How can the Bengals learn from 2024's Super Bowl teams?
00:00The Cincinnati Bengals played the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024.What lessons can they learn to help their chances in 2025 and going forward?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.I'm your host, Jake Liscoe.He's your host, James Rapine.We are locked on Bengals on the Locked on.
00:35on Podcast Network, your team, every day.We're on YouTube.We're everywhere you get your podcast.So if you're new to the show, you can subscribe to make sure you don't miss anythingrelated to the Cincinnati Bengals all offseason long and going into the regular season next year,of course.And for the everydayers out there, welcome back to the show.You're going to hear us talk about a team that somehow comes up on this show quite often
00:55for an NFC team in the Philadelphia Eagles and some of the lessons of Bengals can take awayfrom the way these teams came together in this run to the Super Bowl.and it'll be a little bit different, or maybe a lot of it different,for each of these teams and some of the things that Bengals can take away from themif they want to be more serious, perhaps, as a contender next year.Today's episode brought to you by Fandall,where new customers can get $150 in bonus betsif their first $5 bet wins.
01:23That's Fandall.Check it out right now for a chance of that $150 in bonus bets and chains.An exercise that we like to do, I think we've done this every year,the Bengals haven't been in the Super Bowl, we've been doing this podcast,is to look at the teams that do make it to the Super Bowl,which has been a lot of the Chiefs,and one NFC team on a rotating basis,and look at how those teams were put together,
01:48look at how those teams operate,and what the Bengals can learn from those teamswhen it comes to team building, talent acquisition,cap management, all of those topics.What stands out to you first when you look at these Super Bowl teams?Yeah, I think that the Bengals, from a blueprint standpoint, if you look at these two blueprints, the chiefs and what they've done and how they've done it, and the Eagles and how they've done it.And the Eagles have been really darn good now for, I mean, they've made three Super Bowls since 2017 with two different quarterbacks, multiple head coaches, a coordinator swaps, all these things that have changed.And they found their way back.
02:29and it's because I look at their roster,and I think they have the best roster in football,just top to bottom.We're recording this before Super Bowl 59.The Chiefs very much could win the game,but the Eagles roster is just awesome.And I remember looking at it in week eight,like in depth before the Bengals played the Eagles,
02:49and obviously that game was close,and then it got away from them.They lose 37, 17.17, the Eagles just roll them.It was the only blowout loss of the season,and it was here in Cincinnati.And you look at this roster,and they can match you at your strengths if you're the Bengals with their weapons.They have a quarterback that they believe in.
03:09And then at the same time, you look at the trenches and what they have on that defenseand how they can get pressure and the multiple first round picks on the interior,guys like Milton Williams, who you really liked pre-draft,Zach Bond, the linebacker, who was with the Saints for a bunch of years,not used properly.He comes to the Eagles,and Vic Fangio is making him a defensive player of the year candidate, right?So I think they're really good at evaluating.
03:39They're not afraid to be aggressive when it comes to the draftand moving up to get the guy they want the quality over quantity,certainly drafting the right talent.I mean, just last year,getting two cornerbacks that are going to,and have played a big role in the,season this year and can be building blocks starting with quinyon Mitchell of course cooperde jean is the other one like that's a heck of a way to rebuild and jumpstart your cornerback
04:05room and that was an issue for them last year so i i think they are not afraid to be aggressiveand they will go get their needs address their needs wherever they are oh and of course they've paidtheir scars which i think is a big factor as well yeah i think when you're talking about the eaglesand we've talked about this many times this yearbecause there are parallels,even if the Bengals operateas opposite to the Eagles as you can in the NFL.There are some parallels about the paths for these teams.
04:38And you talk about aggression with the Eagles.They are, I think, the most aggressive team in the NFLat talent acquisition,whether it is maneuvering in the draft, like you say,trading for players, acquiring scrap heat players,acquiring top-end players,and the AJ Brown tradeof course, top of mind there.
