Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Another year with Bengals offensive line concerns | Will Scott Peters and Amarius Mims help the unit exceed expectations?

Episode Date: July 16, 2025

We're back to worrying about Joe Burrow's offensive line as the Bengals are primed for another guard battle in 2025 training camp. Jake Liscow and James Rapien dive into Dylan Fairchild's chances to h...it the ground running at left guard, and the Lucas Patrick-Cody Ford competition at right guard, and how concerning the guard situation really is. Plus, reasons for optimism include the tackles, where Amarius Mims could take a giant 2nd-year leap, and Orlando Brown Jr. could be on his way to a bounce back year.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 It wouldn't be a training camp preview if we didn't have concerns about the Cincinnati Bengals offensive line. This year, it's scarred battles. Let's get into it. You are locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Locked on Bengals podcast. Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I'm Jake Liscoe. He's James Rapine. and we've been covering your Cincinnati Bengals here on lockdown Bengals since 2016.
Starting point is 00:00:41 Shout out to all the everydayers out there already. And if you're looking for a daily source of news and information analysis on your Cincinnati Bengals this training camp is right around the corner. James will be there. I will be there for at least part of training camp. We'll have your eyewitness reports throughout training camp. We'll get you to the regular season while you're in the right place. Join all the lockdown Bengals everydayers by hitting that subscribe.
Starting point is 00:01:05 button, don't miss an episode. And if you really want to take that next step, make Lockdown Bengals your first listen every day. James, as we continue our training camp preview series, we get into the offensive line where like clockwork, we have some concerns. We're going to start with the biggest questions facing the Bengals offensive line this year in training camp and then get to a couple things that you could potentially be excited about.
Starting point is 00:01:30 And most among those, Amarius Mims and a potential second year leap. Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel, where new customers can get $150 in a bonus best when your first $5 bet wins. James, let's dive into those big questions. Dylan Fairchild, starting left guard, what's going to shake out of right guard? Will there be a competition at left guard? We're once again asking a question about the offensive line, which I guess is a little bit different than recent years, James.
Starting point is 00:02:00 We're not diluting ourselves this year into thinking this could be one of the best offensive lines Joe Burroughs ever played behind. And watch, we say that now, and it turns out to be the case. Well, it could be the case. It's certainly plausible. I think the biggest question is whatever guard combo ends up being the starters, are they good enough to do that to give the Bengals the best offensive front that they've had in the Joe Burrow era?
Starting point is 00:02:28 Because this is the best in most established tackle tandem. And I do believe that from a past protecting standpoint. and then you bring Ted Karris back, and we can dive into those guys a bit more and a bit. But the guard spots are huge questions. Huge question marks about Dylan Fairchild and whether or not he's going to be plug-in-play starter-worthy, a clear upgrade from Cordell Wilson and Cody Ford from last year,
Starting point is 00:02:52 who you saw at left guard. And then there's a ton of questions at right guard as well. So, yeah, the guard spot in general is easily the biggest question mark. the guy with the most upside feels like Dylan Fairchild and so can he hit the ground running and exceed all expectations it's just it's tough to do we saw it with Cordell Voulson Cordell Vulsson won that starting job beat out Jackson Carman and he's a fourth rounder but just because you win the starting job and let's say Dylan Fairchild does that and beats out Cordell this year just because he does that doesn't mean he's going to go out there
Starting point is 00:03:30 and be able to handle business against Cam Hayward, to be able to handle business in week one in Cleveland and deal with that defensive front, which will include Miles Garrett kicking inside and seeing what the rookie has. That's what's really tough to project here is it's real easy to say, oh, well, this guy's going to just go in there
Starting point is 00:03:52 and he's going to be the guard. And it's like, yeah, but he's a third round rookie. And you talk to, I keep coming back to this. I had a few conversations after the draft with non-Bengals people, but people in the league. And people that believed in Fairchild as a prospect, but they didn't view him as like a plug-in play, he's going to start as a rookie type of player. It was kind of like, hey, you draft him, he learns, maybe he plays some as a rookie, but he becomes a starter down the line.
