Bengals Booth Podcast: Welcome To Miami

discusses his injury, his contract, and his future. In my weekly midweek visit with Dave Lapham will discuss why he would have loved to block for Joe Mixon, his admiration for Dolphins qb Ryan Fitzpatrick, and we'll discuss the options the Bengals will have if they wind up with a number one pick in the draft. Finally, and this week's Know the Faux segment, we'll talk to Cameron Wolf, who

covers the Dolphins for ESPN. He's had a challenging job just from bring names and faces this year, since the Dolphins have used the most players of any team in NFL history. All of that is straight ahead, but first, here's a quick reminder that you can have the latest edition of this podcast delivered right to your phone, tablet, or computer. By subscribing on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or pod Bean. It's the greatest thing since a good nugget.

One of the things I try to do before every game that I broadcast is try to find some good nuggets of information about the players and coaches to work in. When appropriate, it might be an anecdote, an unusual stat maybe a funny quote, little things that I hope make the broadcast more entertaining. For example, this week, if there's time, I might bring up the fact that Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is the father of seven kids, and he had

a great line about it in the offseason. He blames his off season weight gain on all of his kid's birthday cakes. Now let's get to football. This week, Geno Atkins was named to the Pro Bowl for the eighth time, that second most in Bengals history behind Hall of Famer

Anthony Muno's who made it eleven times. AJ Green made it in each of his first seven seasons before the streak ended last year due to injury, and after missing the second half of last season, aj will miss all of this season due to the ankle injury he suffered in the first training camp practice aj saw a foot specialist in Green Bay this week to make sure that he is on course for a full recovery. Everything looks

good for me. I just need it some more combromation and confirmed that, you know, just looking into my future, how would it, how would it be? And will be no lingering effect on that? Everything will be fine. So have you decided you won't play this year? Though? Yeah, I probably won't play this year. I think. Came to Just and he's like, it's best for me to just stick this year off, um, just to get this thing

to heal, so, you know, and long running though. You know, for the next couple of years of my career, I would have no problem. So what do you think you need to show the Bengals or any other team at this point regarding your future that I need to show anybody anything. Everybody know what I can do when I'm on the field. I'm just having these last couple two years have been bad breaks. Um. That's one thing I

can't control. I can control is you know how I prepared, and I know how I am on off the field, how I prepared, the work I put in on and off the field. So for me, Um, you know, a lot of people think it's it's a lot of mental in this thing. I'm sad up. I don't you know. I don't get too high on myself. I never get too low on myself. I stayed the course. You know, you play this game long enough, stuff like this gonna happen. So um, that's for pushing me. Um. So what is

your hope in terms of your future? Oh? We see, Like I said, my thing is not right now is just to get get healthy and get to hundred percent and then we go from there. I staying here your preference. It's also you know, it's always always I wanted to stay here a break every record here. Um. But also as a side of a business that you have to understand. M every great business have you got to make difficult decisions. And for me, I'm my own business, so I have

to make decisions. I'm on my end as well. So you have said that you would understand being tagged if it happens. Yeah, of course, um, you know that's what the tag is eighteen me and so I'm not running away from that um so um um. But that also shows you know they're not committed. So and then in that circumstance, I have to protect myself. So the last time that you signed AJ, there was kind of you and Julio grouped together. Do you still feel like that

is the bar in light of your injuries? Uh? You know for me, Man, I feel like me and Julio is saying, Uh, these last two years, I've been hurt, but everything else before that, I feel like we're naked at the guy who lives, a guy that you know I got the utmost respect. He did everything the right way. He'd been playing out his mind, UM, and you know he deserved everything he gets. UM. So it's an unbelievable receiver.

But also I understand the value that I bring to this team and certainly if I was out on that field this year, we wouldn't be oneing or where we're at today, and everybody knows that. So I understand my value for the team, and UM, I think anybody everybody else understand how value I am to this team. But it's a midpoint that we have to meet at. UM. I don't know what that midpoint is, And like I said,

we'll go from there. For a while, there it looked like you were tracking to come back, and then there was that practice where there was swelling. It seemed to be kind of like the setback. Is that accurate? Oh yeah,