04:56And Sequin Barclay, I think being a huge example of that last year.Running backs don't matter.And then they go get the best one.And guess what?He matters a lot, right?Well, and it matters when you have a team built the way the Eagles are built.They also have embraced their identity, know what they are, have a massive investment in theiroffensive line, the best offensive line coach in the NFL and are committed to and consistently
05:22run the ball very well.I think that that isn't necessarily a lesson that I would take away from the Eaglesif I were the Bengals.I think you can learn that there are certain running backs that are worth payingif they do a certain thing for your offense.But I think that for the Eagles, specifically when it comes to Sequin,it's the cherry on top for that offense or the straw that breaks the camels back in a good way.Like the thing that pushes them over that hump is Seiquan in that offense
05:52because of the way the offense works.But by and large, you look at the way that they've identified the things that can drive their team forward,the way they get out in front of contracts to extend players as often as possible,the way that they constantly draft so well.And yes, they have to make tough decisions about players that are leaving,Hassan Reddick most recently.But then they consistently have a stable of players in development and are so deep at so many positionsthat they aren't often feeling that pain.
06:22of watching their good players go when it's time for those players to go.And it's typically not second contracts every now and then it is.They will have to make a very difficult decision because they have three good linemen.They spent premium resources on it or have performed in Jalen Carter, in Milton Williams,and why am I forgetting?I always forget one of them.The third defensive tackle.You do.
06:47Jordan Davis.Looking at all these names.Jordan Davis. There you go.They have all these players that they have to make tough decisions about,but because they draft so well and are so aggressive in acquiring multiple solutions for problems,it never seems to get them down long.And part of that is also that the Eagles are willing to spend a ton of money on their roster.Go look at how their cap hits are lined up for 2025,
07:20right now, and the base salaries of the top, like, 15 cap hits on this team are below$1.5 million because those contracts are fully prorated. They've taken all of that salaryand thrown it all into pro-rated bonuses and are stretching that cap hit out over five years,over four years, as much as possible to minimize cap hits in the short term, knowing thatthe cap is going up in the future, knowing that they'll be able to deal with those cap hitsin the future more easily or knowing that they'll just have to take it on the chin at some point.Like A.J. Brown, I think, has a $50 million dead cap hit in 2030. In 2030 in five years,they're going to take it on the chin with A.J. Brown's contract a little bit. Okay.
08:07That's the cost of getting to the Super Bowl every now and then.Yeah. It's what you do when your title window is open. It's really, really hard.to get a roster as good as the Eagles have it right now.And you don't need, you don't need a roster as talented as there is to win the Super Bowl.Like up the bottom, it's top the bottom.You don't.I mean, it's a complete roster.I just look at it and it's like, man, there's just not many, not many weak points, right?
08:35Guys like, like Mackay Beckton at Guard, like that's someone we're going to be talking about,Zach Bonn at linebacker, someone we would possibly be talking about free agency-wise that will be discussed a lot.Like Milton Williams, probably the biggest of any of their possible.free agents that we'll talk about on this podcast. They have all these guys and it's like,all right, well, will they be able to find a way to reload? And you think back, this is theteam that drafted Jalen Rager ahead of T. Higgins, ahead of Justin Jefferson. And then you look,and it's like, oh, well, how are they able to write that wrong? Which is an all-time awful pick.Well, they trade for AJ Brown and they're aggressive and they go get Devante Smith. And it's just,
09:17that's what they do.They'll get it wrong sometimes,but that aggressiveness element,if you keep the pedal downand you're smart evaluating these guysand you have really good evaluators and good coaches,you're able to make up for your mistake.So I think that's another thing that the Eagles do.
09:36Meanwhile, the Chiefs may, by the time you listen to this,have done something the other NFL team is done.I do think there are some things that the Bengalscan take away from the Chiefs.I don't think it's as natural to compare them to the Bengals like it is with the Eagles and the Bengals.So we'll get to the Chiefs.And we still have NFL honors as well coming up next.Today's show is brought to you by LinkedIn.
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10:35No wonder.72% of small businesses say LinkedIn helps them find high-quality hires.Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash locked-on NFL.That's LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL.That's LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply.So as we try to summarize what the Bengals can take away from the Eagles, it is be more creative, largely, with the way that you maneuver in the draft, the way that you think about acquiring talent, the way you think about not just acquiring starters, but really building depth and doing that all over the roster in terms of contract structure.It's all of those things.I think that the one thing when I look at the Eagles that really stands out,
11:20not just aggression, but creativity and aggression,because it requires creativity to approach team building the way the Eagles do.And to me, James, when you talk about the natural comparison,the Eagles are a pretty unnatural comparison to me for the Bengals.Well, there are some parallels that I alluded to earlier.The way that they manage their roster is so different from the Bengalsthat it's looking aspirationally to meas someone who wants to see the Bengals front office
11:49improve at what the Eagles do.And then when I look at the Chiefs by comparison,I actually think of something that's a more alignable approach.Yeah, go ahead.Yeah, before the Chiefs.As far as the Eagles, the reason it's parallelis because they're paying their quarterback $50 million.They have two receivers that they're paying.
