Bengals Booth Podcast: Whoa Get Ready

who is now a member of Pittsburgh's broadcast team. The Bengals Booth Podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals. Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty two season. It's free to play next level fantasy football with fantastic Bengals prizes. Get it now on the App Store and Google Play. 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 subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the greatest thing since this week's Ruler of the Jungle. The atmosphere of This Sunday at pay Course Stadium is going to be incredible as Bengals fans welcome back to defending AFC champs, and I couldn't be more thrilled that the team has selected my broadcast partner, Dave Lapham to be the ruler of the jungle and lead fans in the hooday chant before the game. Lap spent ten seasons in a Bengal's uniform and this is his thirty seventh

year in the broadcast booth. Aside from Mike Brown and members of his family, nobody has been more closely associated with a franchise than lap. I look forward to the ovation he receives when he takes the throne on Sunday, and I can't wait for that day somewhere down the road when lap is inducted into the Bengals Ring of Honor. He is a great broadcaster and a better friend. Now time to preview Sunday's game against the Steelers, beginning with

my converse with Bengals quarterback Mike Hilton. Mike, you are two and oh against your former team. The combined score last year was sixty five to twenty. When you face Pittsburgh as it's still a big deal, or now that it's been more than a year, has some of that faded. It's still a big deal, Number one, because it's a division game. You know, no matter what side I'm on, you know, division games count more, and you know, obviously being on this side with these guys, you know, our

last couple of games, we've been dominating. So we're just trying to keep dictory and Roland, how strange is it going to be to look across the line of scrimmage and not see Ben Roethlisberger quarterback? I was going to be different, but you know that time was coming and you know, I'm pretty sure that's a big adjustment for those guys over there. But we know we still got a job to do and let's go out there and win. So we're excited to go out there and play Sunday.

You were there for four seasons and part of a fifth, so you know Mike Tomlin, well, he's never had a losing season in fifteen years as a head coach. That's the all time NFL record. If you had to pick out a couple of things that's allowed him to be so successful, what would they be? Uf? I forgot just two things Number one, his confidence and just what he knows, how he goes about coaching, and how he just you know, leads leads a group of men. You know, both of

those things is just qualities of him. That really shows how great of a coach he is. And I had the time four years to experience that with him, and honestly, I have a lot of the upmost respect for him and what he brings to that organization. Let's talk about the Bengals as a defensive starter. You did not appear in any preseason games. Are you wondering how well the

team will tackle in Week one with that in mind? Yes, always a thought in mind, But you know, we still got a job to do, and we got the easiest way to tackle. Get a lot of heads to the football. And you know, the more heads you gets in football, obviously, the better your chance to tackle us. So you know it's gonna it's gonna come with time, but we gotta make sure we're tackling whales. Sunday, we're chatting with Mike Helton.

You had a great first year in Cincinnati. A couple of interceptions during the regular season, in cluding the pick six out Big Ben. You had another huge interception in the postseason against Tennessee. Most importantly, you help Bengals get to the super Bowl, but you didn't have a sack. You've always been up for sacks. Are you putting the pressure on lou Ana Roumo to let you go after

the quarterback a little more? Oh? No, We've asked conversations. Obviously, he knows that that's what I'm best at, but you know he wants the timing up to when that blissed college is going to get hit home. So you know, me being the type of player I am, whatever coach calls on, I'm gonna go out there and do my job one hundred percent. You are very public in pushing for Jesse Bates to get a contract extension, and unfortunately the two sides were not able to reach an agreement.

How does he look to you, both on the field and in the locker room. Oh, it looks good, and you can tell he's been down wherever he was training. Well, obviously it might be a little different football shape compared to true all season shape, but we know how much Jesse loves his game and how much he puts into it, and you know we'll be excited to see how he is come Sunday. How excited are you to charge out

of the tunnel on Sunday as defending AFC champions. I was a big deal man, you know, Like you said, we're defending AFC champions, So the target is on our bat and we love that. You know, we were we were used to being the hunters and now we're the hunted, and you know that that comes with a lot of confidence. So guys are excited about this opportunity. I thought in training camp that it looked like the defense picked up

right where it left off in the postseason. Did you feel the same way for sure as guys just having another year on the coach loose system, you know, communicating well with each other, knowing what each others are going to do, so we're setting each other up for to make the play. So the way we've been communicating and flying around, you know, I'm excited to go out there and put it on table. I know you've been asked a lot about Dax Hill. What's unusual about him as

a rookie? Really how versatile he is. Um he can play any second really in the position in the secondary and do it. You know, well, you know he's the guy that we're looking forward to this year. If somebody happens to goes down, we know he can step in and we want to lose a beat, So we're excited about what he can bring to the table. Does he seem like a rookie? Not at all? Man, He's smart. Uh,