Starting point is 00:04:22 He's going to start for the Bengals. I don't really see the scenario unless he's just awful, where he doesn't. And so can they get him to a starter level, get starter level play out of him this year? I think that's a huge, huge question that you probably lean negatively towards just because that's, that's hard to do for a rookie who's picked in the third round. We did a deep dive into the Bengals offensive line and the addition of Scott Peters with Brandon Thorne, who's great on this topic a month or two ago now. It was probably more than two months ago now, actually. but we talked about this topic and I encourage you to go check that episode out because Brandon was awesome and had great pre-draft thoughts on Jalen Rivers and Dylan Fairchild, obviously
Starting point is 00:05:07 and had thoughts on the progression for Marius Mims. And one of the things that was really interesting in that conversation was where he was in that group that you're talking about with Dylan Fairchild, James, where like, yeah, the toolkit's there. The athleticism is there. And he was from a PFF perspective, a really good pass protector at Georgia, but technically speaking, the past protection needed work. And technically speaking, the game needed some refinement. He's a wrestler.
Starting point is 00:05:36 So he has that background, which is a really fun connection with Scott Peters and his MMA background and his MMA training that he incorporates into his training for the offensive line. But the backdrop to all of this conversation, the entire conversation around the offensive line is have they finally gotten it right with the offensive line coach? And if so, this technician, and that's what Scott Peters is known for, can he come in and get these guys to learn technique quickly? We've heard, well, the Anderson talk a lot about how hard it is for NFL offensive
Starting point is 00:06:10 line coaches to teach skill, to teach technique, because so much is getting the install in. Like, this is where you need to be, this is what you need to do, not this is how you need to do it. There's just not enough time in NFL practice schedules to do a whole lot of technique training for this position group. And I take that really Anderson's word. I believe in when he says that, when you watch practices, you can see that there's some of that, but it's only, you know, 20 minutes maybe at the beginning of practice. So when you have a guy like Dylan Fairchild who needs that technical refinement,
Starting point is 00:06:44 have a hope of exceeding those expectations and really hitting the ground running at a starter level, That's incredibly interesting when you have the new offensive line coach that we're really hoping can bring that technical development to the Bengals offensive line, which is something that we've seen as an area of deficiency in the Joe Burrow era. And it's a backdrop to training camp is how do you see these guys coming along in training camp? What's the approach in training camp? Are there different drills? Is there different skill teaching that we see? And I think Dylan Fairchild is the poster child for that entire. conversation.
Starting point is 00:07:23 It is. And maybe they're right. It just feels like a huge, huge role of the dice. And I think that's where, like if you had brought in proven guards that you thought were going to be ready to go.
Starting point is 00:07:41 And even if it's like Alex Kappa level when you signed him, where it's a guy going into a second contract, never going to be a pro bowler, but just a solid player that's going to come and stabilize the room. And that's all we hope for. The Ted Karras of guards, right?
Starting point is 00:07:58 Like you're just trying to find that. And what the Bengals are saying is, well, we're going to find that. We're going to find it in the draft. And we're going to find it with Scott Peters. And that sounds great. But it still takes a little time. Usually it takes time for these guys to become what they're going to be. And that's, that sucks because the time is now.
Starting point is 00:08:18 And that's the dilemma here. It isn't 2020. You don't have rookie Joe Burrow. You have this offense that is from a skill player's perspective, and we hit on this, as good as any team in the league, quarterback who's as good as any quarterback in the league. And you don't want the guard play to get in the way of that. And maybe it won't. But it's hard for me to envision that scenario where we're not talking about. the guards at some point. And maybe that point is during camp. It might be when you visit
Starting point is 00:08:54 where we're at these morning practices and we're like, oh, man, this guy got home again. And by the way, if that happens, it doesn't mean that the defensive line is ready to go. I remember thinking about late Andy Dalton's Bengals tenure being at camp and Gino Atkins would win quick or one of these other guys would win quick. And you're like, oh, man, this Bengals defensive front is going to be amazing. It was like, no, the offensive line was just just weak. And so it's it's tough to to gauge sometimes. Not that Gino wasn't awesome, but you get my point is sometimes it clicks. Sometimes it doesn't. And the Bengals really need these young guys to click right away or young guy and Fairchild. And I'm not sure who else.
Starting point is 00:09:40 Because I think that right guard conversation is really up in the air. Yeah, we haven't even gotten to the right guard topic yet. And that reminds me of, concerns I had last year in training camp watching the offensive line. And I'll get to that little anecdote here and then we'll get to write guards. And well, there are some things we should be excited about too, I think. And Amarius Mims is definitely the top of that list. And Orlando Brown, not too far behind. We'll continue the offensive line training camp preview coming up next. Today's show is brought to by Fandle, America's number one sports book. Look, summer sports are here. And whether it's golf, whether it's soccer, you obviously have baseball.
