Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - BENGALS SQUAD SHOW: Joe Flacco is BACK as INSURANCE POLICY to Joe Burrow, SIGNING DeAndre Hopkins?

Episode Date: March 27, 2026

Joe Flacco is back to backup Joe Burrow in 2026, and it's a testament to a bigger picture that the Bengals' front office is listening to the players and the fans.  Alex Frank and Coach Art Valero discuss the value Flacco brings not only as a backup quarterback but also as a sounding board and invaluable resource to Joe Burrow.  Joe Burrow has plenty of weapons on offense, but does he have enough? Should the Bengals maybe make a run at signing veteran wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins? It could actually boost the front office's approval rating with the fanbase.  Finally, Alex and Art discuss a fun topic just under seven weeks from the approximate release of the NFL Schedule.  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!  TurboTax This year you’re getting a major upgrade — Intuit TurboTax now has in-person locations nationwide. Visit http://TurboTax.com/local to book your appointment today.  Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.  Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.  Robinhood You’re no longer just a spectator. Play by play. You decide. Trade Every Play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. Download the Robinhood app now to begin. Futures and cleared swaps trading involves significant risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC., a registered futures commission merchant and swap firm.  FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. During the tournament FanDuel is offering $300 back in Bonus Bets every day for ten days. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game.  5-Hour ENERGY Have your cake & drink it too. Birthday cake-flavor is back, no fork needed. Vanilla-y cakey flavor, caffeinated kick, and no sugar. It's party time. Order Now at 5-hourENERGY.com or Amazon.  Home Chef For a limited time, Home Chef is offering my listeners 50% off your first box, free shipping, and free dessert for life. Go to http://HomeChef.com/LOCKEDON.  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.

I'm Alex Frank, and sometimes it's good to have an insurance policy on your team. And Coach Valero, the Bengals are listening to their fan base. And more importantly, they're listening to their players. And Joe Flacco was back. It's more than just an insurance policy. Oh, huge sigh relief because, you know, arguably backing up one of the best in the game, but you never know. And now with a much better defense, you know, if Joe Flacco has to play,

throwing 400-yard games, they've got a chance. If you're not going to sign a linebacker, you might as well sign a backup quarterback. All that coming up on today's edition of the Bengals Squad show. Today, it's the Bengals Squad. Everything Cincinnati Bengals every week. Breaking down all the big hits and game-changing plays from the Queen City, the way only the locked on podcast network can. From the jungle to the playoffs, the Bengals Squad show starts now.

are worth the way. Hey, happy Friday. Welcome to the Bengals Squad Show. We're live on Lockdown Bengals and the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. We're presented today by Fandool during the NCAA tournament. Fan Duel is offering $300 back and bonus bets every day for 10 days at the Fanduel.com to get started. I'm Alex Frank. He's coachard Valero. We got so much to get you on today show. Glad to have you with us on this Friday, March 27th. We know it's a Friday afternoon. We know you got plans. You got the Sweet 16 tonight. Duke St. John's Michigan State, Yukon, and that's just the East region. You got two great games as well in the Midwest region, Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee, Iowa State.

But stop the presses on that because the Bengals have re-signed Joe Flacco Coach, and you texted me this on Tuesday. They did something good. I mean, here you go. I mean, you bring back a Super Bowl champion quarterback to back up your superstar quarterback and Joe Burrow. You had an insurance policy right in your hands, and you signed it. You like it.

Hey, you know what? And that's great. Now, when they signed Josh Johnson a couple weeks ago, I was really wondering if they were going to get this done because of the better of the two. Boy, I'll take Joe Flacco any day. I'll take Joe Flacko any day too. It's not just the fact that he played so well in six starts last year for the Bengals. And unfortunately, he only got credit for the win and wanted them because the Bengals defense was so at and the other five. But you think about what Joe Flacco brought to the team from a leadership standpoint, from a knowledge standpoint. And I think the biggest thing for me, coach, and this was talked about last season. I don't know if we talked about a whole lot on the Bengals squad show because we started it before the week 11 matchup, the second and last start of the season. But being that

sounding board for Joe Borough, even for a guy like Joe Borough, just having that, you can't measure the value of something like that? No, you know, you can't. He's got, he's got good coaches around him. And, but there's nothing like talking to appear, you know, especially on game day, because it doesn't seem like Joe Burrow gets rattled. But there are times when he does get frustrated. And so to have that veteran leader that is your peer around to kind of talk you off that cliff, so to speak, uh, to get your head back right. And I think that, that at least that room is in pretty good shape. The quarterback has no question is in pretty good shape.

Now, gosh, for a bit, something happens to Joe Burrow, which would be the fourth time in seven seasons. You have a guy. It's not like you're going to Jake Browning who, I mean, yes, again, we talk about this. He was great in 2023. But you're going, you would turn to a guy that has won a Super Bowl for crying out loud. He's been to a Pro Bowl, albeit his first Pro Bowl,

was this season or this past season, but still, he is a very, very capable quarterback who's won so many playoff games. I mean, you realize he won a playoff game, at least one playoff game in each of his first five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. So that stuff matters. He's a well-traveled man. He's seen just about every defense you can possibly see in the NFL. And the biggest thing for me is he gets to the Pro Bowl last season because he played really well. And he's being rewarded for what he brought to the Bengals. So again, you can get on him for not signing a linebacker. You can get on him for not making Katie Blackburn available next week of the owner's meeting. At the end of the day, coach, they have to a degree, listen to their players and their fan base

when it came to Dalton Reisler. Check. Joe Flacco, check. I think that stuff does matter. You know, it does. And at least for the time being, it appeases them. You know, it makes the players feel good. and forget that they didn't sign a veteran linebacker, or that they didn't do more on the defensive line that they thought they were all. You know, in terms of the all-in comment, you know what? You just, at least you appease them to say,

you know what, we're at least sound. That if something were, knock on wood, happen to Joe Burrow, you've got a capable and quality backup who can come in, leave the team and not skip a B. So that next man up mentality has now been solved at quarterback. And that's a big thing.

