Hig and everybody.
I'm Dan Hord and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast. The This may be the last chance addition as the Bengals get ready for their final preseason game on Thursday night against Indianapolis. Coming up, I'll talk to my broadcast partner, Dave Lapham about Tuesday's joint practice with the Colts, and then I'll go one on one with one of the last picks in this year's draft, who is making a strong case for being on the Bengals fifty three man roster.
The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. Now here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer
by subscribing wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since long shots. Getting a shot in the final preseason game It's common among fans and media, especially media, to make snarky comments about the final week of preseason games, especially when starters don't play. But I like seeing the long shots get their opportunity to shine in an NFL uniform. Every single guy out there on Thursday night is a
great player. Maybe not great enough to make a fifty three man roster, but think of how hard it is just to be on an NFL training camp roster. For hundreds of guys who have been playing this sport for most of their lives, the final preseason game is the last time they will ever play football. So I look forward to seeing all of them take the field don Thursday. No matter what the record books say, they'll be able
to tell their kids and grandkids about playing in the NFL. Now, let's get to football and an in depth look at Tuesday's joint practice with my broadcast partner Dave lappham lapped. The joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts is over. It's kind of the unofficial end of training camp. Joe Burrow had a full training camp. It's happened for the first time in his NFL career.
Yeah, it has happened. Zach announced that you know, maybe a couple of starters will be sprinkled in, but the starters won't be going on Thursday night. And as opposed to the Indianapolis Colts, which we're talking about playing their starters for a couple of quarters. But it is good to have Joe Burrow upright, healthy, happy, got a lot of reps in you look at joint practices for two straight weeks, that's a lot of reps because the way you know, it's ones against ones, twos against twos. It's
not you know, you like switching off. You're going every single rep, as are the other groups. So it's it's a lot of good work there, there's no question about that, and I'm glad to see that he was able to sustain all the way through it.
Here were Joe's numbers today. In the practice against the Colts. They opened up with a red zone seven on seven period he was five or six with a pair of touchdown passes, one to t Higgins, one to Micah Sicki. Then in the eleven on eleven periods had him twenty one for twenty six. That's eighty one percent. He did throw an interception which was kind of strange. I'd be interested to hear what he had to say about it, because he just kind of threw it up for grabs,
which is very Unburrow like. But overall, would you.
Think, Yeah, I thought he was efficient. I thought he was smart with the football. A lot of intermediate short passes used his screen game. Well, it didn't put the ball on jeopardy, like you said, other than that that one interception, and he knows what he's looking at. You know, he's seeing it, seeing it and going where he needs to go. And I think he started identifying weapons. You know, he's sick he was a weapon on third down or
weapon in the red zone. I mean, I think his screen game was was to all all position groups, you know, went to running backs, went to tight ends, went to receivers. And I think that screen game is going to be a big part of the package on a you know, I don't know if it's going to be a week to week basis, but they can drop up on it really at any any any time. But again, I thought having back to back weeks of joint practices, as did the Indianapolis Colts, they did the same thing they had
the Arizona Cardinals in in Indianapolis. So I thought that the that the energy level, the performance, the juice was pretty high.
You know.
I think I think the Bengals ran the exact same script in this joint practice as they did in Chicago, So the players knew exactly what they were looking at, and you know, you have that kind of you know and said, well, I know what's coming up next, I'm prepared.
I think it just enhances the opportunity for good performances, and I you know, honestly, in my mind, I think eventually national football is going to go to one exhibition game and they're going to have joint practices and start charging for him and have multiple joint practices, let players, you know, and coaches get ready that way and in maybe just one preseason game to really evaluate the guys that you want to decide on the final you know,
back end of your roster. Who are you going to keep on your practice squad, who you're not kind of thing. I think it's evolved in that way.
You mentioned Mike Kasiki. I had him for four catches during the eleven on eleven periods, two for first downs, plus an incredible one handed catch on a back shoulder throw did we see today what Mike Kasiki is going to mean to this Beangals offense, because I think by and large in camp he's been fine, but he hasn't had breakout days very often.
Yeah, he's kind of just been lurking, you know. And the thing about him and Zach mentioned it, I mean, he is a quick study. He understands football, you know, he sees it. I get a kick out of watching him lineup and when he when he basically flexes into the slot and he starts looking around, It's like, oh boy, now you know defense is in trouble. He's he's getting a pre snap look, getting on the same page with
that quarterback. And I think he's got the confidence of all the quarterbacks, particularly number nine, which is which is big. You know, as as the regular season approaches here, he's been around the block. You know, this is his third organization and he's had to learn and unlearned offenses and relearn other ones, and and he can handle it. He's got a mental capacity for the game of football. There's no question.