I was just swallowing up a little bit. UM. For me, I was just trying to push, trying to push, trying to push, trying to push you get back, I never you know, we it was you know, for me, I wanted to get back so fast, so we skipping a little bit of the process, just trying to you know, build, build, build, bildum, trying to stack days to make sure how this thing responds. UM. But unfortunately it didn't respond to the way we wanted

to UM. So now right now I'm just focused on this building it back and as close as getting there, I can run routes full speed now. Nothing no, no, really, no setbacks with that. Just just building the scrength right now and to get my range of motion back. It's the bigger thing. If the team was in playoff contention,

would you try to play? That's that's tough still now where I need to be UM, Like I said from the beginning, you no matter we're going to a playoff, It's still have been a hard decision to make because I also know I'm not on the contract, and um, you know I can't go out there and put bath them out there. Um. So when you talk about your value to the franchise, your on field play speaks for itself. It seems like there's a good possibility that Andy won't be back next year. Are you that like the one

icon left leading this group forward? Oh? We don't know, man, I can't. I wish I could look into the eacher and tell you what's gonna be for for both of us. But we've been here for the last nine years, did some great things. But you know, things happen, like I said, and he still got a lot of football left to play. Man, he can whatever happens wherever he goes, if he's here or not, he's gonna be unbelievable. Um. It's not a lot of quarterbacks that's done the stuff that he is

done up to his career. And for me, you know, they got a franchise. I got a franchise. They can franchise me and I can be here for another year and or we get a deal done, or we don't get a deal gunning. But like I said, I'm prepared for anything. Um. Um, A pay Man got cut from the coats that opened a lot of eyes. Then anybody can. It's replaceable. So for me, like I said, I just

roll with the punchers. Man um from the type of guy, just try to say very level head and then just whenever my time is is up, or my time is here or wherever it's I'll be ready to play football. What do you see as your value beyond the field? H For me, man, it's just what I bring to the table off the field. Man is my leadership. You know, I'm a guy to lead by his ample. I'm gonna give you everything I got each week in and out, on and off the field. Here's my take on the situation,

and this is strictly my opinion. If AJ Green truly wants to stay in Cincinnati, he'll reach a contract extension with the Bengals. The team has made it abundantly clear that they want him to stay, and the Bengals have almost always worked out deals with their top veterans. I would be surprised if another team makes a more generous offer. If aj has decided it's time to move on, I would expect the Bengals to use the franchise tag to retain his rights and then look to trade him, similar

to what the Texans did with Jadeveon Clowney. Time to move on from that topic and turn to this week's midweek conversation with my broadcast partner Dave Lapham. You had an interesting exchange with Joe Mick in the postgame interview last week where you said, as a former offensive lineman, you would have loved a block for him. Why because he finishes every run hard, and that's all you can

ask for out of out of a running back. If your alignement is you know, if you're going to how to do all the dirty work, to everything you possibly can to make his life easier, you want him to reward you with full out, all out, one hundred percent effort. And Joe does that. And Joe I used to love running backs that had the emotion like him. It would

get you going. You're you know, you feed off of each other, you know, you try to get some juice flown, and then he gets his role and then there's nothing better than as a lineman to think you have a decent block and you look up and you see the back numbers of the uniform jersey with the last name, so now you know it's the back, going in the right direction, and man, he's he's at the next level, He's at the second or third level. And it's a

great feeling. I can't even describe it. And I think with Joe too, it's like, you don't have to do nature guy. You just have to make your guy declare something. The one thing you don't want to do if you're trying to block for Joe Mixon, it's just let your defensive lineman control you. You know, It's it's like who's gonna who's gonna make the other guy declare first? Who's gonna flinch? You know, And because all Joe needs is a definitive declaration of is he is he taking a side?

I'm taking the other? I mean, Joe, you don't have to You don't have to blow a guy up. You don't have to pancake, and you don't have to walk him off the line of scrimmage five yards. You have to just give him a little and he'll get a lot out of it. So you know, that's the kind of guy that you know, I would love to block for. And you know the other thing about him is I appreciate he sticks his nose in there and blitz pick up. He's not a pretty boy, you know, It's like it's

too good for me. I'm a runner, I'm nothing else. You know, what do you do when you don't have the ball in your hands, you know, either running or catching it. I mean, that guy's so much It would be so much fun to block for screen pass this war because you know he's coming. You can probably feel the earth move when Joe's digging up the turf, you know. And as a blocker, he's an effort guy. He gets