I mean, backup quarterback has become arguably one of the more important positions on a football roster. I don't even just think about coach what Joe Blackout could be for Joe Burrow on game base. I think about what he could be in training camp when the daily grind of go of the monotony that can be training camp and you're just so ready for the season. season to start. But what happens if you don't have a great day throwing the football, or if you throw a few picks in training camp and what Joe Borough is seeing, Joe Flacco can be right there to help him. I think about the preseason. I think about just,

you know, leading up to the game, like when you're getting ready for a primetime game, when you're getting ready for a divisional game, Joe Flackas played a majority of this career in the AFC North. There are so many things that Joe Borough, for the first time in his career, finally has a backup quarterback that's not just some name like Brandon Allen. or Jake Browning. He has Joe Flacco. I can't tell you enough how valuable that is, and especially because the Bengals realize, hey, we can have faith that Joe Burrough is going to play all 17 games. But coach, even for a guy like Joe Burrow, for anybody in the NFL, there's no guarantee it's going to happen. Football is a fiscal game. It's a violent game.

So you need an insurance policy. And Joe Flacko was more than just that. Absolutely. You know, one thing that Joe Flacco gives Joe Burrow is, excuse me, he gives him insight into the longevity of a quarterback, how to keep yourself healthy, how to train mentally, how to train physically. And he gives that to you, meanwhile being in the same division and seeing the division evolved the way it has, even with new coaches coming in. And I think that invaluable that he's in the building. Totally. It totally is. And I just think about when it comes to longevity,

Joe Burrow, I think, is fully aware of the fact that he has not been on the field much the last three seasons. I think he's fully aware of that. And if he wants, I mean, he's even talked about it if he's going to play for a really long time, that he has to have fun doing it. I think he also realizes I got to make sure I'm healthy enough. I got to make sure that I'm on the field. Like, what if coach Joe Flavis? Lacko says, hey, I know you like to get hit, but you can't take too many hits. I mean, you can't be like, Coach, you remember the Jacksonville game in week two this past season before Joe Barrow got hurt. He was getting debt the entire game.

I mean, he had linebackers spitting him in midair practically earlier in that game. So Joe Flacco can be there and say to Joe Borough, dude, we need you. Like you can't, you can't be playing the position like a linebacker. Like Joe Borough thinks he's, and I totally admire him for this. he's got this physical toughness and metal toughness and moxie and I believe all that. But Joe Flacko can be there like, dude, like, we need you to throw the football to our other two worldly wideouts. That's invaluable to have Joe Flacker around. Oh, no question. You know what? That's the other thing that Joe Flackle does.

Because although they're two different body types, you know, he can from a mature standpoint tell Joe says, hey, you know what? You can do a lot of things, but it's the best for the football team and your career to know when to slide and know when to put your head down and know when to get out of bounds and know when to throw it so you don't take that hit. And he's also one that can go to the head coach or, you know, slash coordinator and say, you know what, this may not work because we may not be able to do this up front and allow him to give things that Joe can do, get the ball out of his hands, and give it to those two great whiteouts and the runoffback, who's great in space and great in the passing game.

Yeah, especially too, like Joe Flacco, I think because he was under center when the offensive line coach evolved so much last year and got really good. So Joe Flacco, I'm sure he's telling Joe Borough, like, hey, man, you're going to to be a lot better under excuse me you're going to be a lot better in the pocket this year like i like joe burrow's pocket awareness is as good as any quarterback in the NFL but imagine what he can do if he can sit back in the pocket and he can let his receivers get open if he can take some deep shots down the field i'm telling you right now that is going to be unbelievably important for this offense because there are still so many ways they can evolve and to have a guy like

Joe Flacco and be in the same room as Joe Borough. And look, even Josh Johnson. I mean, he's been around long enough to know that he's seen a lot of defenses. But now Josh Johnson is also just there as another guy, another voice, not as your backup quarterback. So you have contingency at the position. They realize, hey, yes, we may need a linebacker. We may need a pass rush.

We also need to make sure a quarterback is protected. And if there's one thing you can say, Coach, about the Bengals front office is that they have spent money and draft picks and draft cap. on their offensive line, on weapons for Joe Burrow, and now at the backup quarterback position. They knew they needed a backup quarterback. Joe Flackett was sitting right there. And when you heard him say that he was not happy

about the way free agency played out for him as far as a starting quarterback is concerned, now you got a guy with a chip on his shoulder. I kind of like that. And if gosh, you have to go to him, you're getting a guy that can throw for 300 yards a game. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

I think they at least take, the front office I'm speaking of, they at least have done what a lot of people, look over here, look over here, don't look over there anymore, that we didn't take necessarily in free agency, take care of the defense, but we've got to and we appeased you,

so now we got this shiny old object in the building. And look over here. Don't look over there what we didn't do. and I think that kind of changed the narrative so far, or at least this week. It has no question about it. I mean, I think now the way I view the Bengals so far this offseason is they've had a good offseason, but it's like they could be doing more. And you could say that about a lot of teams in the NFL.

We're just specifically, you feel it more because of the stake that we have when it comes to the Cincinnati Bengals. Last point I'll make about this and I'll ask you this is, remember when Joe Burrow, when he was doing his radio road tour during the Super Bowl last year, Chiefs and Eagles. He was in New Orleans. And he was saying, well, the Eagles, they resigned everybody. We need to do the same thing. And I'm not saying he's wrong.

I totally see what he's saying. I'm not asking the Bengals to be the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles are, in my opinion, an anomaly of an organization. But I go back to 2006, the Philadelphia Eagles, which by the way, You guys beat them that year on a game winning 62-yard field goal by Matt Bryant. Yep. So the Eagles lost Donovan McNabb that season to a season ending injury. Second straight season, he goes down with a season ending injury.