Under rainy conditions last week in Chicago, Joe had trouble throwing deep and throwing outside the numbers down the field. He was victimized by a ton of drops by his teammates. No such problems today. As you noted, most of his throat were me intermediate or short, but they were accurate. And he threw a couple to T. Higgins who was blanketed and they were still.
Caught absolutely, And that was you know, faith and trust in tea because T, I mean he high pointed that first one. It was like six born up. He climbed the ladder. Man. It's like, oh my gosh, he would have been doing a behind the head dunk on that bad boy. He got up and yeah, you know T T obviously is uh is gifted and they're on the
same page. There's no no question about another guy that I thought showed up early and showed his speed with you know, check downs and screened Chase brown Man, he's gonna he's he's got that home run hitting speed, and you know you add him to the mix, particularly if you know when Jamar comes back. You know, you know, Jamar and T. Higgins and Yosi made some plays again today like he's been doing you know, all a camp.
It's it's like it's gonna be an embarrassment of riches there, and I think that with the what they're going to have to do defensively to control the receivers, that I mean, the middle of the football field is going to be there for the taken and I think Kasiki is a guy that can take it.
In a joint practice, it's hard to watch the offense and the defense because it's going on on separate fields. At the same time, I was watching every snap that Burrow took today, so I didn't see a ton of defense. But when I did watch and when I talked to people, it sounded like the number one defense was pretty dominant. When Anthony Richardson was in a quarterback for the Colts.
Yeah, I think I think I would agree with that. And you know, I mean Anthony Richardson, by the way, six four, two sixty, he came on the field, It's like, is this an edge rush guy? Is this an outside linebacker? Oh my gosh, man, you know, because I like, it's in the two forties or whatever. Last year and he just bulked up, but he still got use man, he still got quickness, short space quickness, and you know, a lot of times and then Joe Flacco started doing the
same thing. Tucket and run. I mean, they got the jersey on where they can't be hit. You know, it's not like you're game planning to basically hit the quarterback. So but I'm telling you, Richardson is a guy that's going to make a lot of offscript players with his legs, you know, and then using those legs to you know, create for his throwing opportunities for his arm as well. He's going to be an off schedule guy to deal with around the league because when he gets going, he
gets going quickly. I mean he gets he can accelerate quickly, and he's got that two hundred and sixty pound body. Man that's really moving. He's a he's a rare breed. He's kind of like one of one right now. I Mean I was saying, you know, he's a he's a mix of Cam Newton, you know, and and Lamar Jackson. I don't know, I think he's in a different category. I mean, he's he almost looks like a Martian man.
He's almost an Ailien out there. So the thing the thing that struck me though, when I'm thinking about him, you know, and I'm thinking about you know, DeForest Buckner and other players in that football team. Everybody's got giants. I mean this league is like, man, everybody's got studs. They can walk it out in the field. I mean, the Indianapolis Cults are a big football team. They've got they've got size. Everywhere the NFL is it's just it's crazy.
Everybody's ah, everybody's got talent, and everybody's going to be a challenge. And that's that's nature of the beasts in this league for sure.
What about the on script plays for Anthony Richardson because I overheard somebody say at times he appeared reluctant to let it rip, you know, when trying to execute the offense.
Yeah, I think he was like and I really see what I'm saying, Am I seeing it right?
You know?
I think there was some hesitancy there Flacco, you know, I mean I thought he operated as an NFL quarterback much more proficiently. And how about that guy you know last week it was Mercedes Lewis nineteenth year in the NFL at tight end, Joe Flacco seventeenth year in the NFL at the quarterback position. And to me, I mean, he's moving is well or better than he ever has really, you know, and he's he still can spin it. Man.
He throws a pretty ball, and he throws it accurately, So you know, they've got a nice insurance policy there. And if he ends up playing quite a bit, you know though, I mean for a five million bucks, that's a pretty good deal to get a guy who's played seventeen years in the NFL. If he plays more, he earns more. But that's that's not a bad deal for both sides.
I wasn't able to pay too much attention to the one on one pass rushing drills. I did see Joseph Osai beat a left tackle who didn't even lay a finger on him. It was a very impressive rush. Were you able to watch much of that?