He always asking questions. He's just real elo. You can tell he loves to get him football and you know he really just is open to veteran words and whoever they're trying to help him. So we're excited about him. Last thing for Mike Kelton, your wifely considered to be one of the top slot corners in the NFL, and most teams play nickel most of the time. Now, should there be a specific spot on the Pro Bowl roster

for a slot corner in this day and age. Absolutely, At this point, the slot corner is a true starter. Everybody knows the game is more wide open passing spread, So we feel like your third corner is Honestly, I feel like your best corner because it's the most versatile. He has to be in the box some plays and nine now ten time he's covering the best route runners and slot receivers, So I personally feel like slot corner

should be on a Pro Bowl roster. I think it's a no brainer, which is one of the reasons why I asked the question. And if it happens, I think Mike Helton will get his long awaited first opportunity to go to a Pro Bowl. Oh yeah, man, I'm excited to see what this season with Hoes and I know I'm just trusting my preparation throughout the all season and up to this point. I'm just ready to go out there and play ball. Best of luck this year. I

appreciate your time. Thank you appreciating. Mike is obviously not the only Bengal with Pittsburgh ties. Tyler Boyd was born there and played his college football at pitt but it took a while to beat his hometown team. After Boyd joined the Bengals in twenty sixteen, the team dropped nine straight to the Steelers before finally getting over the hump in that memorable Monday night game just before Christmas two years ago, a game highlighted by Von Bell's famous hit

on Juju Smith Schuster. Here's Tyler Boyd. Cincinnati Bengals have never opened a season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. How do you feel about opening against a bitter division rival? Yeah, you know, I love open up to any of our arrivals in the division, but Pittsburgh specifically, you not us where I'm from in I mean, I love planning against the team, I mean the team where I'm from, you know, so him. I know it's gonna be a tough game, you know, and um, we're not gonna overlook them and

look past them, but it's gonna be a dogfight. It's gonna be a good one. You swept him last year. The combined score was sixty five to twenty. How much satisfaction did you take in those two wins in particular? I mean it was probably the most satisfying because, I mean, my whole career, they've been putting the beating on us, you know, each and every year. Wouldn't beating us two times, and I could never beat them. Now to take mus turn, and I mean, I mean, it's a satisfying to me

now that we finally got their number. Is it going to be weird to line up against the Steelers and not see Roethlisberger on the opposite sideline? Yeah, yes it is. It's gonna be very interesting to see how they how the quarterback player goes. You know, it's because Roethlisberger, he's he's a he's a he's a Hall of Famer. So you know, you go against a guy like him, you know, you gotta be tightened up when you crash. You have to make the best out of your opportunities. But um,

they they still great players over there. But um, I think I think we're going to pull it off. For visiting the Tyler Boyd as one of the starters. You did not play in any preseason games. He wouldn't have played a lot anyway. But did you get the work you needed in those two practices against the Rams? Yeah? And just every day I work, you know, I'll come in take taking it like a game rep, you know,

because I still need to get my conditioning again. I still need to polish, polish up a few things and tweak a few rounds. How I'm gonna run turn rounds. You know. Just just because we didn't play, um, doesn't mean we're not still all tuned in it sound in the offense. You know, We're we're still preparing as if we played that week, you know, And I'm just I'm just super super excited to get out there. I actually playing in the game, you know, So I think we'll

be We'll be more than ready. You're gonna take the field as AFC champions. Is that going to be a special feeling coming out of the tunnel that you knowing the way the fans are gonna respond, It's gonna be very special, you know, because it's probably gonna be a sellout. You know, it's gonna be going crazy to us first home game. Um, it's gonna drive us, you know, and

it's gonna give us more energy. And we got home for the vantage and yeah, I mean it's it's all set up for us to go out there and and start off right, you know. But we see our go out there and do it. Since coming back from his happen deck, to me, Joe Burrow looks good to me, but he says he's not quite all the way back.