The year before, their backup quarterbacks were like Coy Dedmer and Mike McMahon. And not necessarily going to get the job done. So guess what the Eagles did coach the next off season? Guess who they brought in to be the backup quarterback just in case for an insurance policy. How about Jeff Garcia? You've heard that name before, right? You guys beat him in the playoffs in 2002. We had them on our team.

We brought it Jeff in into Tampa. That's right. You did. He won you a division title that year. You know, seven. I forgot about that. Yeah. I remember that.

You know what? The name that doesn't show up with the Eagles is they also, shoot, I can't, I'm forgetting his name right now. Number seven from Atlanta, the quarterback. Yes, Michael Vic. Michael Vic. So, yeah. They knew how to load some veterans up.

Well, they knew also that McNabb's injuries were catching up to him. And so in 06, McNabb gets hurt. They have Jeff Garcia. What do they do? They win their last five games. They go 10 and 6, win the NFC East, win a playoff game, take New Orleans to the wire in the divisional round. So it kind of reminds me of that.

Now, I hope it's not in the sense of that it's going to have to happen this year for the Bengals. But at the very least, at the very least, your quarterback room, which is led by Joe Barrow, now has a Super Bowl champion in the room. Like, that is extremely impressive. Like, the Bengals front office does deserve some credit here. Are they done? No. But they have, in a way, earned a slight amount of equity this week

and bringing back Joe Blacko and valuing a backup quarterback position. I think they deserve credit for that. Yeah, they do. They do. You know, and, boy, I have been at least the last since free agency started, have been very, very critical of what they could have done, what they should have done, what they, you know, I'm not in the building. But this one here, I give much, much kudos.

Much kudos. I like that. As we are a month away from the NFL draft, up next for the Bengals. Should they go after a longtime veteran wide receiver? Should they? I'll tell you why they should, in fact, do that. Coming up next right here on the Bengals Squad show. I want to welcome you to the five-hour energy flavor draft with 18 different flavors to choose from,

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Back here on the Bengals Squash of the twice a week long-in-form conversational supplement to the daily lockdown Bengals podcast. He's Coach Ard Ferlero. I'm Alex Frank. So he may have seen DeAndre Hopkins has, you know, been pretty vocal about how great he thinks Joe Burrow is.

He also tweeted out a tiger emoji during the flag football event put on by Fanatics last week. In fact, I think Joe Burrow played with DeAndre Hopkins if I'm remembering that correctly. So let's just say that the Bengals do make a run and signing DeAndre Hopkins. If you're not going to sign a veteran linebacker, okay, fine. Maybe you draft Sunny Stiles. But if you make a signing like DeAndre Hopkins, Coach, let's say they do that.

How would you view the Bengals in the front office if they were to make that kind of move? First, I would say at this point, any move would be great in terms of a veteran player who still has a lot of ability left. you combine the Andre Hopkins with T. Higgins and Jamar Chase

you've got three very, very potent. It allows you to move them, have them all on the field whether it be in 10 personnel which is four wideouts or an 11 personnel which is three wide outs it allows you to do

quite a bit in the passing game and now you have a chance because the passing game will be so spread out and so dominant, it's going to, it relaxes the front and the linebackers to the point where you can now run the ball. And so I think it's a good overall move. And I think that that's what they need is they need a three. You know, we had talked about it earlier. You know what, who is in the slot? And they've got some good young kids, but they're not really very explosive. And I think that if they could add that third element, they could really blow that offense up and it could really burst on the scene as being a very, very, very good passing offense.

Five-time pro bowler, three-time all pro. DeAndre Hopkins, he has, let's see, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven seasons with 1,000 receiving arts. He's already at 13,295 for his career. He's the active leader in receiving nerds, DeAndre Hawkins. He has played for five different teams, played for Baltimore, I believe, last year. Yeah, he played for Baltimore in last year, played for Kansas City in 2004 after getting traded from the Tennessee Titans caught a touchdown actually in Super Bowl 59. So for me, I think this, and we talk about this with Joe Burrow and his job being easier. Like he has a hard job every single day. He's had to overcome a deficient offensive line. He's had to overcome a coaching staff that has its weaknesses and deficiencies. To his credit, he has done that. But what if the job for him every single Sunday

was easier where he didn't have to be Superman, if he could hand the ball off to a running back 30 times, if he could, you know, just pitch and catch with Jamar and T. Speaking to Jamar and T, coach, how great could they be, how much better could they be if their jobs were easier, if they were schemed open on every single play? If they didn't have to, you know, make acrobatic catches, if they didn't have to do all these crazy moves. make all these crazy catches. Can you imagine if they were wide open almost every single time?

I think having a guy like DeAndre Hopkins could be very valuable to the further development of the best wide receiver duo in the NFL. Oh, you know what? There's no question about that. I think that what that allows them to do is you cannot bracket those two outside guys.

Yeah. It loosens a lot of stuff up when you have a threat, whether you put him in the slot or you put him outside and you move Jemar T. Higgins inside, it loosens the secondary up to the point. And you know what the great thing about is he is a very, very powerful veteran who is extremely smart.

Now, he may not have fit what Kansas City was trying to do with it, what Baltimore was trying to do with him. But I think that he can find, he's to the point in his career where he can do a lot of different things, and he may not be able to take the top off the defense anymore, but the underneath stuff, he still shines. Well, here's the other thing, too. If you have a guy like D'Andre Hopkins on your team,

I don't even need him to be a three-down player, three-down receiver. Like, can you imagine if you bring him in for a play and he's your wide-out and then Jamar's in the slot so you don't know where the receivers are going to line up? It's bringing an element of unpredictability, coach, to this offense. that I think DeAndre Hopkins can bring.