after it. So I think those are some of the reasons that we always used to like we were to ordain a running back, an unofficial member of the Hog fraternity when he passed protected well and blitz pickup, like we ordained you. We ordain you, you know, just as part of the part of the process. And Joe would have been a sixth lineman a lot of games Man the way he and Giovanni Bernard as well, both of

those guys are really really good in blitz Pickup. I like the fact that he expressed childlike glee that Tom Brady is willing to send him at Jersey. The thing about Joe is unbridled joy for the game for life. Joe is he's a fan of the game. I mean, he appreciates the game on a lot of levels, I think, and he appreciates greatness, and he appreciates, you know, somebody achieving, you know, at the highest level. And he wants to

be the best. And you know, in talking with his running back coach, Coach Sheldon, he he wants to be coached. He wants to be hard coached, so you know every detail, where you point your toe, you know where your eyes is supposed to be. And Joe's gotta heavery respect for this new running back coach. And he says, every time I come out of his room, I feel like I've learned something. So there's a good dynamic going on there.

What is wrong with lighting up with your quarterback under center on fourth and one and running a quarterback sneak? Not much that I can see, but I'm old school. I mean, I think if Bill Belichick does it with Tom Brady as much as he does it with the Goat, everybody's greatest of all time and deservedly so there must be something to it. I know, as a lineman, you're certainly going off to hold your block as long you

can come off the line of scrimmage. If you just win at that tenth of a second coming off the line of scrimmage, you don't have to really win big, just stalemate. A quarterback that's over six feet tall can just fall forward for you know them, I do. I do one thing. I'm not seeing much anymore on third and fourth and short and you don't see it. A whole lot of the goal ie need The guy's going up and over and I don't know if it's a player safety stuff. They're told not to anymore. Don't leave

your feet when you're airborne. You're not in control of your body anymore. Other people can do damage to you. But on that fourth and a foot and Danny Shelton, to give him credit, he won. Block was missed at the line of scrimmage and he won at that point, I mean up and over. I've seen so many guys do it. Hershall Walker was great at it. Walter Payton was great at it. You know a lot of guys over the years, and that that seems to be an art that isn't practiced anymore. They put the paints away

on that one, I guess. So, yeah, there's there's a few things, I mean, but all I can say is it just from a mathematical standpoint, when you're back in the shotgun and you're coming, you know you do. You're able to come downhill in your vision, but you don't need a whole lot of vision, and that constricted an area. I think you're just trying to get to the line of scrimmage as quickly as you can. And I don't know. That's that's my take on it. I understand there are

other quarterback sneak, you know, going up under center. You don't have to run the quarterback sneak. You can hand it off and you can go up and over and all that, and you can still run play action pass and things off of it. But you do have to have faith that in your offensive line that they can come off the line of scrimmage and at least control and enough of your quarterback to to you know, take advantage.

Let's talk defense. Over the last four weeks, the Bengals d is allowing an average of three hundred and eight yards per game. That would be sixth best in the NFL if they had that average over an entire season. Is this at all similar to the running game, where the new coaching staff kind of had to figure out what works for this group of players. I think there's a lot to be said for that. You know, coach

Selton said that about Joe. You know, he'd never this is the first time he'd had a new running back coach in his career in the NFL and had the same guy in college, and now this has change. And I it is a factor. Um every time I went through a new staff and new offensive line coach and other position coaches. It's like you have to figure out what they expect of you, and they have to figure out what you can and can't do. And there's a

process there. So it's not it's not overnight. U with with respect of the defense, it's they've they're not allowing chunks anymore. I mean, it's it's not over and over and over again. And something has to do with some of it has to do with who they played. I mean, you know, you play the forty nine ers, you know you play Baltimore twice. I mean you're you're playing teams that are at the cutting edge and executing at the highest level offensively, so you start getting carved up in

some of those games in rapid fire. It's a blow to your confidence. And then you know, you get past that and you see, Okay, some of these offenses are immortal, and I'm gonna if I'm in the right place, I'm not going to give up a chunk play. Because with some of these offenses, even when you're in the right place, the challenging, you miss a tackle. You know, it's like they're just so much better athletically. Now, now guys aren't at that level athletically, and you're in the right place

and you're you're making a tackle. So I think I credit The hardest thing to do is when when you start off and it's all tumbling downhill, is to grab yourself by the bootstraps and collectively you pull yourself up out of the hole. I give the defense a lot of credit for that. I give the Running Game Coach Turner and everybody involved with the Running Game a lot of credit for that. And uh, you know that's just if they could figure out how to score points, you know,

