel the same way? And is that Zach Taylor? Is that

Joe Burrow? What accounts for that? Yeah? I think I think it's hum There's a big proliferation, There's no question about it. And the thing too is you look at there's quite a few new coaches on the staff, you know, and and they were all part of that, I think as well. So I think I think Zach is really, um, really doing everything he possibly can to to bond his

coaching staff. I think they're doing thing outside of the office as such, you know, and and really trying to grow together and become a very tight knit group as

far as the coaching staff goes. And then that that trickles down to the to the players, and um, you've already mentioned guys from a players standpoint, Um, you know, Joe Barrow offensively, Jesse Bates defensively, the quarterback and the quarterback of the defense as such, I think that those are two guys in pivotal places that that are important, and I think that they're up to the task of creating a you know, we are family type atmosphere that

the Pittsburgh Pirates, you know, talked about that. Honestly, it's it's it's it's a situation where I said this a few times. The teams in the eighties that went to the Super Bowl best players were amongst the best people. And when you have that, that's energistic effect. You got something special. When your best players are jerks, you got trouble. When your best players are special people, you got big success possibilities. And I think I think that's what that's

what this team is starting to evolve to. You know, I think they're better. Players, are all top shelf, high quality people for sure. This is the first time in Zach's three years that none of the kind of vocal veterans from the Marvin Lewis era remain. Carlos Dunlap and Sean Williams are gone. AJ Green and Geno Atkins weren't vocal, but they obviously had a huge presence because of who

they were. I don't think that Zach had an issue with anybody but Carlos, but did guys like that have to go for the younger guys that you were referring to to step up and lead? Yeah, I think I think that, Uh, you know, Sean Williams, I think coaches, teammates, He was the kind of guy that was all in all the time. I mean, everybody appreciate and love what

what Sean Williams brought to the table. Like you said, Gino and AJ, they were leaders by example, not by you know, word, There were leaders by action, not by spoken word. Um. And then you know, Carlos obviously had had his issues down the stretch there that turned into you know, something that just couldn't be couldn't be resolved, couldn't be handled on either either sides, to either side satisfaction. But I do think that that there were guys ready to take over, you know, some of those h some

of those roles. And it's going to be interesting to see how some of these young players what they turn out to be. Are they going to be guys that play really well and don't have a whole lot to say but let their play speak for themselves, or are they going to be guys that are you know, more more vocal or somewhere in between. And it's interesting some guys, you know, you talk to teammates they played with in

college and it's like, you're kidding me. In college, man, he was rah rah, he was vocally was this, he was that. Sometimes you get to the next level and it's like, man, you're so like overwhelmed by how good everybody is that you just I'm not going to speak unless spoken to. I'm just going to try to do the best job I can and survive in advance in terms on a day to day basis, and try to

play as well as I can. And then other times, you know, guys develop at different rates, you know, and all of a sudden, a guy that was, you know, a good player in college gets an opportunity to grow and physically mature and all that becomes an even better player at the NFL level. And he maybe was quiet, a quiet guy in college, it becomes a vocal guy, you know, as the mature as age wise and physical

presence wise and everything else. So it's going to be interesting to see how some of these guys mature over the next you know, five seven, eight years of their career, like the AJ Greens and the Geno Atkins has did. So. The summer vacation begins for the players as of today, and it's a relatively easy time for the two of us until training camp begins. Yes, what you got going on? Do you have a little grand time, a grandkid time planned?

What's up for Dave Apple? Yeah, we do, got a lot of a lot of kids, a lot of time spent with the grand kiddies. For sure. We're gonna head down to Hilton Head. We've got twenty one people family, both sides of the family here in Cincinnati and Saint Louis, my wife Lynn's family as well as some of mine going down to going down to Hilton Head. And we've got nine children from age one to age nine, maybe just turning ten. I think it might be. Yeah, Shamus's

birthday is while we're down there, he turns ten. So yeah, it's gonna be almost like Camp Waconda down there with all little ones. You know. I got a big old pool, got a big house obviously with a dumb bunch of bedroom and twenty one people total. Pull beach right, it's run on the beach. So we're looking forward to it. It's gonna be a lot of fun. Appreciate your time. Talk to you soon. You're the best 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.