And for the first time and a long time, like the Bengals offense is so good because they just have really good players. But what would happen if they were so good because their scheme was making defensive coordinators spin in circles all week and then on game day? Like, that's what I want to have happen. Not just because the Bengals offense just outmusseled the defense, tip your cap, move on. No, I want the opposing defense to walk back in the locker room. and be ready to, who knows what,

because it just got absolutely out-schemed by the Cincinnati Bengals. Like playing chess, you can move those three pieces everywhere. They can go diagonally, they can go straight out, they can be a queen and go anywhere. And when you have chess pieces, now you're only limited by the focus of your imagination. and offensively you can explode when you have three really good wideouts. And you want to throw the ball anyway.

But now it loosens up the running game, which now, hey, you'd be, I mean, they want to be three wide outs and, you know, a tight in and one running back a majority of the time anyway. So now it just creates field spacing that your passing game evolves. even that much more. Your running game now comes to the forefront because you're not having to block those heavy boxes, and you can go. So, like, you bring up an interesting analogy here.

So, and I'll take it two ways. One is the fact that the two most powerful pieces in chess are the king and queen. The queen can move wherever she wants. And the king, well, that's basically your lifeline in chess. But imagine if you had protection for them. Imagine if you have protection with your bishop. Imagine if you have protection from your knight.

Imagine if you just had a pawn that can protect your king and queen. There are ways to expand what the Bengals are doing offensively. That can make them even harder to stop. I think the way I view it right now is the Bengals are really good to playing checkers offensively. Sometimes great. But what if they could be great at playing chess offensively? Then you're talking about another stratosphere.

that the Bengals offense could be in this season. And I quite frankly think they will be. Because think about this coach, you've already got five returning offensive line starters. You already have Jamar Chase and T. Higgins. You already have Chase Brown. You already have Mike Kisicki extended. But let's get even better.

If you're not, like if they're not going to sign a linebacker into their credit, they've already signed three defensive starters. Maybe they think Carter and Knight are going to take off this season. And if they do, great. But if they do that and they will have said, you know what, We're going to maybe you guys aren't thinking about this, but we're going to keep investing offensively because sometimes the way to, you know,

get better defensively is to keep the opposing defense on the field and your defense is fresher, and they're playing with a bigger lead. You know how you do that? You have an even better offense. Like there are creative ways to think about this coach. I think we may be on to something here. Well, you know what?

I mean, you look at it right now and talking about, you know, the analogy of chess. Joe Burroughs the queen. I mean, she's the baddest one on the field. He's the king of the queen city. Yeah, you got that right. You have got, you know, in Jamar Chase, he's great king. All right.

We're the knights. Where are the rooks? Now you're loading up that back in because the old line guys are the pops. They're going to start it and set those other ones up. And then now you let your playmakers in the back end. and go. And like I said before, you creatively, there's a lot you can, a lot of doors you can open up with those kinds of players. Knowing their abilities and how you want to use it. Yes. The rooks are your wide receivers. They want to run straight down the field, which are more in T. What happens if you have

that bishop that can run diagonally in the slot? What happens if you have a receiver that can be a knight that can go straight. It's like, oh, am I going to go this far and then cut in? Am I going to go this far and cut in? I want to play chess right now. Seriously. I've played chess in a long time, coach. I might have to break out the chess board. I tell you what, there was a couple of years ago that all of a sudden I said, you know what? That's what football is. It's a chess game. So I got on the line and I kind of taught myself how to play chess. And I said, there's nothing different than this and offensive football. It's the same.

You've got particular pieces. You've got particular pieces. How do they move and when can you get them in a position to get that checkmate? That's what you want. Yeah. That's exactly what it is. And the best head coaches and the best coordinators and the best play callers either expose the defense or they shut down the offense.

It's a game of matchups. It's a game of matchups. If they destroy your protections, if they destroy your pawns, they're coming for the king. That's right. Wow. I can't believe we just did the whole segment with an analogy of chess. Hey, that's what the intellectuals out there.

Well, I'd like to think that we're both intellectuals. Listen, I've learned more about the game of football. Listen to you on this show. I mean, I always say that I learned the game of football from playing Madden and him basically calling every play for me when I used to play it. Now, sometimes I would change the play, but more often than not,

I took it and ran with it, and more often than not it worked. But the more I've learned from you, coach, because you see the game in a very distinct way, because you coach on the offensive line, you coach the tight ends in the trenches. So you understand, like, the pawns up front, if they can create just enough movement,

you can move the ball a mile down the field. Absolutely. Just keep the chains moving. That keeps your defense off the field. Do you want slow death, which is running the football, play action, or do you want fast death, which is through the air? How do you want to die? Yeah, don't get my temptations going with Jeremiah, I love to pick number 10 in the end of the draft. That's the show for next week.

Stay tuned for that. Speaking of which, so we talk about what DeAndre Hopkins would give the Bengals offense, do they already have enough for Joe Burrow? It's a very interesting question. We'll get into that conversation next on the Bengals Squad show. Today's edition of the Bengals Squad show is brought to you by Home Chef. This time of year where all you really want is something warm, easy, and satisfying. That's why Home Chef has become such a go-to.

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That's homechef.com slash lockdown NFL for 50% off your first box and free dessert for life must be an active subscriber to receive the free dessert. I mean, geez, we're talking carrot cake, five hour energy. We're talking free dessert for life. We're talking chess as an analogy to the game of football or the other way around. I mean, what else are going to pull on of our hats on this show? Well, you know what? I'm feeling smarter and I'm also getting hungry.

Smarter and getting hungry. I got some delicious ground beef and rice I got coming tonight. See, trading for a half marathon, I have cut. I've decreased my pasta intake and I've increased my rice intake. It's more simple carbs. So I'm running looser on Saturdays on our long run. So check back in tomorrow with me after our nine mile run through since. Cincinnati in Newport. There you go. Hey, it's all about glycogen, right?