Starting point is 00:10:25 Baseball is coming back for the second half of the season. Maybe you think the Reds who are right now three games over 500 are going to make a plan. Jake, they're only two and a half games out now. They're only two and a half games out. You never know. Well, Fandall is the place to go because whether it's in game, whether it's future wagers, whether it's NFL futures with training camp set to start. Fandall has it all.
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Starting point is 00:11:16 You were talking about the Andy Dalton anecdote, the end of the Andy Dalton tenure in Cincinnati, watching the defensive line win. And that difficult distinction that happens every year, like, is the defensive line just better than we think it is, or is the offensive line just more worrisome than we thought? And it's been the latter pretty much every time in Bengals history. So we'll try to remember that this year as we're watching training camp and try to remember that that's usually what that means.
Starting point is 00:11:50 But not always. You know, Trey Hedrickson beats Orlando Brown in training camp, and both of those guys were really good. Orlando Brown was putting together his best season before he got hurt last year, and we'll talk more about that. But I'm really excited for Orlando Brown this year if he can stay healthy. And that's become a question for him. But I remember last year of training camp, James, I said a few times, like, man, Cap is having a tough time out there. And it didn't really matter who was a child. I was getting him.
Starting point is 00:12:21 It was a lot of BJ Hill. Yep. And BJ Hill is a good player and everything, but he's not beating guards down in, down out, every single play getting to the quarterback. He's doing that every now and that. He's a good play. But he's not, you know, Chris Jones out there.
Starting point is 00:12:39 He's just not at that level as a pass rusher. BJ Jones. Would love that, right? Sure. It's just, BJ Hill's a solid player. He's just not quite at that level. He's a good play. Yeah. Let's not see that this year from whoever's at right guard.
Starting point is 00:12:56 And I think this will be a competition, at least for some time, right? Like we're going to see a competition with Lucas Patrick and Cody Ford. That's what we saw in OTAs where there's not a whole lot of real competing happening, but it was a rotation there for those guys. And we'll see if anyone else gets into the mix. We've talked about Matt Lee. We've talked about Jalen Rivers. it doesn't seem to be that either of those guys are really going to have a shot at least at the beginning of training camp.
Starting point is 00:13:24 But what do you think we're looking at here, their right guard, James? I like bringing in Lucas Patrick for a bunch of reasons. He's versatile. Overall, you'd say his strength is past protecting. He's going to be a leader, all those things. I would bring him in to be the compliment, the backup, the guy who can back up three spots if you need him to, both guard spots and center.
Starting point is 00:13:53 Love it. But he's going to start. This guy, if healthy, is going to start at right guard. I would be stunned if he didn't. And that's what's tough is it's like you're rolling with a bunch of guys that you feel okay about, but you feel okay about them as backups. Like I feel pretty good about Cody Ford. solid backup.
Starting point is 00:14:16 But Lucas Patrick, I feel the same way about. And so when you sign both of those guys, it's like, okay, well, do you have a young Dylan Fairchild type player that could emerge? Who is that? Unless they give Jalen Rivers or Matt Lee a real shot at right guard, no indications during the offseason program that that's going to be the case, it's going to be Patrick or Ford.
Starting point is 00:14:41 And I would say Patrick is the one that has the edge. Okay, fine. It just, what's the ceiling of that? It already feels like you're starting out hoping for slightly better than last year, better fit than last year. It's not like Lucas Patrick hasn't gone without injuries.
Starting point is 00:15:02 He's dealt with injuries. Alex Kappa dealt with injuries and never really got his legs back. And I think that's a concern because you could be talking about Cody Ford, being a 15 game starter, Lucas Patrick being a 15 game starter. And does that give you, if either of those guys are playing that much, are you getting league average starting guard play at right guard? And I think we probably know the answer to that.
Starting point is 00:15:28 Maybe you are, but that's what you want, is at least average, average starting play. And I'm not sure they're going to get that. And I'm not even sure the ceiling is much higher than that. So it's not like it's high risk, high reward. it's just kind of meh and man doesn't feel great it's just high risk I mean
Starting point is 00:15:47 there's no high reward part of it high risk man reward yeah I mean Lucas Patrick last time he played a lot of right guard over the course of a season was 20 yeah and he was good that year that was when he was playing for Green Bay he the next year played a lot of center
Starting point is 00:16:05 I think for Green Bay he was okay his best season to go at PFF grades was his first season as a full-time starter when he played right-guard and left-guard for Green Bay. He started a right-guard in the playoffs against the L.A. Rams in 2020, had a really good game, played for Green Bay against Tampa the next week in the conference championship of right-guard.