Can you detect play another slightest difference in Joe pique Joe versus current Joe, not at all, you know, But I think my intake on what he what he's mean when he say that is he can always get better. You know. He always feels like if he's at one hundred percent. Then he's really not because he knows um something about his game. He wanted to continue to improve one, you know, anything, because he always shocks you. You always like I was not expecting that, Like wow, Like it

doesn't even seem like he was hurt. You know, he's he's dialed in, he's ready to go. Man. It's just just so he's a surprising player. He always succeeds at the big moments. Got three straight wins against your hometown team. Best of luck making it four on Sunday. Yes, sir, I appreciate you. That's Tyler Boyd when the Bengals take the field on Sunday. It will be forty seven days

after Joe Burrow's appendectomy. When we learned about his surgery, doctors who weren't specifically treating Burrow described it as a routine procedure and suggested that Joe could be back in a week to ten days. But not all appendectomies are created equal. Jose Appendix burst. It was extremely painful and he might have lost as many as fifteen pounds following surgery. He's put the weight back on and, for lack of a better word, has looked normal. At practice. Here's Dave Lapham.

I liked everything that he did when he went out there in the golf card, he couldn't really move around, so when they ran gastros, he was doing in the golf card to be part of the team, you know. I mean everything he was doing was sending a message to his teammates and to everybody associated with the organization. And yeah, Joe's a quick healer and he's dedicated to

his craft, There's no question about that. When I watch him throw now, I really don't see any hesitation in the torking that I was waiting to see how that advanced. I mean, like in every sport starts with your feet and legs and ends with your upper body and your arms in hand and throwing the football as that as well, and that core torking that goes on, and that transition

process from lower type of body is vital. And he really accentuated that and changed his the dynamic of his motion to try to get a little more velocity and not losing the accuracy. And he did that successfully and now it's back. I think he's he's putting the ball in tight spots with good RPMs and as an off former offensive lineman. Right now, my mindset is, I can't let my guy touch Joe Burrow. Can't put a fingernail

on Joe Burrow. And I think Joe is going to be very very quick with his reads, get the ball out, check it down, if deed b I'm not saying he's gonna play with any sort of fear, but I think he's gonna play with a sense of urgency to not

hold out of the football. He's he's trying to find that fine line between holding in, extending and creating and not taking that big hit, you know, running out bounce when you can and not taking that big hit as opposed to just getting the ball out and protect yourself that way. And I thought down the stretch his interceptions decreased everything. He'd figured it out, and if there's any guy that can figure it out, it's number nine that

that dude's gonna mind on him. Last year, Joe Burrow led the NFL in completion percentage, set franchise records for passing yards and touchdown throws, and was especially lethal down the stretch, throwing sixteen touchdown passes and only two interceptions in his final eight games, including playoffs. In that eight game stretch when it mattered most, Joe average three twenty three passing yards had had a passer rating of one sixteen.

So what sparked his incredible play? Wouldn't say there's anything that helps spark it. I think and just started understanding what it takes to win in the league. You know, every game calls for a different joke. You know, if our defense is playing great, I gotta protect the ball. We gotta run the ball. Well, take the opportunities when they're there, but don't don't push anything if you know they're scoring a lot on the other other side of the ball, and might have to take some chances for

not running the ball as well. And I have to take some chances that maybe I wouldn't otherwise in a different game. So just every game calls for something different. He had a favorite, the one that throws for five hundred and thirty yards for the record. He only threw for five twenty five when he set the team record against Baltimore, only five twenty five. Burrow did that behind

a leaky offensive line, and the Bengals addressed it. Joanah Williams, who is younger than Burrow, is back and left tackle, but the other four guys are new rookie Cordell Volson and free agents Ted Carriss, Alex Kappa, and l Collins. When they take the field on Sunday, it will be the first time they've taken a snap together in a game. Collins was injured for much of training camp and Volson didn't win the left guard job until the week of

the final preseason game. This unit has basically had three weeks to practice together. Is that enough time? Here's lab? Can they come together quickly? They can? They can, But I think it would be foolhardy to think the very first drive against the Pittsburgh Steelers they're going to be playing as well as they're playing like I'm thinking, even in the second half for the Steelers game. I'm not sure it comes together that quickly. But I don't think

it's going to take that long, you know. It's just it's a matter of finishing things. And what I saw against the Rams and those two days of practice, the one thing that I saw that I really like, they definitely have an edge. They're not gonna take it. They're gonna try to dish it out. They're not gonna take guff. They're gonna they're gonna try to give guff. So I like that aspect of it. Now, you have to keep your composure. You don't want to get kick, penalized or