12:05Like there aren't many teams that have that situation.They have pass-rusters that they will pay or have paid.Like, it's very similar from that perspective, not necessarily the way they run things,but from a, oh my God, how are the Bengals going to afford all these guys?Well, the Eagles have afforded that, and then they paid the best running back in the league,and they're paying multiple offensive linemen and, and, and that's how.Yeah, they have a top end, tight end contract.They have two top end offensive line contracts.
12:36Josh Sweat is going to be a free agent, and they're going to have to deal with that,but they're going to have top-end contracts for interior defensive linemen, at least one of them.They have Landon Dickerson who's getting paid.They're paying a lot of guys, is the point.And some analysis that we're working on right now that Neil Engelberger is actually heading upthat I've been talking with him about in the last few days that not ready to talk about in its entirety yetis instead of looking at just cash spend in a current year or just cap spend in a current year,looking at how much average annual value a team can cram into its roster in a given year.
13:13That tells you overall, not just how much cash we're spending this year,but how many big contracts do we have on the team this year that we fit into the picture?And I think that'll be interesting because it'll show like one thing that we talked about a little bit,James, is a Bengal spending a lot on mid-level players and not getting the return on an investment there super consistentlyand kind of being mid as a result of paying mid,for lack of a better way of putting that,sometimes it's hit with Mike Hilton or Trey Hendricksonand you get those really great values when you take that approach,
13:46but then the other side of it is also that you get either average playersor players that don't live up to those contracts,and then it kind of sinks you because when you have so many of those contracts,it adds up to a lot of spending.But let's talk about the chiefs here, James,and the similarities or the lessons of Bengals can,take away from the chiefs.Obviously, the big quarterback contract, a similarity there.
14:09But when I look at the chiefs and the thing that they've done best,it's finding ways year-in, year-out with a great coaching staffto get the most out of players and to honestly crush a draft.And every team has mistakes in the draft.But the chiefs are in the Super Bowl right now because of their success draftingon the defensive side of the ball.with a great defensive coordinator.Yeah, that's it to me.
14:37They have the best coach in the game in Andy Reed.You'd say the best quarterback, right?That's just most proven whatever.And he may get his tail kicked into the Eagles,but that's it.In the Bengals are similar in the quarterback standpoint,in the quarterback realm.I don't think Zach Taylor is Andy Reid.
14:55And then on the other side, you're right.They had the best defensive coordinator.So you're already starting with,with three guys.That's a heck of a place to start.And they've drafted Trent McDuffie in 2022.And everyone throws George Carlisin there.
15:10I think Carlophthous has been fine,but I don't think he's in the same category as McDuffie.Brian Cook has played a ton of time for them in that back end.They revamped the secondary.They go get Rishie Rice,who was really good for them early.But they haven't found,that's what I think is interesting.
15:24A lot of people will say,look at the chiefs.You can trade tea.They're still kind of searching at receiver.Now, Xavier Worthy may go,for 300 yards in Super Bowl 59.But they've spent a lot of assets and money and time to try to get receiver right.And it's funny because it's almost like the Patriots.
15:43The Patriots used to do this all the time where they would go after veterans,the Hollywood Brown types, and then they would draft the receiver,and then you'd look up and it would still be the same guys.And if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl, it's probably going to be some Travis Kelsey,and it's going to be some of these tight ends and, you know, Watson and in different guys,that they use that you're like, really?Like, that's who they're leaning on.I mean, think about it.
16:05Kareem Hunt's a big part of their plans, I would say,going into Super Bowl 59.So they just, they find ways to get enough out of their offensebecause of Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes.And their defense, they've drafted really darn well.They have a lot of good pieces.And obviously, that starts with Chris Jones.He's just awesome.
16:22So when you have that in the middle and a guy who can move around,it's one heck of a place to start.And they've done a great job of building around Chris Jones.on the defensive side of the ball.Let's say on the offensive side of the ball for a secondbecause you're talking about these weapons.And the difference is to me that they've spent so much moneyon their offensive line.
16:43And it hasn't always been successful.Juan Taylor's been better in his second year than his first year.And I think that everyone can agree that Joe Tuny has been a great investmentfor the Chiefs, one of the Bengals bulked at when he was in for the agency a few years ago.And then they hit on the draft picks,with Creed Humphrey and one that was staring the Bengals in the face.And Trey Smith, who's going to be a free agent this off season,we'll have to talk about the fit for Trey Smith with the Bengals' offense.