Starting point is 00:16:33 So that season, when he was their primary right guard, that was his best year, hasn't played right guard. a ton since 2020. He's played a lot of center. He's played some left guard. If they can get him back to that 2020 level, it's five years ago now, then great.
Starting point is 00:16:53 You do have an average starting right guard. But that's a long time ago and a big risk. And beyond that, there is no young piece in this competition. There is no upside here unless Matt Lee or Jalen Rivers get involved. And we don't think that's going to happen.
Starting point is 00:17:16 So that is the one spot on this roster. Like you could talk yourself into hope for Dylan Fairchild, light ball moment, you know, perfect coaching fit. He figures it out. He puts the tools together. He gets a little bit more consistent with the technique. He can figure it out at some point this year. You can talk yourself into seeing that path.
Starting point is 00:17:37 I'm not saying I think it's the most. likely path. He's a he's a third round rookie. It's tough to be a rookie offensive lineman starting in the NFL. You would like to see him play at a baseline level, which is probably like somewhere slightly below average to have hope for him developing in the future. He's average right away, great. But a right guard is like, well, maybe you get Lucas Patrick to recreate a season from five years ago where he was solid. And that'd be great. We would take that. We would 100% take that. That is the, the Ted Harris of guards if Lucas Patrick reprises that season. But that's a big if.
Starting point is 00:18:10 And when you get beyond that, you talk about the depth of these positions in general, you're talking about Cordovo son, Cody Ford, maybe Jalen Rivers, although I think Jalen Rivers is going to be swing tackle, because there's nobody else to do that job. So you start
Starting point is 00:18:26 to get to depth questions, and we're going to be watching that guard spot so closely throughout camp and throughout the preseason. And in those preseason games and early in the season. It's just such an area of concern for an otherwise pretty from from a starter perspective pretty set offense in general yeah yeah you're right it it's i get why fans are so frustrated because it's it's so
Starting point is 00:18:57 uncertain and it's been the thing you can really look at every season and say well joe got hurt in 2020 had bad guard play 2021 they don't win the super bowl why big part of it was bad guard play 22, three offensive linemen hurt, a little more depth could have gone a long way. Part of it, big part of it, bad guard play. 2020, I mean, you can literally go every single year. And even if they got better at in spots, there was this, okay, well, this needs to happen. And usually when you're banking on that, some of it may happen. Like, Dylan Fairchild may figure it out.
Starting point is 00:19:35 Or Lucas Patrick may dial it back to 2020 and play well. But the odds of both of those things happening and them staying healthy. And like it's just it's a roll of the dice. And I think there are people that most fans are sick of rolling the dice at a spot that has been a thorn. Not only in Joe Burroughs side, but the Bengals side really for a decade, really since 2015, we want to go all the way back there because that's what it is when Joe Burrow was a, I believe a freshman at Ohio State or about to be at Ohio State. And that's what's maybe who's a senior in high school then.
Starting point is 00:20:09 But you get my point. It's been a long time since we have been calm about both Bengals guard spots because they were above average and quality players. There are things to be excited about. Despite all the castor nation over the guard spots, we will finish the show with those bits of optimism, perhaps, things that we're excited to see coming up next. You've mentioned it multiple times, Jake.