kicked out of games. You can't have that. You can't have mayhem out there. But you can't. You don't want to be in a situation where you're counterpunching all the time. You want to be able to punch some And I think these guys all have a mentality where they're going to be aggressive and punch some and I I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing what they're about and how they can get things, uh, get things

figured out quickly. This football game, like every opener, is going to be adjustments and adjustments to adjustments, and a lot of times, Dan, it's too late by the time you get to the sideline. You have to figure it out on the football field. So Ted Carriss recently elected captain. I mean it's like you're gonna have to apply your rules, maybe you're just techniques. You're almost gonna have to self

coach out there. You don't want to one, two, three and out and come to the sideline and have frank custom out and your grease boarding things up. You might have to make some adjustments during the course of the first drive. They adjust to what you adjusted to adjustments. This this opener because coaches have so long to prepare for it. It could be like a big chess match. And I do think that Kris Kappa and Collins, you know, I think they may be able to compete in that

chess match. Hopefully check me if the line is significantly better. Burrow isn't the only player who stands to benefit. Last year, Joe Mixon rushed for one two hundred five yards and thirteen touchdowns. He added three hundred fourteen receiving yards and three more tds. Those numbers earned him Pro Bowl recognition, but Mixon says he can do much better. I mean I left a lot of yards out there on the field.

I mean everybody see all the you know, the splash plays and things like that, and they see the yards. But I left probably about like four hundred five hundred yards on the field and obviously about ten touchdowns left on the field last year. So if we could just clean you know, certain things up at one from my end and probably one block away or anything like that I mean, I could potentially turn into even more you know what, you guys pretty much see you know what

I'm saying. So we definitely could improve. But that starts week one, you know. It obviously starts in practice, starting in camp when we first reported. But like I said, I look forward to, you know what, the year of bring us. So Joe says he left four hundred to five hundred yards out of the field. If he added four hundred to last year's total, that would put him over sixteen hundred yards for the season. The team record is one thousand, four hundred and fifty eight, set by

Rudy Johnson. The Bengals Booth podcast is presented by Ultimate Bengals, the free to play fantasy football game. This past season, Ultimate Goals awarded a weekly winner during the course of the year, with tickets, autographed merchandise, and money can buy experiences all up for grabs. Find Ultimate Bengals in the App Store and Google Play. Now, let's turn to the Steelers, a team that went nine to seven and one in Ben Roethlisberger's final season and made the playoffs before losing

by three touchdowns at Kansas City. The strength of the team is defense. Pittsburgh led the league in sacks in each of the last five years, led by NFL Defensive Player of the Year t J. Watt, who tied the NFL single season record with twenty two and a half sacks last season. He's joined up front by five time Pro bowler Cam Hayward. Tyson Alualu is back from injury after only playing in two games, and the Steelers have added Larry Ogan Jobie, who had seven and a half

sacks for the Bengals last season. Here's Zach Taylor. There's a lot of good fronts in this league. Pittsburgh's always one of them, and they're probably coming to the game healthy week one. They're always motivated anytime we played a divisional team us in them. So again it's it's really difficult tests in week one because we know what they're about. We had one of their players last year. We know he's a really good player. We think highly of them.

You know, Tyson's back off off the injury from a year ago. We got tough respect for him. I thought Highsmith was really coming along last year as well. We know t J. Watton, Cam Heyward or two of the best players in the league at their positions, and then they got a lot of really good players behind them as well. So it's a really good defense from you know,

the front all the way back. Offensively, the Steelers have a Pro Bowl running back and Najie Harris who rushed for twelve hundred yards as a rookie, and wide receiver Deontay Johnson who had one hundred seven catches for more than eleven hundred yards. Mitchell Trubisky is Ben Roethlisberger's successor at quarterback. He made the Pro Bowl back in his second NFL season and is eight games over five hundred as a starting quarterback with a career passer rating of

eighty seven point zero. But he never quite lived up to being the number two pick in the NFL draft. I asked Lap, why you come in as the second pick in the draft. The expectations are like, you are gonna be a Hall of Famer immediate, You're gonna you know, Peyton Manning set an NFL record for interceptionces orkie year twenty one. I think it was twenty one, And no, they didn't give up on him. I think I think

there was a little bit. You know, Traubisky's in a big market up in Chicago's second pick of the draft. Didn't light it up, you know, it just played decently, but not like, oh what a bus second pick of the draft? You kidding me? I mean if he had gone there as a fourth round pick might have been a little different situation. I think it was just the pressure of where he was drafted. And that's that's not on him. That's on Ryan Pace, I think was the general manager at that time, and uh he no longer

as the general manager the Chicago Bears. And this week's no the Foe segment. Former Pittsburgh offensive lineman Max Starks, who is now part of the Steelers broadcast team, joined lapping me on the Bengals Game Plan show. Well, Max, I'll tell you what, You're a hell of a player, a big man. My understanding is the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line is the lowest paid offensive line in the National