a few more points. You know, they're they're only scoring fifteen points a game. Miami's given up over thirty one. Something's got to give. I mean, the number of points the Dolphins have given up. It's crazy because of their starting I mean, they were giving a forty fifty points a game is nuts. Something's going to give. On Sunday, Lap the Bengals faced the Dolphins and thirty seven year

old quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick this week. He started for the Bengals back in two thousand and eight when Carson Palmer was hurt. Miami is the eighth team that he has started for that as an NFL record for quarterbacks. You love the guy, right, I do. And I'm probably prejudiced because my nephew, Brian, was a co captain with him at Harvard, and my nephew told me stories about him when he played at Harvard and everything about him. He's

got every intangible you can have. His personnelity is so amazing. Intelligence level of humor is off the charts. Intelligence level period is off the charts. Intelligence of humor is off the charts. Everything is off the charts. He just he is one of those guys that you can't find yourself

not gravitating toward, you know. And what he did with his young son at at the pressor when he had his son is going to be going to Harvard obviously three or a multiplication of two three digit numbers, and Son just immediately gave the arrans and they're all with their calculators in the press room and you know, of course it's right. Boom throws the microphone and off he goes. I mean that that's fits you in a nutshell, I think. But he is. My nephew told me there is never

a bad day around Ryan Fitzpatrick. He always finds something good and positive to focus on, talk about, do whatever the case. Maybe. He is never negative and I remember all the quarterbacks in the quarterback room with him the same way. Totally supportive, never negative, and when he get his chance, he just he's a guy that he's because of his intelligence. He has confidence and nothing's too big for him. He fears nothing or no one, and he will rip it. He'll rip the ball down the field.

Now he's going to give his player, his teammates champion. He's going to give the opponent chance as well. He doesn't care. He feels like, you know, for every mistake that might occur, he's gonna make four plays. That's his mindset and he'll live with that all day long, every day in the entire season, So with Ryan Fitzpatrick, you're never gonna You're never gonna find him in the huddle being guys am. He's aggressive, aggressive, everything is full speed ahead,

and hell with the consequences. Let's just go get it. Let's just go and talk about, you know, damage control afterwards if we have to, but let's not talk about it beforehand. Miami had the worst three games start in NFL history. Lap They were outscored one thirty three to sixteen in the first three weeks. They started the euro in seven, but since then they've been respectable. They've gone

three and four in their last seven games. What problems well the Dolphins present for the Bengals on Sunday is it is amazing. And you had in Game four there else going one hundred and sixty three to twenty six. They lost that game thirty to ten to the Chargers. It's mind boggling. They've let up thirty points and more, nine times, thirty five points and more, five times forty points or more. Three times. They won three football games

and they've lost two games by a point. So you talk about up and down the graph, flying up and sinking, I mean, it's unbelievable, but I think the problems that they face a Bengal's face with the Miami Dolphins is just an attitude of throw cautions of the wind. And I think it's an organizational thing. I think Flora's the new head coaches. Let's you give me everything you got. I'm giving you everything you've got kind of thing. And we already talked about Ryan Fitzpatrick a little bit, but

it's him. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been with eight football teams. Ryan Fitzpatrick's made a ton of money in the National Football League and has never been the guy the franchises ordained guy. So he gets up, I'll guarantee you he gets up in front of his teammate in meeting rooms, in the locker room. Hey dudes, we're underdogs. I'm the consummate underdog. Let's just go play. I've carved a nice career out of just given everything I have with every

every opportunity that's presented to me. There are tons of people walking the streets that would love to be doing what we're doing. Let's just go do it. Let's have fun doing it. I'm telling you, I think that attitude is probably part of the coaches are presenting to the players, and Ryan Fitzpatrick as the you know, is the soldier that's carrying that flag. And there's no question in my mind that he's the undisputed leader of that because his

whole football career identifies it. And it's contagious, and I do think that. I mean, it's been musical chairs. You look at the personnel transactions, part of the press release that team sent out is usually you know, this is like voluminous, It's like you can't get through it. So it's it's it's been a you know, a merry go round. But there have been some consonants, obviously, the coaching staff and I think Ryan Fitzpatrick obviously, and there's others. I mean,