I'll tell you what, now we're getting into biology and I did not like that class in high school. So there is that. Yeah, I like the class where you could watch football highlights at lunch. That's what I did. I did that. I'm sure, listen, I tell people all the time, I learn my vocabulary from watching Steve Sable and NFL films growing up. No offense to any of my elementary school teachers who I all really like. But Steve Sable could teach me vocabulary in a way. that I absorbed it all. Yeah.

So true. Okay. All right. So the Bengals offense, look, we know Joe Baro, Jamar, Chasing T. Higgins are otherworldly as a trio. But 30,000 foot view lens coach. Do you think that Bengals have enough on offense to where you go, they don't really need to be aggressive in free agency on that side of the ball or in the draft? Or do you go, hey, could you send maybe an addition or two? Where are you at right now?

You know what? As an offensive coach, you can never have enough. Because A, you want to get good players in the building. You want to develop them. And if you can't develop them, you want to go get them and bring them in. And I think the thing that has happened, they've spent a lot of money and a lot of time on and draft choices on trying to fix the O line. And for whatever reason, it really hasn't panned.

You know, some of those tackles that they picked up in the past, either by injury or something else, they really didn't pan out and their longevity wasn't great. So you can always use offensive linemen. You can always develop offensive linemen. Absolutely. I think that at tight end, you can always get better. White out, they've got a loaded room.

You want to add another one? Go for it. Let's get even better because maybe on defense, they can't. And if they've got to bring the scoreboard from the University of Cincinnati over, and that's the score from the basketball facility, then let's do it. If we got to score 40, let's score 40 if we've got the ability to. So you've got to do one side or the other instead of having a complete team. Hey, you can never add enough playmakers.

That's a great point because I feel like we're, we're so focused on fixing the defense. Well, they sign three starters. And if they're not going to sign anybody else, because they want to see what Carter and Knight have, and we talk about this on Tuesday. If you keep cycling through linebackers, that's also not a good thing.

Al Golden's expertise when it comes to defensive levels is linebacker. We saw it in 2020 and 21, and the hope is he can do it again. Now, I wouldn't say hope is a strategy, and that's why a lot of us are clamoring for them to sign a veteran linebacker. But offensively, I think it's interesting, how you bring up what else they could do. They're in a position where they're already in a good position, coach.

Offensely, right now, they can go out week one, and you're like, I feel pretty good about this. I feel pretty good about the offensive line. I feel pretty good about the wide receivers. I feel good about Joe Burrow. I think we have good running backs and Chase Brown. I wouldn't even be upset if they brought enough running back in free agency. Like, one thing we haven't talked about on this show is,

what can Eric All Jr. do for this offense? You know, he was hurt all of last season, but you saw glimpses of it in the 2024 season in the first half. The way he can block in the running game, the way he can get other guys open. Like that stuff is invaluable. So it's like, okay, you have options here. Maybe we want to go get an offensive lineman to shore up that position.

Orlando Brown Jr. slowing down a little bit. Hey, maybe you want to spend a men round pick on an offensive lineman. It's maybe we want to bring in DeAndre Hopkins. You could even go get another tight end. You have options here. And the best part of out of coaches, none of them are wrong. No. You know what? And the one thing that they have is they've got an established offense. And right now, Zach Taylor's should be thankful that he has Joe Burrell as his quarterback. The one thing you don't want to do is in year, what is it, year eight of Joe Burrell's career. You don't want to bring in another coordinators where he's got to learn a new system. And being. that he is in Zach Taylor's system really gives him the ability to just go out and play.

He can play. And they've got weapons. So on defense, they don't have it. What is your style of football and what are the pieces that you need to shore that up? Example. You looked at when Dick LeBoe was in Pittsburgh. They knew the kind of players that they needed for each position. When Monty Kiffin was in Tampa, he knew the kind of players that were going to run that defense.

Well, because there's been so much, not necessarily turmoil, but they've been through a couple of coordinators, one coordinator is going to be different than the other. And so he's looking for his particular style of player, and so is it. the other one and they haven't shored up. So I hope those two young linebackers now in their second year, okay, and it's a knock on wood situation that they are now mature enough to where they can now be players. But we don't know yet because you're only as good as your last game. But there are leaders and less distractions on the defense this season, which I think is really important. Now you bring up an interesting point here when it comes to the changes that, like fans one,

major change the second something goes wrong. That's not, that's just not going to happen. The best organizations in the NFL, i.e. the Seattle Seahawks, the New England Patriots, the Denver Broncos, the San Francisco 49ers, all these teams I'm mentioning that you see in the playoffs year after year, it's because they don't just make changes, coach. They have a clear plan on what they want to change and they look for the ideal player that fits them. It's why the Bengals They don't make a lot of major changes because they know, like you said, with Joe Burrow, having the same head coach for his seventh season. You know, he's only had two offensive coordinators. The defensive coordinator, I mean, Zach Taylor-Britain, his entire defensive coaching staff.

You can say that's not a good thing. I say it is you already decided to make that change in 24. You scapegoated your defensive coaching staff. Now it's like, okay, you're keeping them around. I say, all right, we're all accountable to use some of his words. They know what they need to do. And they have better players on defense this season. Two former Super Bowl champions and a defensive tackle that still has a lot left in the tank.

So back to the offensive side of the ball here, if you are going to bring in new players, make sure they fit what you're trying to do. And that's not just on the field. That's the culture and that fit what Joe Borough is about because he is important. Make sure that they're not going to completely change what you're doing offensively. I think game rib Noah Famp was huge. Noah Fank cost them a lot of points last year, unfortunately. So offensively, do they have enough?