17:13But in the wake of Tyree Kill, yeah, I mean, it's a first round draft pick.It's signing Hollywood Brown.It's trading for D'Andre Hopkins.And underlining all of that, when people talk about, oh, you know, Brady didn't have receiverseven though he did.And Mahomes, they traded Tyreek.They haven't figured out receiver.He's had Kelsey the whole time.
17:33And Kelsey is a receiver.I know he plays tight end.That's what's on the back of his,his football card or whatever.But the guy's a receiver who does a little bit of blocking sometimes.No doubt.That's what his role is.He's their number one.
17:48Yeah.Yeah.And so the idea that you can just like scrap all your weapons,like that's always kind of been Travis Kelsey erasure,which is weird to me in the first place.but getting it right on the offensive line, getting a right, building the interior of an offensive line, valuing interior offensive linemen.They've struggled to tackle.Their left tackle situation, I mean, is Joe Tuny starting a left tackle in the Super Bowl?
18:13I guess everyone listening to this might know that by now.I don't know what the plan is as we're recording this.But those investments on offense have paid off.And they keep trying at receiver.And they're not necessarily getting it right, but when they have the quarterback that they have that can make plays in the clutch.And I do think that Rice and Worthy are both good players.Rice obviously has the off the field and has come back with the injury.Like Worthy's a really good player.
18:39Like I know there were people with the Bengals that when that pickman was like not shocked at all, like, yeah, that makes sense.Like I think I think the Bengals liked Worthy as a prospect.Not that they were picking him at 18.I'm not saying that.But I think they thought he was a good player.Like it works.It fits.And I think that's kind of the scary thing.
18:58is like, what if, but like they've never, during this run,I think their best roster might have been two years ago.Not this past year or this season.Can you imagine if they do fix that and are more complete of a roster?Not that they're not a really good roster.They are, of course.But there's some obvious weaknesses that I see with this rosterthat I don't necessarily see with the Eagles, for example.
19:22Yeah.And just talking about things you can take away.I mean, it's hard to take away.on like five draft picks on the defensive side of the ball on one draft, right?It's hard to isolate that.But the balance of that offense, the adaptability of the offense, and ideally you find your SteveSpagnola.That's really hard to do.
19:44I don't know if Al Golden is that guy or not.I don't know if Al Golden, if he's successful in the Bengals defensive coordinator spotis going to be in line for head coaching jobs in the future.But if you can find that guy who can be a top-tier playoff defensive coordinator,and they had it in lieu, and then it didn't work out.But you get those results consistently throughout the year,and then you translate that into the playoffs.It's a place you want to live.
20:09And I think that there are some things about the way the chiefs do businessthat are much more in line with the way the Bengals do businessthat you can't learn from,but a lot of their advantage comes down to that coaching staff.And I think that is something for the Bengals to bear our mind going forward as well.The NFL honors were a bit disappointing for Bengals fans last week. James,let's talk about those results and the one that did hit for the Bengals to finish the show coming up next.Today's show is brought to you by Fandle, America's number one sportsbook.
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21:35Make every moment more with Fandle,the official sports betting partner of the NBA.The NFL honors revealed a bunch of reward winners, James, from AP voters.Learned who all the AP voters were this year,which was eye-opening to me for some of those voters, to put it lightly.But one successful award campaign for AP voters,for the Cincinnati Bengals, and that is Joe Burrow for a comeback player of the year.Jamar Chase also winning the FedEx Ground Player of the Year, which now includes wide receivers.
22:08So a couple of awards overall for the Bengals, and Joe Burrow taking that comeback player of theyear award with 31 first place votes, beating out J.K. Dobbins, who had three first place votesand 22nd place votes, Sam Darnold, who had eight first place votes and a handful of votes down the ballot.I'm shaking my head for those listening.I don't know how Joe didn't get all 50.And I know this is me being picky.It's comeback player of the year.Did he or did he not have?
22:39Do people forget he had this wrist injury that no other quarterback has ever had to his throwing hand?Honestly, the reaction I've seen from people is like, well, he had a wrist injury and then he was good again.He was good before.What do you mean?Come back.And they don't understand what the wrist injury actually was.So I do think that some people don't understand what the wrist injury was to answer your question.There are so many people nine months ago, 10 months ago, 11 months ago,
23:01that were like, he's never going to be the same.Yeah.There's no way.Oh, my God, I can't believe.And we didn't know.I think that's what it was really, like, we didn't know if he would be the same.And the good news is he's not the same.He's better.