Football League. My thing is, why don't they have you go out there play, play a little tackle, give you a little bit of money, I mean, change your job description a little bit. What would you think about that? Well, listen, after seeing Jason Peters at forty getting on practice squad, I don't think it didn't cross my mind, but I think I think I'm beyond my prime. I like the way my knees feel. I hear that. Well, Max, let's talk about that offensive line because both of these teams

have a lot of changes up front. The Bengals signed three free agents who will start on the offensive line, the Steelers signed a couple of It is that the Steelers biggest question mark in your mind going into the season. I think it's gonna be one of one of the biggest question marks. I think when you look at last year and then this year needing to bring in two free agents, something that means similar You look at the Bengals, the same kind of situation where it's a lot of

youth and a lot of inexperience. So how do you how do you supplement that you have to go out and you have to get guys in free agency? But David, you can you can talk about this as well. It takes pack forward offensive line to jail. It's not like I could put five of the best guys out there and they're just gonna get it immediately. Like it's a certain nuanced type of position where you have to feel comfortable, you have to get in a group with one another,

to understand the responsibilities, how they think, how they communicate. So, I mean, it is going to be one of the questions that I'm especially gonna be watching very closely this season. I couldn't agree with you more. Max. It's like, you know these guys, Okay, you pick up a center that's one two Super Bowl US what the Patriots? The right guard won a Super Bowl with the Bucks, comment on the name of Tom Brady's quarterback. You pick up a

tackle that playoff games with the Cowboys. They've all seen it, they all know what it's supposed to look like. They've all had success, but they haven't played a snap next to each other. And people like, you know, like, oh, come on, and if you want five to play like one, it takes a little bit of time. It doesn't happen overnight. You're right, Oh no, absolutely not. I mean you look at when Cleveland had a really good offensive line. They played together for a couple of years, Dallas for a

long time. They had played together for a number of years, and it took time. It took multiple drafts over many years to get them all on the same page. And I think that's where you know I'm making this comparison. I said, it's a crock pot, not a microwave. When you're trying to create a great offensive line, it just it takes time and you have the right pieces, you know, And I love the pieces you guys have with Harris, Kapita and Collins, but it once they never played together.

They've had individual successes at different places, but it's gonna take time for them to get together. That's a great analogy. Can I steal that? Yeah? I will give you credit. Your credit for it. Max Starks as our guest former steelersz Ligneman, now part of their broadcast team. Let's talk about quarterback. They signed Mitchell Trubisky in the offseason, then they drafted Kenny Pickett in the first round. He was

the first quarterback selected in this year's draft. Was there any doubt in your mind that Trubisky would be the starter to begin the season and how did he look to you at training camp? Yeah? I wondered. I wondered how open the competition was going to be, and if things are all equal, would Mitch be able to overcome Mason who'd been in the system, And obviously Kenny Pickett being a first round pick. But you know, as I went through camp, as I watched if Mitch impressed me.

Mitch had a cool, calm, collected nature about him. He didn't get frazzled, he didn't get frustrated. He was a very good communicator with the rest of his team, and I think that was one of the things that sold me on the leadership aspect. Right, the quarterback has to be the unequivocal leader. And when I looked at what he had to offer, plus he had a winning record, plus he knows what it takes to get to the playoffs, I'd say, well, it's undoubtedly he's going to be the guy.

Probably after week two of preseason, I was pretty sold on it. And then you know, for Kadomlin to come out and give that blessing, I thought was the final. You know, obviously the final when the coach gives you the blessing the head coach. But I thought I thought he was the right man for the job of the three So defensively to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Keith Butler retires,