Starting point is 00:20:40 Amarius Mims. I think that's that to me would be the key. If you want to say, all right, well, this offensive line is going to be the best of Joe Burroughs career. A big part of unlocking that would be Amarius Mims takes a huge step forward, which he's physically capable of doing. And if he does that on the field,
Starting point is 00:20:59 could be talking about a Pro Bowl right tackle. We could be talking about their best offensive linemen this year. I think at some point he's going to be their best linemen. Maybe it's not this year. be Orlando Brown Jr. will be that guy. But I think in the perfect scenario, Amarius does take a huge step forward. We're talking about him as a pro bowler and in the Bengals having a heck of a one-two offensive tackle punch, which they really haven't had in the Joe Burrow era, at least not a healthy
Starting point is 00:21:29 one-two punch. And so doing that, if he was able to level up a bit, would go a long way towards this offensive line being the best that he's had. And it would tell us a lot about what Amari Spins is going to be. Like if he takes that step, improves some of the technical stuff. Again, Scott Peters, how much does the technical teaching play up for Mario Smiths? Does the game slow down for him? Does he understand what they're trying to do with him in the run game? Does he play up to his size and strength and ability to move people, especially in straight
Starting point is 00:22:01 lines in the run game? If we see him take those steps, then you're like, oh, yeah, this guy's going to be a dude. and he's going to be a dude for a long time. And that's what you're hoping to see from a Mario Spems in training camp. He's like blowing guys off the ball in the run game and dealing with, because the big problem for him in Pass Pro is oversetting, right? Getting a little bit too wide, getting beat inside. And so maybe that's not as much of training camp thing,
Starting point is 00:22:34 although you'll be able to see it some in training camp. Maybe that's more of a preseason thing. but in the preseason process, how much of a step is a Mario's man's taken? Does he show more consistent stretches of dominant level play that he is physically capable of if he can put it together mentally and from a technical perspective? That is what you're excited to see from a very high potential right tackle
Starting point is 00:23:02 in year two in Cincinnati. out of the kind of player they haven't really had, the kind of specimen they haven't really had athletically in a very long time. Seeing what kind of step of Marius Mims takes is, to me, one of the most exciting bits of training camp, period. One of the most exciting bits that early in the season
Starting point is 00:23:21 and preseason period is Amarius Mims development this year. No doubt. It's one of the bigger wild cards on the team. A lot of people have focused on, and we have too, on defense. If this guy levels up or that guy, if Amarius can take a step forward and maybe multiple steps forward, which is realistic,
Starting point is 00:23:45 he played the most snaps last year that he's played. He played more snaps last year than he did at Georgia. He knew what it was like and felt what it was like to play through some pain at the NFL level and deal with this type of competition. Year two is when you make the leap. And it would be great. The Bengals think that he has every tool in the, in the toolbox.
Starting point is 00:24:07 And part of this is on Scott Peters, too. Get more out of Amarius Mims. And if you do that, maybe this offense can do some things that it hasn't been able to do in the past. Maybe Lucas Patrick's job or whoever's at right guard, it gets just a tad easier. And Dylan Fairchild settles in because he's got Orlando Brown Jr. next to him, like two established vets and Harrison Brown on each side of him. You can see the path. I think the path to get competent guard play, though, is tied to Amarius Mimps.
Starting point is 00:24:41 Because the last thing you want is that whole right side being a question mark at times. And so can Amarius be a higher end starter? Even if he's not a pro bowler, a high end starter that is someone that you're like, man, he's got a super bright future. He's holding up well in past protection. and the technique has gotten better, and you see all of those traits shining through and starting to come through and translate to the field.
Starting point is 00:25:10 Like, that's where you want to be. And hopefully we get there as soon as next week, when CAM starts at the week after, when they really start getting after it in camp. I would love that. It will go a really long way. You want to talk about optimism and getting the most and having the best line they can have?
Starting point is 00:25:28 I think it starts with Amarius, and then it goes to the other side, because you mentioned Orlando Brown Jr. Not being far behind. Healthy Orlando Brown Jr. He's been so durable throughout his career. Past couple of years in Cincinnati, he's gotten nicked up,
Starting point is 00:25:43 tried to play through the pain in each of the years. If he can stay healthy, I think he's poised for a big year. Another year, Jake, where he stayed in Cincinnati for the most part. He's trained here. He's been at the facility, and he's working doing his thing.
Starting point is 00:25:58 And I think it's because he loves being here. and I know in his mind he's thinking, all right, let's get to that all pro level, but let's have the best season of my career. And he might have done that last year had he stayed healthy. Yeah, a big difference in Orlando Brown's game last year is how he was getting into his pass sets. There's more of what you would call traditional tackle footwork from Orlando Brown last year, like more of getting into his pass sets much more athletically.
Starting point is 00:26:25 And a lot was made. I think I talked with Brandon about this in that episode where we dove deep on the offensive line of the change to his stance at the snap and how that enabled him to react more athletically in his past sense. I expect Orlando Brown to continue to be a really solid left tackle and pass protection if he can stay healthy. That is a big question for him at this point. And it's always a question for really every player at some level,
Starting point is 00:26:53 but just because of the injuries he's dealt with and tried to play through. And if you think about some of the games that he tried to play through, the Pittsburgh game in week 13 last year where he tries to play through and he just wasn't ready to be back on the field. You can't let that pollute your mind too much to the kind of season he was having before the injury because he was really outstanding before the injury. And then the question becomes is can they figure out how to get him to a better level in the run game as well? Because that is something they haven't really figured out with him where in Kansas City and in Baltimore in his previous stops, he was able to play up as a run blocker too.