Yeah, I watched. I watched some of that, and like you said, Dan, I was trying to watch both and from a long distance, because you get halfway and you you know, you're swinging your.
Head back and forth.
You feel like the Exorcist almost, you know, trying to spin your head around and follow everything that you want to follow. Trent Brown had a difficult first rep. He got beaten quickly. I'm not sure how many fingers were laid on you on the pass rush. Are there but overall, I mean I thought that it was it was good work. Again,
havn't been in that drill. If you're locked onto somebody and and they're you know, taking it an edge eventually and you're widing them, it's so unrealistic because there's just so much real estate there. It's you know, it's like the only thing you don't want to do in that situation is with you know, if you if you get a piece and they and they don't have a definite edge on you. I mean they're maybe they're on your shoulder,
but you're still controlling them. I mean that's that's difficult for them to hit a gap that tightly and you know they don't have the edge on you, they're not going to necessarily win that pass rush. So I thought both I thought both units, uh handle that part of it pretty well. I do think the Bengals offensive line projects to be pretty darn good pass protectors now, you know, get the pad level down and all that sort of thing for the running game. But I do think and
Willie Anderson what was here today? And uh, you know, I asked Willie about I said, you've seen these guys now A couple of times a training camp. What do you think about them as Pat He goes, yeah, Man, I like them too, Shaid. I think they're good pass protectors. It was a little bit of a day for Royalty. Ken Anderson was here today, Paul Alexander, Tim Crumwright, Jim Anderson, Willie Anderson. It was kind of a role call of a form of Bengals coaches and players or both like Kenny Anderson.
I will add Dave Lapham to that list in Bengals Royalty. Jamar Chase was standing in between the two fields watching today, as has typically been the case during most of training camp. It's not all he's doing. He is getting workouts on the side. We saw him come in from the practice field before the activities got started today. Are we getting close to the point or are we at the point where he needs to be out there practicing if he's going to be the player we're accustomed to seeing.
Yeah, it's getting there, Dan and he has. He's been going in the bubble and when he and Tea early on, when t was not working very much at the beginning,
they were really running hard at the bubble. I mean they were hundred yard striders running forties and all that sort of thing, and that's great, and then running routes, but on air, you know, and it's like it's it's it's different when you know, you get equipment on and somebody's putting their hands on you, and now you got to you know, it's not like you're free and clear
to run easily. It's like, now you've got to run football plays and football routes where you're stopping and starting and you're pushing and pulling with other bodies all you know, trying to do the same thing to you. It's it's just a different dynamic. So, yeah, he's got he's got to get in in camp, get through that period. There's going to be some soreness there along with that, and and just and just get ready to roll and cardiovasculi
and everything else. And conditioning wise, I have no qualms about, you know, what he's going to be doing. Although you know, missing these joint practices and when the twelve play drive that they went on, there's conditioning there. There's conditioning in these joint practices. They take a good number of reps and you're losing the football conditioning there's different. You know, it's not track and field. You know, the cardiovasco part
of it is one part of it. We always talked about the football conditioning being another and you know, totally different and I can attest to it, you know, as alignment. It's totally different, but it is for skilled players as well.
Charlie Jones made several catches today, so he is fully back. Sam Hubbard didn't participate, but he was in uniform. He started doing some stuff at practice yesterday. So two key players will clearly be good to go when the regular season begins.
Absolutely, I think they're being you know, careful and wisely careful. With Sam Hubbard, he did individual, some individual stuff today, but that was it. He didn't do anything more, and you know you're not going to see him do anything more, I don't think until it gets closer to the to the regular season. So you know, I have no problem with that. I know that. You know Sam, you talk about a guy that's ready every day of his life for any kind of physical activity that you wanted to perform.
It's Sam Hubbard. So you know it's this just comes to mind too. I mean, you know, we're watching these kickers. When we were talking to Money Mack about you know the distances, and you know he said he hit one from sixty eight in the off season and his off season workouts and everything. Sixty two yard was hit today by Gay like Mike, it was a chip shot. Yeah, I mean, it really is crazy the range that these
guys have. I mean, you know, they're not only bigger, stronger, faster in terms of you know, at the line of scrimmage, but these kickers man there, I don't know if they have dynamite caps in their shoes or what, because man, that ball is just blown off of their toe. It is absolutely nuts. It really is.