Parker's playing at a high level. They have guys that are that are playing well. But I just think that the attitude of us against the world, we're underdogs and we love it. I think it's pervasive, and I think the Bengals are going to feel that down there. I think the Miami Dolphins are like in for that reason. I don't think the Miami Dolphins are going to overlook the Bengals and say, all we have to do is

show up for this one. Because We've won three games, and you know, we've beaten teams the Bengals haven't even come close to, or whatever, whatever the case may be. I think they're just gonna stay with the same attitude, approach it like they do every week, and we're gonna give you our best and we're gonna be aggressive and see how the chips fall. The Bengals can clinch on Sunday. Unfortunately, what they can clinch is the first pick in the draft.

If they lose either of their last two games, they will go number one in next year's draft. Lap They've been there before four times in Bengals history. They have had the numb umber one pick in the draft, going backward Carson Palmer in two thousand and three to JOHNA. Carter nineteen ninety five, Big Daddy Dan Wilkinson nineteen ninety four, and then in nineteen eighty four they got the number one overall pick from Tampa Bay and then traded it

after Steve Young signed with the USFL. They wound up getting two first round picks for the number one pick overall. Everybody is assuming they are going to take LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner, Could it be a different quarterback, a different position like Chase Young or lo and behold, could they even trade down? What do you think?

I think that the group involved has to do all their due diligence, and you know, there's no way they're not going to there there In my mind, I don't think they've decided anything yet, and you can't because you don't know exactly what's going to happen yet in terms of water. But if you do get the number one pick in the draft, all options are on the table. I mean, I would explore. I would make phone calls,

I would accept every phone call. I would exhaust every possibility in terms of trade, in terms of uh, you know, player study, evaluating players, I would not make any assumption at this point in time. And you know, Joe Burrow, though, just won the Heisman Trophy and the biggest landside slide in the history of the Heisman Trophy and then gave an acceptance speech that everybody crying, and has raised over half a million dollars for food banks in his hometown,

for the underprivilege and the people that are going hungry. So, I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a more impactful Heisman Trophy winner. I mean, he wanted by a number that's crazy, and in so doing unselfishly, you know, better than the lives of a lot of people. I mean it's almost like, is this guy real? I mean, when's he gonna he'll ride into Cincinnati on his white horse.

You know, he's a superhero already. So when you when you look at when you look at the intangibles, Joe Burrow not just a football playing, which is the biggest thing. Can he play? But can he lead? Oh Man, Yeah, he's got He's got a lot, a lot going on there. I thought the whole Heisman Trophy thing was interesting. The three quarterbacks were all transfers from big programs to big program you know. I mean, you got you got players

going from Alabama to Oklahoma, Ohio State to LSU. You know, just I mean, I mean crazy stuff, Georgia to Ohio State. You know. And Joe Burrow is the third straight Heisman Trophy winner who transferred exactly exactly, Yeah, I mean the two quarterbacks from from Oklahoma both transferred, one from Texas Tech and and uh what the other one transferred from Texas and Texas AM that's where he was. Yeah, Kylin Murray comes from Texas A and M. So you know,

it's it's like, okay, is it the right fit? Will the Bengals adapt their offense to Joe Burrow? What what was lacking with Joe Burrow Ohio State? That LSU said, Oh there are crazy look at this. It's it's it's funny sometimes, as the old saying goes, you know, you gotta end up in the right place at the right time, you know. Kenny Anderson often talks about if Van Brocklin had drafted him in Atlanta instead of the Bengals drafting him in Cincinnati, would you have had the same career?

Who knows? You know, you don't. It's it's almost you can't you can't project it. So um, it's it. I think Joe Burrow obviously is as strong a candidate as you're. Everyone gonna want to see if if it's the first pick of the draft. Something simple like when he went up to Dane shook his hands at Ohio State before going up on stage. No bitterness, you know, Harbor, no ill will you know you guys improved me. I appreciate you guys improved me. I respect the decisions you made.