I would say they're adequate and that's big in the NFL, as you know, but you can never have enough. Playmakers win games. point blank and the period right there's no doubt you i mean very very difficult if you get first and 10 on the minus 25 very difficult to go 75 yards without a big play you're not going to be able to just grind it out because the defenses are so good and they too have film and they too can run. But if you have playmakers in the building, whether it be via long throws, long runs, or runs after the catch, or runs after contact, then now you've got a football team. Now you've got some guys that can really, that are true playmakers. And I think that that's kind of where

they are offensively. And where they have it. I go back to 21 when. When everybody was screaming, or at least there was a good amount of people screaming for the Bengals to take Pinae Sewell. And I'm like, wait a second here. You can get one good offensive line. And by the way, he can't play all five positions on the offensive line. Now, right tackle is a very important position. But I was like, wait a second, if you can give Joe Burrow his college weapon and if you can hit explosive plays, that's going to neutralize a pass rush. give me that any day. Bengals have been right on that decision.

Yeah. And again, people said Jamar Chase was an easy selection. Not really. I mean, Penae Sewell was there. You could have fortified your offensive line. Instead, they gave Joe Burrow his number one weapon from college, and that obviously has translated to the best connection in the NFL today. It's about being purposeful in what you want.

for it. Exactly. You have to know what you want to get. And usually the offensive line, they are the ones journeymen guys and are, you can put all your money on skill. And not all your money on the athletes, the guys up front, because the ball can get out fast when you got a great quarterback. Guys can make plays. And you're going to, going to keep the chains moving. Now, you're going to suffer a little bit, but in certain parts of the game, but you've got some longevity amongst your skill players for about four or five years. And if they know how to treat themselves physically, shoot, they can go longer. And then they just transpose their game from being a flyer to a, you know, to a route runner, to a possession guy.

You can get longevity out of those players. It's interesting. The last three years, obviously, been disappointing when it comes to the Bengals. But you can look at the silver lines that have come out of it. They have, I think, to a large degree, established what they want to be offensively with Joe Barrow. And I still think they do want to run the football.

And I think they have along the way the last three years given themselves the opportunity to do that this season. defensively, even when they were good in 21 and 22, they brought in veterans, they brought in, you know, leaders, winners, captains, et cetera. The one thing they did not do, coach, was they did not establish an identity and it fit them in the butt the last two years. So I hope this year that they go ahead. That is exactly you hit it on the head. Offensively, they have an identity. They know who they want to be.

They exactly know who they want to be. Defensively, there's too much turmoil. Guys, they pick people, they get hurt. They have great players, they get hurt. Or they have some kind of- What's the plan then? Yeah, they don't have an identity, but now they shorted up in the back end,

you know, getting cook. They shorted up defensive front-wise by getting Jonathan Allen. you know, you're waiting for that secondary and hopefully those young kids can grow up and be the kind of playmakers that they drafted them to be. And then now they can establish it. They can be that guy. So it sounds like with this conversation that we're having, it's like, yes, they still

have glaring weaknesses on defense, but they're not in as bad of a position as maybe some think they are. and that's a good position to be in. Well, it is. They have options to keep improving, I think is what we're trying to say here. Well, you know what? Not only that, but I think they have a great feel for what last year's players can do and can't do. And so by getting these three pieces in place,

they have an idea of what, not only what they need, but how they can expand that defense and change some things and not be just the four-down, too high or middle of field closed defense, and they can take some chances on some different scheme that will hide those weaknesses that they know that they have that they did not fit in free agency or in the draft coming up. It's being multiple, it's being versatile, it's being multi-dimensional that I think this Bengals defense is going to be,

and if they are, that's a good thing. Now, offensively, final question is, I think when I say do they have enough, I'm thinking about a running back. Do you think that they're adequate at that position? You know what? I was with Tosbrooks at Texas Tech. Todd is a good football player

and Chase Brown's a good football player and I think that they are good although they are the same running style you know they're the same kind of thicker running back you know if they had a slasher or really a you know a fast guy

that would put a whole different dimension on that backfield and I think they can be a little bit more diverse in that area and then I think that they would be set. And that player may be the unknown guy. You know, that little running back from Villanova,

a heck of a player, he's a slasher. You know, there's some guys in the league that are that type of guy. That can be that. You know, what they need is they, if they had another guy, I don't know about the kid that's in Chicago, boy, he's a slash guy. And he would really compliment that backfield and allow them to do a lot of different.

Thanks. Tell you what, there are options here for the Bengals to improve their defense and to improve offensively. I think they have put themselves in a position where they can do that, even with the glaring needs, still a linebacker potentially elsewhere on defense. It's kind of a unique position, but it does feel kind of a lot like how it was going into the 2021 season. Up next, a fun topic to round out the show. You guys are going to like this and you're going to get an insight to what I love most about the NFL off season. And we'll do that next.

Excuse me back. Coming up right here on the Bengals squad show. Today's episode of the Bengals squad show is brought to you by Indeed. Workplace chaos, deadline, stacking up, inbox overflowing. And that one position you have to fill sitting open. When the pressure's on, you need the right hire. And this is a job for Indeed, sponsor jobs. Indeed, sponsor jobs helps you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for.