And there is video of the sixty eight yarder by Evan McPherson on Twitter Cole's kicking camp Kohl. If you look up that their Twitter account, you can see footage of that sixty eight yard field goal. Final thing. The preseason finale is coming up Thursday night at eight o'clock. As you mentioned earlier, the Colts are expected to play their starters for a half. The Bengals are not going
to play their starters. Is there anything in particular you'd like to see or are looking for on Thursday night?
Yeah, I mean, the the number twos and threes, that played in particularly last week's game in Chicago. Just clean it up, you know, hold on to the football, don't turn the football over. Eleven penalties for you know, over one hundred and twenty yards. I mean, you're just given the football game away. So I'd like to see, you know, those those young players, you know, take themselves off their schedule. The Colts number ones are going to be a load.
It's gonna they're going to be you know, they'll be working against a Pro Bowl center and a Pro Bowl left guard. The interior defensive players that that's going to be good work for those guys. The number one offensive line and skilled players are going to be going against two good defensive tacks, a really good inside linebacker who the defensive tackles keep clean so he makes a million tackles. And then you go to the state position. They got
a great player there. It's like we talk about in baseball, catch a shortstop center field. The interior the middle of that Colts defense is pretty darn good. And you know, and then they go and they get a you know, a rookie out of UCLA and edge guy. This dude, he was a lot bigger than I thought, a lot too, uh, six five to sixty five, and he looks every bit of that. I mean, he looked good on the edge. So it's like man, like we said before, everybody's got players, everybody's good.
It's the big show. It's the NFL.
Good way to wrap it up. Look forward to being in the booth with you on Thursday.
Night, Same here, Dan as always.
Thursday's game kicks off at eight o'clock with the Amazon Prime crew in town, including Al Michaels, Kirk krb Street, and former Bengals great Andrew Whitworth. The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official hr software provider, Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health is the official
healthcare provider of the Bengals. For the second straight preseason game, the Bengals offensive starters are not expected to play. That means extensive playing time for backups, including rookie center Matt Lee. The seventh round pick out of the University of Miami, took every offensive snap in Saturday's game in Chicago and did well. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Lee has been on the field for fifty pass blocking snaps in the first two preseason games without giving up a sack, hit,
or hurry. Lee was chosen number two thirty seven overall in this year's draft. There were only twenty picks after him, but right now he stands a very good chance of being ted. Carris is back up. I talked to him this week. Matt, you are from Oviedo, Florida, which is close to Orlando, and went to college at two schools in Florida. Is this the first time you have spent a big chunk of time outside of the Sunshine State?
Yes. Absolutely.
I've been to a bunch of different states to play football games and here and there for vacation or whatever growing up, but for longer than probably a week max, or maybe a little longer, depend on the vacation. This has been far and away the longest siven out of Florida.
What if anything, do you miss about home?
You know, family and friends, and you know there's a level of comfort being around where you're from, you know what I mean, whether that's in Orlando or the past year in Miami, which I got a bunch of family in Miami. But it's been honestly really good up here, and I love the area and it's nowhere near as.
Hot as Florida, which is a bonus.
It's a good part, especially during training camp. Right we're visiting with Matt Lee. You earned All acc honors last year at the University of Miami. According to Pro Football Focus, in four hundred and thirty four pass blocking snaps, you did not allow a single sack and only gave up one quarterback hit. Are those numbers accurate?
Yeah, for sure, definitely not a sack.
I don't even know if I gave up a hit, And going back before the year before last twenty twenty two, I think that those numbers were probably a little bit better. But but uh yeah, yeah, I think they're real.
I think they're right. Yeah, as far as i'm.
You're certainly not gonna say no, I gave up a bunch, But I believe them too.
I know there's no sack, all right.
That's the key. Prior to Miami, you spent the bulk of your college career at the University of Central Florida, and that meant multiple games against the University of Cincinnati when the Bearcats are at their peak under Luke Fickle, what stands out about that rivalry?
You know, I kind of when I rolled into UCF in twenty nineteen, I played them four times every year and that was kind of like you're saying, the bull that rivalry through those years, and then when both teams left the Big.
Twelve, it's still there, but it's not as important.
They're not the top dogs of the conference anymore like they were in the American But you know, for for us at UCF, University of South Florida and Tampa has been the historical rivalry. But there was almost a little bit more of like a like a real intensity every time we would play Cincinnati, whether we're going up there or coming down they were coming down to Orlando, and every game.