But you respect the decisions I made. It's worked out for both of us. No hard feelings. Love you, coach. You gotta lovely kid like that. I mean, how easy would it be the coach a kid like that? You talk about ego in check and where it should be? Man, so many things. Ego in check, check dad, coach, football lifer check. Athletic ability, all state basketball player in high school, all state football player check. I mean, this guy is

making defensive players in the SEC miss. I think people are under estimating his athletic ability, his ability to escape, make you miss, short space, quickness, speed, all of it. Um. I don't know, it's going to be interesting. I think he obviously presents a strong case, but you can't say you know, case concluded. You have to still have to do your due diligence and assemble your closing statement. He might have two games left, He's got at least one,

no doubt, no doubt. And the thing I like about him is, I mean, his completion percentage ridiculous. It's almost like eighty percent. It's nuts. And in big games, in big games, you know, Conference championship game, lit it up, lit it up, let it up with his feet and a strolling arm. So you know, sometimes guys, a boy, you know what's going to happen when when it's a big game and it's all the marbles are on the line. Man, he's so far stepped up. Like you said, he has

a couple more under the national spotlight. So he seems to me to be the kind of kid though, that embraces the big stage. He's not intimidated. It's almost like water rolling off a duck's back. This is what I wanted, and finally I've got what I wanted, and I'm not going to mess it up. Four of the last five number one overall picks in the NFL draft have been quarterbacks Jamis Winston, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield, and Kyler Murray.

The one exception was Miles Garrett in twenty seventeen. Again, the Bengals clinched the number one overall spot if they lose one more game. Now, time for this week's Know the Faux segment as we take an in depth look at the bengals upcoming opponent. And this week we're joined

by Cameron Wolfe, who covers the Dolphins for ESPN. He's had a difficult job of getting to know the guys he covers this year, since Miami has already used an NFL record eighty players, what has it been like to cover a team when on a weekly basis you're probably not even sure who Who's that? Who's that guy over there? It's the real men. Sometimes I have players in the locker room asking me who this guy y'all just picked up from from off waivers last week? He played at

the University of Michigan. Uh, give him the whole bios. So, yeah, they tell me. Sometimes they don't. They just call each other numbers of the name that they don't recommend. That's crazy. Uh. Brian Flores has coached offense, defense, special teams. I mean, he's got a full indoctrination to the game of football. In my opinion, with what we're talking about, the number of players that he's had to deal with, I am legitimately thinking if I had to vote, I might vote

for him for Coach of the Year. I don't think anybody has had to deal with as much crap as he had all year long. It's crazy diversity. I mean, I think this is easily the least talent at roster in the NFL. I think, you know, everything that he had to deal with from you know, trade a week before the season started up, their star left tackle trading away. They're they're you know, who's a Pro Bowl stay dummkop the Patrick Kenny still at least thing that will to

deal with. And the fact they still got three wins, including one against the team that might win a division still, the Eagles. I think that is a credit to him and the staff. You know, I don't know if I go as far as which of the year because they're still three and eleven, but I do think that he does deserve credit for brigiding guys not to quit on them and maximizing the talent he had had from this rock. We're talking to Cameron Wilfer covers the Dolphins for ESPN.

Everybody said from the beginning of the year that the Dolphins are tanking, and you know, I don't know how I even feel about that term. I think they are trying to acquire assets and it's worked. They've got three first round picks this year, a couple of seconds. They've got an extra first round pick next year. How is Miami reacting to the strategy they have used in trying to build assets. Yeah, I think that's early on. There was a lot of backlash about that, tanking words used,

especially because they were losing games. I think it was one hundred and two to ten the first two contests. They started off and seven with one of the worst points there differentials in NFL history, So people were wondering just exactly how what this meaning for the game of football, and then I all kind of got eraised when they won some games. So I think overall that the past is still on point. They won't have the number one overall pick most likely that'll probably go to Cincinnati out

there unless they win the last two games. But I do think that, you know, they've been selling hope to their fan base whole season that Hey, the hope is we're gonna have fourteen picks, the hope is we're gonna have three first round picks. The hope is that we're gonna eventually find our franchise quarterback. So once we get into off season mode, they're going to finally be to see some of the fruits of the hope they're selling.