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on Sunday. Your Orlando Storm, the running backs coach, which you are for, that team in the UFL will take the feel for the first time in the regular season as they take on the Columbus aviators. Kind of give us a game preview on what we can expect Sunday night at 8 o'clock. Well, you know what? It's exciting. A, it's exciting to be back in the mix. But B, I think these young men on both in the league. They just want an opportunity. So they're all very, very hungry to show what they've got and show what their abilities. I think the league is going to be very, very exciting. I think the people in Columbus are going to be excited about their football team. And, you know, Columbus is a crazy town for football. And to get it in the spring as well,

I mean, it's going to be good. And I think the city of Orlando is looking for it. a team that they can be proud of. And I think we're going to be able to give that to them. And so I think the whole league really has developed from its USFL, XFL, merger into a league that's very, very stable and

is going to put a good product on the field. And, you know, like our game is going to be nationally televised. I think the game tonight is nationally televised. So people are going to be able to take a look at it. I know there's a lot of things coming with baseball, open, up. But to be honest with you, wait until after the All-Star break, they're really focusing on

baseball. You got football going on right now. Yeah, I'm really looking forward to watching you guys take the field on Saturday. I mean, Columbus, as you mentioned, new team. They love their football up there with the Buckeyes. I mean, heck, I was checking the NHL standings this morning off topic a little bit, but the blue jackets are going to be in the playoffs, most likely, for the first time since I believe 2020, which is really good for them. And if you've been to a blue jackets game, you know how passionate those fans are about their hockey on the corner of front nationwide.

I used to live up there, I know of firsthand. So looking forward to watching that on Sunday night. So now a fun topic to round out today's show. I'm not sure, Coach, if you follow this guy on Twitter. But there is an account on Twitter called Nerding on NFL. And so my favorite part of the NFL offseason, not free agency, not the draft. and I like both of those, don't get me wrong. When the NFL schedule gets released, that's my favorite time of the off season because I can start making my travel plans.

I can start making other plans. And just because I can see the whole schedule when I can watch which team win, particularly the Bengals. So he has released a mock schedule. And this is crazy for the entire 2026 NFL regular season. 272 games. He's labeled them if they're prime time, if they're 425, if they're international Thanksgiving Christmas. I mean, it's color-coded out the wazooze coach. I'll send it to you after the show.

He has released the Bengals mock schedule for 2026. Now, this is, I don't think this is going to be the schedule by any means. But it's always fun to think if it was the mock schedule. this season. So let's go through what he has for the Bengals. And then we can, you know, is that right? Yeah, that's right. Then we can see what we think the Bengals record could be based off this schedule. Coach, can you believe this? An entire mock schedule. We'll get coach back here in a minute. So, oh, go ahead. Yeah, no, no, I'll tell you what. It'd be great. Well, put it this way. You already know six of the teams of their plan, right?

the divisional games. And then who are they playing in the NFC? Are they playing the... They're playing the NFC South. They're playing NFC South. So they got Tampa, they got Atlanta, they got Carolina, they got Carolina, and they've got New Orleans. So you know there, so 10 of them are gone. Who are the other seven?

Who are they playing in the East or in the AFC? They're playing the AFC South. Okay, so they got Tennessee and, you know, Houston. which is going to be tough. You know, and they got those guys, Jacksonville, and I know I'm missing one. Houston, obviously, made the playoffs last year. Right. So, you know pretty much it's where they fit.

And I think where does he have their by week? Is it early or is it late? It's the earliest it can be, which is week five. Okay, week five, oh, you're coming off of training camp. You still go after week five. You still got 12 games to go. So you want to find out where they're at during that time, you know, because you want to be hot in December.

That's when you, after Thanksgiving is when you want to get hot. And you can roll that thing and keep momentum. So it would be interesting to see what he has to say and what the lead office has to come out with. NFL schedule likely will be released on Wednesday. I'll say, I think it's going to be like Wednesday, May 13th, which I'll be in Tampa of all places during then. So, or St. Petersburg. So just quick overview of the schedule here. He has all 17 games.

Four prime time games. He has four prime time games. He has an international game. He has a Saturday standalone game and a game that could be on Saturday in week 17. In addition, he has a stretch of five division games in a six. six-week stretch. That's about as dawning as a gets coach. Yeah, that right there is tough duty. You know, have they, in fact, made the point that the Bengals are going to play an international game? They have not. Okay. Now, I hope they do because then next year they won't and they have nine home games next year.

Yeah. Yeah, that's that, you know, the international. travel is tough. Great for TV, great for the league, not so much for the players or the coaches, but they don't even consider them when they're doing this. It'll be tough. And having five divisional games in a low, ooh, that would be hard. Yeah. It's going to be a tough road to say the least, but nonetheless, here we go. We'll go through this, and this could be right. I mean, you never really do know, I suppose. But this guy has this guy has the Bengals hosting the Buccaneers week one. Okay. That be very interesting. You know, they've, campus kind of reloaded. They, they've got pretty much a whole new staff against a staff

that's been together. Joe Burrell, it's healthy, T. Higgins is healthy. Jamar Chase is healthy. they be very interesting game. Is it in Tampa? It's in Cincinnati, so it's a whole game in a week one. Yeah. You're playing a nice fall game and not a heat game. Yeah, we know Baker Mayfield has had success against the Bengals, but we also know the Buccaneers are going to be a much different team this year.

Mike Evans now with the Niners. Levante David just retired. They lost Jamel Dean and their secondary. They're going to be younger this year, kind of working in some new things, new coordinators on both sides of the ball. So you get a home game against a beatable team in week one. But week two, it's a Thursday night road game. Never easy, coach.

Especially when you're facing the Houston Texans and that defensive front. Okay, so you're in Houston. You're hoping you catch them. And you're hoping, A, the roof is closed. you're down there, you're playing against a good defensive football team. That'd be interesting game. That's going to be a good game. Yeah, wherever it is, it's going to be a really interesting game

because it's going to be a contrast of style. Bengals want to be the flashy team. The Texans, they don't mind, you know, kind of making things grinding, grind it out, if you will. That's going to be interesting. Now, week three, they come home to face the Titans. and then week four is the London game against the commanders. So that's the first quarter of the season.

Okay, you got the first quarter going? Again, there's an awful lot of new coordinators that they're playing. Yep. You know, they've got Tampa, they've got Tennessee, they've got Washington. Tennessee is a new head coach. Yeah. So you've got a whole new crew. and it'll use, that's where I think that Cincinnati having their staff together is in a better situation than those other teams.