Terrell Austin takes over. He'd been on the staff. He and Mike Tomlin have a history, and then Mike Tomlin also brings in Brian Flores as a linebacker, coach, senior defensive assistant. They've all got, you know, Brian Flores. Just like I'm blitz, I'm gonna play man behind it. You know, Butler was zone blitz kind of guy. Mike Tomlin has his kind of philosophy deef pensively. What is it going to be? What do you think? Will it be a mix? Will Mike Tomlin say this is what we're doing. I

don't care what you guys say. How how do you think those meetings are gone? What kind of inputs do you think's going on there? Well? I think General Austin has has the ultimate say, I mean the one. The good thing about Mike Tomlin is is that he allows his coaches to coach, and he allows his coordinators to have the autonomy, which is nice. And I think having a Brian Flores gives you a different perspective and a different eye to look at defensive concepts, especially when you're

looking at offenses and how to combat them. So I think I think it's a good marriage and a good mix of everything. And we've seen it all throughout camp, so I expect them to be varied. Obviously, in today's NFL with the with the prevalence of eleven personnel, you're going to see a lot more nickel and sub package

that you will see base fronts. So I think from that perspective, you have to stay flexible, especially when you're playing in the NFL, because I mean teams around this league they change year in and year out, this high turnover, so you can't really be traditional like Keith Butler was for such a long time that that I were also joined on Wednesday's show by former Bengal safety Solomon Wilcotts, who hosts the opening Drive show on Sirius XM NFL

Radio and the Believe in Bengals podcast with Adam Jones. Here's a few minutes of our conversation with Sally, beginning with his thoughts son Joe Burrow, the guy is here to win. He's here for nothing else. You don't see the big time endorsements. You don't see us face flast all over every opportunity, and trust me, he's got plenty. He's here to win. That's his goal. It's a single, solitary focus. I think it's refreshing to have young people

like that. Who really understand what's about. And the guy's a force multiplier because everyone else they say, well, oh, I'm gonna do what he's doing. And that's he's that kind of leader. And like you've mentioned there, he's one of those guys first one of the building laughs to leave. So now other guys in the team, Look what Joe's doing? Am I doing enough? Man White, Joe didn't have to be in here for a listen, I've better pick it up.

That stuff. Man that builds, That builds good stuff. The stories coming out of his hometown and they're real, you know, but they're legendary. They become folklore, you hear right, it's like bo Jackson, you know. But but these are all about strength of character stuff like that's it's not like these superhuman physical athletic feats. It's just what kind of kid he is, what kind of young many of who his parents are and what they're about, and how they

taught him. And you could see it playing out. I mean, you know, when I talked to some friends I was watching him a senior year at LSU, I said, look, this is a guy that could have quit because he's a hometown boy and the biggest school in the in the state, one of the best in the nation, told him, we don't want you anymore. Ohio State told him, and the ant want him. And he found a team, found a place, and look what he did with it. I think that tells you a lot about who he Look

what he did for us. Took him twenty five games, all you know, twenty five games, and he took us from down here to hear. We ought to appreciate this and enjoy the ride. Sali, you were a training camp. You two guys did a broadcast together for sirius XM radio. What stood out to you being around this team this year during camp? They're better, They're just better. Um T

Higgins is better, monster big, but he's big. And now you could tell two years, the first two years, even the second half of last year, he was a different player than he was in the beginning of last year. And I'm telling you right now, I think I think Jamar Chase, I think his arrival has awakened something in in t. You could see that in the Super Bowl. But you I just love his energy, I love his size advantage. I love he's got fly paper hands that if he wants to go up and possess it at

the highest point he's coming down with the ball. He's got Randy Moss, like you know, dimensions to his to his skill set, So um defend it's a line. I think they're deeper. I think they're they have a better rotation. I think the secondary has a better rotation and have more speed and versatility on the back end. So I think we'll be better defensively. Clearly, our offensive line is gonna be better. I mean that's like, that's easy. You

didn't bring me here to tell you that. But no, we're And then the players, Jamar Chase is going to be better. Year number two is gonna be better. Remember he didn't play his final year in college twenty twenties set out, so last year was this real curve. He hit a wall, he persevered, and you see the numbers he put up. Think about now, with a real offseason

to train, what he's gonna look like. So I think we're better in a lot of different ways from the neck up, psychologically and academically in terms of knowing what to do in lineman and assignment stuff. There'll be a better football team. Before I wrap things up, here's an invitation to join us at the Buffalo Wings and Rings location in Oakley from the Bengals Pepper Rally show this Friday from three to six. Mike Hilton will join us in the final hour of that show, and we'll have

plenty of giveaways throughout. That's going to do it for this episode of The Bengals Booth Podcast, presented by Ultimate Bengals. Download Ultimate Bengals ahead of the twenty twenty two season. It's free to play next level fantasy football with fantastic Bengals prizes. Get it now on the App Store and Google Play. And 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 Horde and thanks for listening to The Bengals Booth Podcast