23:14It's better this year.And there are things I think he can get even better at.So this one for me, there was at some point during the season, and it just got,one, it's an award.And sometimes you don't have time, especially if it's like,not the MVP. But I had been wanting to write that, well, duh, he's the comeback player of the year.I don't care what Sam Darnold does or any of these other guys.Like, Sam Darnal could be playing in the Super Bowl and he shouldn't have been comeback
23:35player of the year over Joe Burrough. It doesn't matter. And I know it's a regular season award,but it's irrelevant to me. So I was kind of surprised it was as close. I know it wasn't thatclose as it was. Good for Joe for winning that. But I think the biggest shock,not as that Sequin Barkley won offensive player of the year.think that was kind of expected, and we could debate whether or not it should have beenJamar versus Saquan and all of those things. But no first place votes for the triple crownwinner for offensive player of the year is wild to me. Because I think you could make a very,I'm an easy argument that Jamar was better than Saquan this year as a player. And more important
24:20to what the Bengals did on offense than what the Eagles did on offense. Doesn't mean thatSequan wasn't awesome. That's not what I'm trying to say here. Watch he goes and runs for300 yards in Super Bowl 59. But no first place votes is wild, Jake. I think both players arevery important to their offense. I understand why Seacquam wins the award and all that stuff.But zero first place votes for Jamar is crazy. And Joe Goodberry went and looked at the previousTriple Crown winners to see how many first place votes they've received in an offensive playerof the year running.And honestly, it seems like something the AP just doesn't respect all that much,
24:58despite it being a rarererer than a 2,000-yard rusher.In 1990, Jerry Rice was a triple crown a winner.This is the first time it happened.He had five votes for offensive player of the year.Maybe they didn't really understand what it was at that point.1990, this whole triple crown idea.Maybe it was new at the time.But this is consistent.
25:17Sterling Sharp, zero votes for offensive player of the year.He did have some MVP votes.Steve Smith.one comeback player of the year in 2005,but had zero votes for offensive player of the year.Cooper Cup, one offensive player of the year in 2021.And he had a monster year, for sure,and was a huge story that year.
25:37But this is the only offensive player of the year winneramong Triple Crown winners.Jamar Chase, of course, zero first place votesfor offensive player of the year.I have a couple thoughts on offensive player of the year.The first is quite obvious.Just get quarterbacks out of the award.the amount of votes that Lamar Jackson got for offensive player of the year that were just like,
25:56ah, we didn't vote for you for MVP, so we're going to give you votes for offensive player of the year instead.Like, this is silly.Let's just acknowledge it.Let's just own it.It's been this way for so long.MVP is a quarterback award, 99% of the time.Just take the quarterbacks out of the offensive player of the year award.I think that makes the voting clear.
26:17I agree with you because I could easily make the case for,Joe Burrow for offensive player. And he hadvotes. He was fifth.And fifth is crazy.To be quite frank,fifth is insane. Like, if he's in the running,how would he be fifth?Because it's weird, because people
26:35treat quarterbacks so weird, especiallyfor this award. Like,it's, you could makethe case, and again,an easy one for Jamar,but you easily could say, oh, well, Joe shouldbe offensive player in the year, head of Jamar.You could. Just saying. So,
26:51So you're right.Like if quarterbacks are included, then it makes it really tough, especially ifJosh Allen's winning MVP, because if Josh Allen's winning MVP, then you could easilysay the most important non-Josh Allen players in the NFL to really high-end offenseswere Lamar and Joe.And so, yeah, if you take them out, then it gets to the nuts and bolts, which to me,there would be only two options, Sequan and Jamar for offensive player of the year withoutquarterbacks.
27:20Derek Henry would be the one that third to me.Third.And the way that the most votes went, there were 35 first place votes for Sequin,25 second place votes for Jamar and 18 third place votes for Derek, Derek Henry.Those were like the top, the top votes at each place was Sequin, then Jamar, then DerekHenry.But like, I just don't understand why you don't get a single first place vote for Jamar Chase.It doesn't really make sense to me.