Because they've already established who they are and what they want to be. And the other ones are still trying to figure out how they're being led, what they can do, trying to figure out their players. And I think that they could come out of the first quarter of the season in pretty good shape. Yeah, let's win the home games against the Bucks and Titans. And again, this is just a mock schedule. But still, in this scenario, win the home games. Houston, okay, maybe trip up a little bit, keep it close. Go steal one in London against the commanders.

You fly back home into your biweek three and one. You're sitting in a really good position. You're sitting really well. You're sitting really well. And I think that not only that in the AFC, you know, you're still, have a very good, very good record in the AFC, which has potentially some playoff implications down the road when it starts to get tight. I think you're in pretty good shape. Yeah, and you're facing the Texans and Titans and tight, and so common opponents,

if you can win one of those games at least, hey, you're sitting in an okay spot. So coming out of the buy, a Monday night home game against the Ravens, as good as it gets. Yes, yes. No question. That right there will be, it would end up to me, it'll end up being like a Thanksgiving game. Absolutely. Let's see how the Ravens go. Let's see where they're at in week five or week six, as it turns out. And then let's see where the Bengals are and how they've developed defensively. Trey Hendrickson's return to Cincinnati. I mean, I read yesterday the DJ Reader may be visiting Baltimore. So I mean, but they got Jonathan Allen, so it wouldn't sting as. much. It's not like you don't have anybody. So, all right. So they're at the Falcons week seven. That's an interesting game. Short week, but not a lengthy road trip. No.

No. You know what? There's another new team that they're playing. That's another new coaching staff that they're playing. So new quarterback. Yeah. So you know what? That's a coin flip. Let's see what they've got. An established team, maybe not a great record team, but an established team against a lot of newcomers on staff wise. Okay, so then in week eight, so the trap games Atlanta, because the next week they're at Pittsburgh on Sunday night football. So a divisional road game at prime time, then they come home, face the Browns and Steelers, then they're at the Ravens in week 11.

That goes into Thanksgiving. So in those six games, win the three at home, steal one on the road. You're 7 and 3 going into Thanksgiving. That's good, right? I'd take it. Okay. And then week 12, the Monday after Thanksgiving, they come home, face the Chiefs on Monday night football.

Great battle. You've got Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes. And the two longest tenured head coaches in the AFC. Absolutely. And you've got two marquee quarterbacks at going, which would be a very exciting game to watch. Absolutely. All right. So then the Bengals host the Jaguars in week 13.

And then at the Colt, week 14, at the Panthers in week 15 on a Saturday, and I'm sure what time, at the Dolphins, week 16. I like that one. That's the next five games. I think there's three, four wins in there. They have got, they have got that one. The meat of their schedule is their divisional schedule. You know, when they've got Baltimore, Pittsburgh, that one is, will be tough to get through. If you're in good shape or you're still in the fight, those last few, you've got a chance.

We're going to find out of Jacksonville's for real. you're going to find out if Carolina and all the free agents they signed are for real, and you can go. Last two games for the Bengals, home to the Saints, maybe on a Saturday, and then at the Browns. So you have four or five at home in the middle of the season, and then four or five on the road to end the season. That would be brutal if that happened. Yeah, it'd be tough.

It's going to be tough. now, especially in December away from your families during the holidays. Well, but you know what? The great thing about it is you've got at least some warm weather games. You know, one's inside and the other one is the final game of the season. You never know what the temperature is going to be like. But, you know, it can lay out pretty well the way he has it. I tell you, I mean, this is a very interesting schedule, to say the least.

Is it going to be the actual one? I don't know. Hey, sure is fun to start looking ahead. Well, you know what? I'm hoping that when they get later in the season, that they do some of those push games and they move because the Bengals are playing well. Yeah. They all of a sudden move them to a different spot.

Same team, but just a different format of the weekend of when they're playing. That's what we want. That's the ultimate hope when it comes to. the Bengals in 2026. That's going to do it for us on today's show. It has been a very busy week in Cincinnati. We have new Bearcats, Men's Basketball Head Coach, and Jared Calhoun. You can check out Jeff Carr and Lockdown Bearcats for more on that. Opening day was here yesterday. First opening day for me as a resident in the city of Cincinnati. For more on the Reds, you can also check out Jeff Carr on Locked on Reds with Stephen Offenbaker, coach your Dodgers,

eight two winners last night over Arizona. opening day, Yoshinibu Yamamoto with a six-inning two-run performance, a dynamite performance from him. So plenty on that front here in Cincinnati. Of course, you can check out James Rapine and Jake Lisco on Lockedonged Bengals. They got you covered five days a week, including during the off season. As we roll into draft season, the NFL draft, less than one month away now. Coach, you're on the road this weekend. We want to wish you the best of luck to your Orlando Storm against the Columbus Aviators

as head coach Anthony Peck leads the storm against the aviators. Absolutely. Hey, we're excited about it. These kids are, they're tired hitting each other, and they're ready to go play somebody else for a change. They'll be hitting each other on the plane. They'll be so excited. I guarantee you that potentially. Safe travels, coach, to you, and good luck on Sunday night.

We'll talk about your performance on next week's shows. We've got so much to get to next week, two shows, including why I'm saying. still on the Jeremiah love train when it comes to the NFL draft. Lockdown Bengals and Bengals Squad Show. They're part of the lockdown podcast, the number one sports podcast, number in America and the world, your team every day.

Bengals' Squad show the twice a week, law and form conversational supplement to the daily lockdown Bengals podcast. Back next week, have a great weekend. Enjoy the Sweet 16. Enjoy the elite eight. Enjoy the baseball being back. Maybe enjoy some draft prep. Enjoy watching the UFL on Sunday and this weekend.

and we'll talk to you next week right here on the Bengals Squad Show. Part of the lockdown podcast network, your team every day.