So I think the fan base has been on board because they believe that, you know, there'll be greener pastures once they get past this painful season. Speaking of a franchise quarterback traded for Rosen, Ryan Fitzpatrick is at the helm. I've known Ryan Fitzpatrick since his college days. My nephew and Ryan Fitzpatrick co captains at Harvard when they won the Harvard the Ivy League championship. So Fitzpatrick to me is a unique guy in a lot of ways, tangibly

and intangibly. How big of an impact has he had on the football team in the organization and what's going on with Rosen is he is he dead man in the water. Yeah, that's a good phrase to put it. I think we kept Ryan Josh Rosen questions today and he put it, you know, as honest as yeah has since he's been here, and simply said that Fitch is best for us. Because all the people who say differently, I don't know if they'd have the same strength to

say that in front of the group of guys. So I think he's essentially saying that the guys, the guys in the locker room no better quarterback, and he, as a coach, feel like it was right for him to put a guy out there who wasn't the best thing for them. So I think that Josh Rosen has played his last mat for the Dolfense. Unless that Patrick is hurt, I think they find a way to trade him in the off season. I just don't know if there's a

future for Ends here in Miami. That being said, that Patrick has been, you know, the opposite of what Josh Rose has been to them. He's lifted this team. I talked to guys in the locker room regularly and they speak about how they played differently for fits. They play harder for him. He brings a different energy, he brings a different nasty and then some of those things you mentioned,

the intangible. I just walked past the locker room and he's sitting around the lunch room eating with five offensive linement and two tight ends like that stuff that you can't teach, but those small things make an impact on the team, Like those are just the natural inclinations of

who he is one of the guys. So that element has been I think extremely helpful for the Dolphins in this year when everybody he's trying to pull them apart about what they can't do while they're trying to lose that they've had a guy that's kind of excludes them together. And you know, especially all these you know, different pieces

that are coming in and out. Do they feel like a rookie quarterback doesn't necessarily have to play his rookie year because Fitzpatrick the way he has played, or do they look at Ryan Fitzpatrick is the perfect mentor for that first year quarterback and play him right away? Well, how do you think the organization's feeling about that that position. I think that you know, a lot of it's going to depend on Ryan. And I asked him just this about four minutes ago, and he's been really really trying

to avoid the question. With twenty twenty, he has to decide if he wants to come back. You know, he's thirty seven years old, he's you know, played fifteen seasons. This is the first year he hasn't been with the family. He's got seven kids and as the wife that still live in Tampa. So you know, he has one more year in his contract and I think it's going to be about eight million dollars on that deal and about

half of the guaranteed. So if he wants to come back spot shift, he's they're available for him, and I think he would be easy guy to at least open up. You know, training can't take in the early reps. But the question is does he want to come back and play another year? So if he does, yeah, I think that Ryan Fitzpatrick and a quarterback, you have him come in and let him battling out if the Ricky wins school. If he doesn't, maybe you let Fits start until he's ready.

And maybe in the case with Alabama quarterback to a tong of Viola, if he's injured, maybe you can you can ease him in by still playing Fits for most of the year. So I think they have a lot of different options there, but I think the one person may not be one of those options. It's Josh Rosy. Cameron Wolf covers the Dolphins for ESPN. The Dolphins have given up fifty four sacks, far and away number one in the NFL. They've used ten different offensive line combinations

this season. How big of a mess is the offensive line? It's a huge mess. I wrote this last week after the game. I think they may need to find four new starting offensive linemen and not probably a generous you know estimate. You know, it could end up being five at the ends of the rebuild. Um there's just not a lot there. You know, they drafted a rookie in the third round and Michael Dieter this year, and he's been in and out of the starting lineup with struggles.

They've got a you know, a kind of a journeyman veterans in there who probably are in the last year with a team. Um, there just hasn't been any continuity. They were doing a three man guard rotation last week, UM just because neither none of the guards were playing well. So they just figured, hey, we'll just keep swapping them out and see if something sick. So, yeah, it's it's been.

It's been quite an ordeal. I'm actually surprised that Ryan Pitpatchers has survived the season with all the hits that he's taken. UM. But you know, I think that that offensive line is gonna be a priority priority two behind quarterback, and it's something that draft multiple times and free at the end of draft. Like you guys said, fifty four sacks most allowed in the NFL, have only generated eighteen fewest in the NFL. The mind the minus thirty six

sack ratio. The Bengals are next worst at minus twenty. The Dolphins are almost doubled out at minus thirty six. Can't protect, can't pass rush. I mean it's been problems with Stremmage. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah, that's that's the game of football. I think that's the essence of it. You know, this team really struggles in the trenches. You know, their front seven, they don't have any talent up there. They

have a lot of journeyment players. Um, they drafted Christian Wilkins in the first round, but he's an interior interior rusher. He doesn't really generate much pass rush. So yeah, I think that that's something that, you know, to rebuild this team the right way, they're gonna have to spend multiple years rebuilding both sides of those trenches. They need two edge rushers, they need more offensive linemen, they need a

couple interior seasons linemen as well. So there's a lot of knees on this team, and that's why they're gonna have to use all their team picks and one hundred plus a million of cats based effectively. Because this team isn't close. They're far away away from being a consider the Dolphins did not have a Pro bowler when the rosters came out yesterday, but two of the guys they traded away this year, made it make a Fitzpatrick and