27:45MVP, interesting, but not necessarily award an award.award that Joe Burrow was in the running for, you simply appear to need to make the playoffsin order to win this award if the Bengals had beaten the Ravens twice. Maybe Joe Burrow wins thisaward instead of losing to the Ravens twice and probably winning those games is a big reasonthat Joe Burrow wins the award if that is a counterfactual you go with. But instead,Joe finishing behind Seek Juan Barclay for MVP. And this is where the voting criteria getsgets really weird to me.Yeah. I mean, it's not even...
28:22And Sequin's awesome. And again, may run for 300 in Super Bowl 59 and lead the Eagles to victory.So he may be Super Bowl MVP.There's not a world where he is more valuable.And that's what I think is so interesting.Do we realize what MVP means?Like, there aren't many players more valuable to their franchise than Joe Burrow is to the Bengals.and he's certainly not fifth this year when he led the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns.It's interesting.
28:53I wasn't expecting him to win it.I know he wasn't expecting to win it.I did expect him to win comeback player of the year.I didn't expect, like everything that I thought would happen basically happened.I think the Josh Allen thing might surprise, might have surprised a decent amount of people, especially nationally.But the thing that's-In like 30 years, the second-team quarterback has beaten out the first-team quarterback forMVP. That was a shock, I think. That doesn't really make sense. Yeah. I, so a bunny, a little bunny,
29:22a little rabbit told me like 10 minutes before that Josh was winning it. And so I didn't,I was just like, oh, okay. So then it happened. And then I was like, oh, well, I kind of knew it.It kind of spoiled it. So I think that might be part of it for me to be honest. Yeah, the sports booksalso seemed to know. There was a massive guilt in the odds shortly before or sometime that day beforethe award. Joe Burrow not winning FedEx Air Player of the Year also kind of silly, butmost disappointing thing for me, honestly, about that day and the awards is Willie Anderson onceagain being left on the outside of the Hall of Fame. He automatically qualifies to be a finalistnext year because he was one of the Final Seven that didn't get in, but I just don't understand
30:05what we're doing with the Hall of Fame. Like, I understand that they're trying to make himmore exclusive and everything, but like I really don't understand what they're doing with WillieAnderson. Yeah, and the wild part is, is when you look, there was more outrage, I would say,outside of the Cincinnati area for Eli Manning. And there was never a moment, like, fine, he wonSuper Bowls and he played with the Giants and, okay, he will probably get in. There's never a momentwhere Eli Manning was a better quarterback than Willie Anderson was a right tackle, if that makessense. And I know it's hard to compare, but like if you did the rankings during their career,Willie Anderson, elite tackle.
30:47Eli Manning, never an elite quarterback.Never, never.Really good.Franchise, clutch, a lot of things.And so that's just the one I'll pick outbecause he was considered the snub,like the national snubbed.Eli snubbed.
31:03It's like, ah, was he?Was he really?Willie Anderson was snubbed because he was elite.And that's, there's a difference between an elite and very good.If I was to come up with another one, I would say Luke Keeckley, but that was elite of elite of elite.Yeah, Keeckley is going to get in.Yeah.He was he was on the ballot for the first time.
31:25I just I just don't know like why they got to string this out for and players who are your Hall of Fame players.Gino is eligible and you know get ready.Yeah.Get ready, man.It's a guy who never talked to the media who spent his career in Cincinnati.The profile, his profile is just kind of, it's just low.He always keeps a low profile.That stuff matters.
31:49And even though he was an elite player, it's like, oh, well, Eli Manning, Eli,Manning, like there was never a day where Eli Manning was better at his position than Gino Atkins was.They're just, you know, but it is what it is, man.And for Gino, at least he was on the all-decade team, those guys tend to get in.The APL-Decade team guys tend to get in.but look at the AP voters.The list of voters is out there.And hard to have a whole lot of confidence.
32:19I mean, different from the Hall of Fame voters.I guess that is a big difference.But the AP voters, when you look at these AP awards,it's hard to have a whole lot of confidence in that process.Well, especially if those awardsimpacting who gets in and who doesn't.And they obviously do.They do.
32:35They do.Well, by the time you listen to this,the 24 NFL season might be officially over, and that's the case.Hope you enjoyed it.We're into the off season.We've been in the off season for the Bengals.And we got the Combine next, but obviously plenty to talk about before we get to the Combine,some Radio Row takeaways, perhaps, that we'll get to this week with some guests who
33:04were present at Radio Row.We'll see what we get to this week.But until then, thanks for listening to this episode.the locked on bengals podcast ho day and have a good one
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