Starting point is 00:27:33 And so where I expect Orlando Brown to be a dude for him if he's healthy as a pass protector, this whole question around the offensive line, also the backdrop to it is Scott Peters, but then the other part of it to me is can they get the whole thing to be more cohesive in the running game? Can they find ways to play to the strengths they have along the offensive line of the running game and be a little bit better there because they've just been so far below average there. I wouldn't say they've been terrible necessarily. Like it's not entirely non-functional,
Starting point is 00:28:07 although some weeks against some levels of competition it was. Can you get a little bit better in that part of your offense and take some of that, just like we've been asking every year, take some of that load off of Joe Burrow's shoulders and be able to grind out those third and twos with the run game. And where when they take the, ball out of Joe's hands, they hand the ball off in those situations. This is a whole offensive line.
Starting point is 00:28:30 But when they hand the ball off in those situations, we're not sitting here thinking telepathically because we're not talking to each other like, well, what the hell are they doing? Why are they running the ball in that situation? Like, that shouldn't really be a thought. And third and one, third and two, running the ball should be like, yeah, you should be confident. Like, yeah, they can run the ball.
Starting point is 00:28:46 They can get that. Of course they can. That shouldn't be significantly worse than Joe Burrow throwing the ball. That's not how NFL offense should work. That should be advantage of offense in those situations. And for the Bengals, it hasn't been. It hasn't been. No,
Starting point is 00:28:57 you're right. It's, it is weird because you, you saw, we both watched quarterback, the clip of, Hey, Joe,
Starting point is 00:29:05 you're running the ball here? Bleep, no. Yeah. Yeah. I was wondering if that meant like, are you sneaking it? Like,
Starting point is 00:29:12 did he think, am I running it or am I handing it off? Oh, no, I think he's like, hey, we throw in it, son.
Starting point is 00:29:17 Yeah, like, yeah. Last year, for sure, that was a mentality. I mean, in,
Starting point is 00:29:21 in, I think there are some that think, oh, Joe just wants to throw it all the time. and every quarterback does. But if he could trust the run game and knew that the run game, there was enough there, then I do think that they would run it more effectively. And you're right.
Starting point is 00:29:36 I think the alignment was the word on defense, but it wasn't just defense. Part of why Frank Pollack isn't in town anymore. Part of why they brought in Scott Peters. Part of why they're so confident in Chase Brown is because they believe that they can almost, I don't want to say. rebuild, but make sure that everything is aligned on offense, that things are in sync, that they can get more out of the run game. They're always going to be a past first team, and they should be when you have Joe,
Starting point is 00:30:07 Jamar, and T. But the run game can't feel like this, not even a compliment. Like very rarely has it felt like a, it felt like a compliment. And it needs to at least be that, a very nice. Yeah. You can't be cringing when they hand the ball off. and be like, what are they thinking taking the ball out of Joe's hands? Like, it should be a viable part of the offense.
Starting point is 00:30:31 When they go to Baltimore on Thursday night for the third straight year, you can't say, all right, Joe, you have to. Maybe he will have to. But going into it, you can't be like, all right, well, he's definitely going to have to throw it 50 times. And they're going to drop back 50 times and be amazing. Like, yeah, you're going to have to play well. But you need to give him another answer or two.
Starting point is 00:30:51 And unlocking another level to the run game would, go a long way. And it does start, it starts with the offensive line, but to your point, alignment, baby, you take your car in to get it aligned for a reason. They need to be aligned. We'll see if they can get there. They have training camp to do that. Hopefully they can. Yeah, from a training camp perspective, it'll be interesting to see what kind of runs we see a lot of in training camp, as much as people love to watch the Joe Burrow bomb highlights. And we'll, I'm sure, have plenty of those. The run schemes, stuff, that's some of the more interesting stuff in camp to me too.
Starting point is 00:31:28 And, you know, from motions to alignments to rotations, all those things, those are some of the interesting things you can take away from training camp when you really dig into the nitty gritty. We'll continue. We have a whole bunch of defense left to talk about as far as training camp previews, the back seven. Still up for discussion here, James. And well, then it's the week of training camp.
Starting point is 00:31:52 Training camp preview series rolls on here on Lockdown Bengals as we get ever closer to some football in Cincinnati. Until next time, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Through today and have a good one.

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