Laramy Tunsil in retrospect, those guys aren't old. Why did they feel the need to trade away two of their recent high picks just to get more high picks? That was two of them were puzzling, you know, moves the season. I think for me, the biggest, the biggest one, the most puzzling one is to make a Fitzpatrick one because he's a player who was their first round pick just

a year ago twenty eight team. So he you know, you had him under contract for three three more years plus a fifth year option for pretty cheap because you've already played the signing bonus. He's a guy who he's a really talented player. I think he's got five interceptions this year playing free safety. And the issue there was, you know, Brian Fluoris wanted to put him in a position where he was playing more in the box, playing a more linebacker position and make a fit. Patrick just

wanted to say and one spot dearly through safety. So the Steelers put him back there and we're seeing what he could do there. So I would think they were at that trade if he acts them and gave them a true serum. I think it was a situation where Minka wasn't a real saying about how he was being used, and it's often said, hey, we're just gonna move on and cut our losses and get the best we can.

So I think they thought the Steelers were gonna be worse than they were, so that they thought that pick was gonna end up being the top ten or top ten team pick. And now it looks like the Steelers maybe a playoff team, so that pick might be in the twenties. Um, so that that trade for sure is looking like you know that they didn't they didn't. They didn't think that one foils through and Laramie Counsel trade. You know. I think they just saw the draft capital

was too muchs have passed up. You know, they got two first round picks and a second round pick for Laramie Counsel and did so that's a boot, that's a quarterback ransom. So they might still do that one again because those picks give them a certain level of AMMO

and flexibility that most teams don't have. Um, But now you've got to go find another Laramie Counsel because that's one of the spots that are now open on the offensive line, So maybe they do it the Patriot way and find a way to go, you know, Chiefer, and still a bunch of different spots. But there are a lot of question marks that are going into the twenty twenty off season, maybe even more question marks than they had this time last year. Brian Flores speaking of the

Patriot Way, heavily influenced obviously by Bill Belichick. I'm curious back in two thousand and three, Marvin Lewis's first year as a head coach, he brought in to Kio Spikes to his office and talked about what he envisioned for the future. And they just finished the two and fourteen season to Kio Spikes wasn't really all that on board, Marvin Lewis decides to move them. Do you think that

might have happened with Minca Fitzpatrick and Brian Flores? And now in retrospect, Marvin Lewis has one of the biggest mistakes I made was moving to Kio Spikes. Do you think that Brian Flores may be in that situation with Minca Fitzpatrick. Yeah, I think eventually he could be, especially that Nika has a lot of seasons like the one

he had this year. I think, you know, that's the first year head coach, and he has made some mistakes, and I think, in my opinion, that's one of them where he may have been too stubborn and saying, hey, you've got to do this my way versus you know, being a little bit more flexible to when the player wanted to do. So, you know, I think there should have been a little bit more compromise there, and you know, there wasn't and Brian Flores was very adamant we acted.

You know that this wasn't a new process makeup. Patrick had expressed, you know, some frustration throughout the offseason on not really having a steady position, having to play five or six different spots, and he was effective gets play, and you know, Brian Flores just said, hey, we think this is the best thing for the team, and he stayed steady with that. So I think, yeah, you're right.

Maybe when he looks back and said, hey, I could have been a little less subborn, I could have been a little bit more flexible, and that could have been a position that we didn't have to solve in the future. But now they you know, it's done and they've got to move on, and you know, hopefully they can get a player that you know, plays like makea Fitzpatrick thanks to wespn's Cameron Wolf, and that's going to do it

for this episode of the podcast. If you haven't done so already, don't forget to subscribe, and please give it ating or share a comment. Five star ratings help more Bengals fans find this podcast. I'm Dan Horde and thanks for listening to the Bengals Boot Podcast