Was always hard fought. It was always pat crowds.
You know, I've been I played them twice up here in Cincinnati, and they get a great atmosphere with how that the stadium's kind of built into the ground or so something like that, right, Yeah, and uh, and it was a lot of fun. You know, I went two and two against them. We'd lost my first year, then one, then lost than one, and you know, they had a lot of success, especially in twenty twenty one. They had some guys that are doing real good now in the in the NFL.
If you see somebody around town wearing you see gear, do you clench your teeth a little bit?
You know, not not too much.
I think my my, I would do that for South Florida since the history of that rivalry. You know, when I was at you, Steff, we definitely hated each other Cincinnati because there was always a big game of the year and it kind of matter who's probably who might win the conference this year.
But but I don't hate the university.
You know, we're visiting with Matt Lee. You and my broadcast partner Dave Lapham have a couple of things in common. Number one being offensive linemen. But number two, you were both recruited by Harvard and elected not to go. There was it an honor that schools like Harvard and Yale and these prestigious academic institutions wanted you at their schools.
It is pretty cool looking back on it, though, I think in the moment, you know, because they have different rules with their scholarships and they're in the Ivy League and uh and in the FCS or whatever, but in the Ivy League specifically, so you don't get that florided scholarship for most people depending on financial aid or whatever, whatever the package. But still pretty cool to feel down And then now as I'm a little bit older looking back, I'm like, oh, well, I could have gotten Harvard.
I could have gotten to Yeil, So I mean that's pretty cool. I guess yeah, trust me. Lap brings it up still and deservedly. So you're four weeks into your first NFL training camp. What's been the biggest challenge?
Just learning everything and not just from a mental standpoint in the playbook and getting.
You know, more solidified in that every single day, the more.
Reps you take, but the intricacies of technique and how much bigger of a step it is at this level compared to collegiate because there could be stuff college coaches might not even touching on or that you think that you're you do a good job of, and then you get here and everything's just that much more in depth.
Everything's that much more intricate and complex, and everything so so measured and pointed depending on what the technique is what the play is, just trying to master everything of that and focusing on a lot of stuff at once every single day and just slowly improve and prove and prove.
Did it help you that you changed colleges last year and kind of went through this process even though it was far less complex, Yeah.
For sure, I think so.
I After, you know, leaving UCF, it was in going to Miami. I had never been out of the Orlando area for that long. I grew up my parents' house and where I grew up in my high school were just a couple of miles a few minutes away from Central Florida's campus, and going to Miami kind of matured me in a way that, Okay, I'm in a new place. I kind of left the place I was established at and comfortable at.
Now I kind of have to.
Earn it back up and get comfortable on the field, off the field, with myself, where I live, all this different stuff.
But that made come in here that much easier.
So you've got a nine year veteran to learn from at your position in Ted Kerris, Are you the type of person that asks him a lot of questions or do you quietly observe.
Both I think observe a lot, you know, and just watch things. Everything he does is throughout practice and throughout a play, and then pick his mind when I can, or definitely when I have a specific question that's on my mind.
Is you know what's a gonna say. I get after him every single chance.
I can get in that regard, but I like to just observe and watch a lot too. How he does individual, how he goes in team, how his attitude is, the way he does little simple stuff that may look simple, but how he does it playing and play out and try to take from that.
Do you wear the sense he hat?
Yeah? I have one.
Yeah, I wear it sometimes. Oh my girlfriend to wear my dad willware.
Yeah, there you go. I'm sure Ted appreciates it. Last thing for Matt Lee, he played every snap, every offensive snap, at least in last week's preseason game against the Bears. Would you like to do that again against the Colts?
Yeah, okay, that'd be cool.
I mean I got sixty three or sixty two, sixty sixty four snaps whatever it was, and a week before that it was, you know, seventeen or something like that. So being able to play a full game, a full load at this level and kind of see what it feels like in the opportunity to go against the bear starter shore.
A couple drives which which was awesome. Yeah, I would love to.
You're having a great camp.
Keep it up.
Appreciate the time.
Okay, thank you, appreciate you.
That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth Podcast brought to you by pay Core, Proud to be the Bengals Official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans. Kettering Health
is the official healthcare provider of the Bengals. If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to this podcast and if you have a minute, give it a rating or share a comment that helps more Bengals fans find us. I'm Dan Hord and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast.