Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Tee Higgins returns to practice for Cincinnati Bengals, Lawrence Guy joins the DT room

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

Tee Higgins and Kris Jenkins returned to practice on Thursday, as Amarius Mims continues to work his way back from his pec injury. The guys break down a list of significant injury updates as the Cinci...nnati Bengals begin their preparation for Monday Night Football, add Lawrence Guy to the roster, and Joe Burrow offers high praise for offensive rookies.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsFor your next listen, check out the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast. Get daily insight to the best Fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Arena ClubRight now, you can get 10% off your first Slab Pack or card purchase by going to Arenaclub.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl.RobinhoodThe new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold.  Sign up at robinhood.com/gold Terms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC. DoorDashUse promo code LOCKEDFALL24 for 50% off up to $10 value, when you spend $15+ on your first order. Limited time offer. Terms apply. Promo is not valid for orders containing alcohol.PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code lockedonmlb to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.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.

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 T. Higgins was back at practice for the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday as they began preparations for Monday night football. We've got a lot of injury updates to get to. Let's dive it. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Locked on Bengals podcast. I'm your host, Jake Liscoe. He's your host, James Rupin. we are part of the Lockdown Podcast Network here on Lockdown Bengals, covering your team every day on YouTube and everywhere you get your podcast.
Starting point is 00:00:42 Welcome back to the everydayers and shout out to those of you who make us your first listen. Appreciate all of the regular listeners. And if you're new, of course, you can always subscribe. We appreciate it when you do that. And it makes sure you will not miss any updates throughout the Cincinnati Bengals season. As we're getting ready for Monday night football here in week three, James of Bengals still looking for their first win, which is not a position that we would.
Starting point is 00:01:04 expected them, we would have expected to find them in going into week three. And part of the reason for that is that, well, T. Higgins had a fantastic training camp and looked like he was ready to have a career year. And then, in preparations for week one, that handstring that has caused some issues in the past, flared back up. But the good news is that he was back to practice on Thursday. This is the most significant of the injury news we're going to talk about in this episode, but there are a lot of injury updates that we will eventually get to. It's just that when T returns to practice, he transforms the offense. And that's why you have to start there.
Starting point is 00:01:42 Yeah. And I think the extra day this week is huge for him. You have a shot here to give him back-to-back rest days. And that's probably why on Sunday he was able to get a legitimate pre-game workout in, where he's working up a sweat, going through warm-ups, essentially. And then you get out there today, and there's a little hill as you go up the Bengals practice field. It sprints up that and didn't do a lot during the portion of practice that was open to the media. Caught passes and things, but that's what every receiver is doing, unless you're on special teams.
Starting point is 00:02:16 So we'll see if he can get, to me, what I'm looking for. I expect him to be limited again on Friday. Won't be shocked by that at all. Saturday. Can he be full Saturday? Saturday is pretty light day, and it's a glorified walkthrough to an extent, a little more than that, but not a ton. And so if he can be full on Saturday, you feel pretty darn good about his chances for being able to suit up on Monday night. And as you said, let's not, you can't really overstate his importance on this offense.
Starting point is 00:02:49 I think they could realistically be two and O if T. Higgins is T. Higgins, the T. Higgins that you saw when you were here in training camp. And so that's the other part here, as exciting as it would be to have him back Monday, I don't want him back, and there's always risk with hamstrings. I'm not going to say if there's a risk, but I don't want him back if the risk is super high right now when a little more risk could maybe take that factor down, that risk factor down some. So I don't think they're there. I don't think he would be practicing now if that was the case. So it's a good sign.
Starting point is 00:03:25 I think T. Higgins might suit up on Monday. Yeah, you manage soft tissue injuries in a wide receiver who is going full out all the time, much differently than you would manage a soft tissue injury in some other players, and especially a player like T. Higgins, who has a history of hamstring issues. They've gone through this rehab with him quite often. They're familiar with it. He's familiar with it all the way going back to Clemson, dealing with handstring issues. So it should be a very familiar recovery for him.
Starting point is 00:03:52 They should know with a pretty high degree. of confidence whether or not he is healthy enough to play in a game on Monday night. And there is that extra time, like you mentioned, James, for him to get ready with that extra day this week. That should bode well for his chances to return. We'll keep an eye on that one. Of course, we'll have your next update on Sunday. So we'll have your game preview for Monday night football on Sunday, most likely, if nothing else crazy happens anyway. And we'll see how these injuries progress between now and them. But the return of T. Higgins is significant to me because, and Joe Borough talked about
Starting point is 00:04:29 this in his presser today, James, the Bengals had this high degree of success in 12 personnel against the chiefs on Sunday last week. I know they didn't win the game, but they found this offensive package, and they have multiple ways to get into 12 personnel with their different tight ends and the different ways they want to use those tight ends. They even use 13 personnel, which means one running back, three tight ends. 12 personnel means one running back, two tight ends. That's all those numbers mean.
Starting point is 00:04:54 First number of running back, second number of tight ends on the field. The Bengals historically, under Zach Taylor with Joe Burrow, a quarterback, 11 personnel team, three wide receivers all the time, one running back, one tight end. But they've got these tight ends this year with a little bit more depth. And we'll keep an eye on Mike Keseki's calf injury. He was limited on Thursday as well to see what he looks like for the rest of the week on that injury report. Tanner Hudson is still a DNP, still dealing with that knee. injury from week one.
Starting point is 00:05:22 But the three tight ends that they used against the chiefs, Eric, all of Mike Keseki and Drew Sample, all found different ways to contribute in a significant way. And to me, one of the most interesting things that we get to see if T. Higgins gets back this week is that 12 personnel package, but Jamar Chase and T. Higgins. It's already been effective for them. But when you're outside receivers are Jamar Chase and T. Higgins instead of Jamar Chase and some guy, not to take away from the other receivers on this team, Jermaine Burr made an awesome play on Sunday.
Starting point is 00:05:53 Andre Yosevosh obviously scored two touchdowns, but there's a difference between those guys and T. Higgins. And so the opportunity for them to get into what might be their most effective personnel group of the year, and we'll see how that all plays out. Lots of year left to go. Lots of development left for some of these players. But that's a really tantalizing opportunity
Starting point is 00:06:13 that I'm excited to see if they can get into a little bit more this Sunday with T. Higgins return. Yeah, I think it was, It would be nice. It would be nice to be able to see these guys full scale and see the Mike Gassicki catch and run and how that plays with the T. Higgins on the outside and what he brings to an offense. And then obviously, Jamar, in unlocking Jamar, I think, has been a topic, at least on the social channels this week with the extra day. And you know what helps unlock Jamar is giving the defense more to focus on and think about.
Starting point is 00:06:50 And that's, by the way, what 12 personnel does is I like the wrinkle. And you're right about the Gassiki calf injury. I don't know when, right? The when there is weird to me. Did it happen on Sunday because he was just rumbling and stumbling down the field? And a good way, of course, and making plays, or did it happen in practice on Thursday? And that's what's tough about some of these. Von Bell was also limited on Thursday, was told that that did happen during practice.
Starting point is 00:07:20 So we'll have to watch him. It's a back issue. But yeah, you certainly hope that neither one is serious because obviously Mike Gassiki played great the other day. I almost had that touchdown in week one. It's a big part of the Bengals offense. But Von Bell is a big part of this defense too, Jake. And I know we're talking offense here, but it would suck to not have him available even for a game. Much like because I think if let's say Gatsiki is out, people would be like, oh, man, no Gassiki.
Starting point is 00:07:50 Sicki, that's going to be tough. But losing Vaughn would be equally as tough, just in different ways and a little less flashy, I think, but certainly would be a big loss. I think could very easily be argued to be a more significant hit to the defense. Fobel plays every play, more or less. I mean, he's on the field 98, 99% of the time. Mike Kosicki played half the snaps for the Bengals offense in week two. And you could see that continue with Eric All being a guy that Zach Taylor and Joe Burrow have positive things to say about. We'll get to that a little bit more later on in the show, but he continues to build trust.
Starting point is 00:08:23 So you have a part-time player in offense who does things for you in the receiving game. Was their leading receiver on Sunday? Don't take anything away from Mikeaseki versus the extension of Luana Rumo on the field in Bomb Bell. And there's been a lot of discussion in, you know, my replies at least on social media, and some questions that I've seen, why isn't Jordan Battle playing more? Why isn't, you know, why is Von Bell playing? and couldn't they get Jordan Battle in there a little bit more? Bon Bell isn't playing badly for one,
Starting point is 00:08:53 so I don't really understand that sentiment in the first place. But two, that that extension of Luanarumo on the football field is significant. You're talking about the most explosive offense the Bengals will have faced through three weeks that they will be playing in the Washington commanders on Monday night football. The big issue with their explosive plays last year was communication on the backhand. Bob Bell has largely helped to clean up a lot of those communications. issues the Cincinnati Bengals have had in their secondary. So not a good week to be staring down the barrel of potentially missing Von Bell.
Starting point is 00:09:24 And we'll keep an eye on that injury. Keep an eye on those injury reports. We'll have some updates for you throughout the week on the Lockdown Bengals insider group. That's at join subtext.com slash lockdown Bengals if you're interested in getting some text notification so you don't have to check social media. That is an option for you as well. And we've got some injury updates in the defensive line room to talk about as well. Bengals make a move to try to bolster their defensive trenches.
Starting point is 00:09:51 We'll talk about what's going off that Bengals defensive line coming out next. This episode of Lockdown Bengals is sponsored by Fandul. Fan duel, well, is America's number one sportsbook. We've told you about various offers that they have. They always have something new right now through September 22nd. You're really running out of time at this point to take advantage of this offer. Fandall customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. And then with the YouTube TV base plan, you can watch any regular season Sunday outer market afternoon game.
Starting point is 00:10:31 And all you need is a Google account in a form of payment that you can cancel at any time. You can visit fandle.com to download America's number one sportsbook. Whenever you're ready, you can find the Cincinnati Bengals Monday night football, 7.5. favorites, one of the biggest favorites this week as actually the biggest favorite this week, now that I look through everything, as they get ready to take on the commanders and induct some new members into their ring of honor. Again, check it out at vandal.com to download America's number one sportsbook. All right, Jake, let's get into this defensive front. And let's start with injuries before we get to Lawrence Guy. Lawrence Guy signed.
Starting point is 00:11:12 We talked about him the other day as a potential option for the Bengals. the time the episode premiered and was sent out to all of your devices to listen to, the Bengals had signed him. So we'll get to him in just a second. But from a health standpoint, let's start with the bad news. BJ Hill, Sheldon Rankin's both out, didn't practice on Thursday with hamstring injuries. And then Chris Jenkins limited with a thumb injury. He wore a club on that hand.
Starting point is 00:11:39 Obviously he had surgery. It'll be two weeks ago on Friday. So as you're listening to this, it's probably two weeks ago. And so, I think Chris Jenkins has a shot to play. They're seeing if he's comfortable with that club and can be effective in all of those things. Meanwhile, B.J. Hill, I saw him with a device on his hamstring, keeping it loose, massaging it. I didn't see Sheldon Rankins. I would be surprised to see either one of those guys suit up on Monday night.
Starting point is 00:12:07 Maybe it happens, but I would be surprised. It sounded like B.J. Hill was on the rehab field during practice, and Sheldon Rankins was not spotted outside. Is that in line with here? Great. Not good news on either front, but expected news. I think if either guy had been a participant in practice, that would have been a very pleasant surprise, especially after they went out and signed Lawrence Guy.
Starting point is 00:12:29 The corresponding move there, by the way, KJ. Henry was released, and Shedric Jackson, correct? Released from the practice squad? Yep. To make space for a potential return for KJ. Henry to the practice squad, although that has not occurred yet. As far as I know, James, There's one open spot on the practice squad as of the time of recording.
Starting point is 00:12:49 Yeah, I don't expect anything to happen Thursday. And that's what's interesting. Is it KJ. Henry? Are they looking at someone else? You would assume if K.J. Henry was coming back, he would have done it before Thursday's practice because he would have cleared waivers on Wednesday. You would assume that indeed. KJ. Henry's been active as well and has played a little bit.
Starting point is 00:13:09 And so I don't know if this is a vote of confidence for their rookie, Cedric Johnson or if this is a didn't get what we needed out of KJ Henry situation. I'm not sure, but we'll see who's active as that fourth defensive end this week because we're still not getting Miles Murphy back for a couple more weeks here. He can't come back until week five. So short-handed at the defensive edge, but hopefully Chris Jenkins can play on the defensive interior. Certainly expect Lawrence Guy to play at this point along with J.T. Fele and Zach Carter
Starting point is 00:13:42 because that's all they have. But it will be very interesting to see if they bring up an extra defensive tackle from the practice squad this week. After last week, they opted not to. They suffered some injuries there. And then we're very, very short-handed on the defensive interior. And would that be Justin Rogers, would that be, would that be Dominique Davis? There we go.
Starting point is 00:14:06 I was actually trying to think back as to whether or not I got Rogers name right. That's where I got stuck. It wouldn't be a way without a name. Yeah. It'd be interesting to see which practice squad defensive tackle they would go with if they end up going with one. But again, we have to see how these injuries play out this week. But they are very short-handed of this position, a position that we've talked about throughout the off-season, throughout the regular season, throughout training camp, never a position of strength.
Starting point is 00:14:33 And now is a position that is thin as well. Yeah, it's thin. And it's one that I expect Lauren Skye. like he might be there's a very realistic chance especially if jenkins can't go and even if jenkins can go and is limited he could be d t3 like realistically from from his couch to dt3 am i missing it i is is there anyone else that i mean unless they go practice squad ahead of the veteran i don't think by the way you sign a guy in lawrence guy who's been in the league for 14 years who's 34 years old who's older than me, by the way. Let's go, Jake. Let's go. I'm the young man in the locker room now.
Starting point is 00:15:16 I don't think you do that unless it's like, all right, come in, help us win. You've won a Super Bowl before. You're in great shape. We just worked you out. Let's hit the ground running. And I think that's the plan. I think Lawrence guy is active on Monday and plays a decent amount of snaps. And despite being long in the tooth by NFL standards, he still had some very effective games last year. He can still be a solid player. He also had some games last year that weren't so good. He did play against Washington last year and largely, I believe it's a mostly intact interior for the Washington commanders as far as their offensive line goes. Sam Cosme still around there. So perhaps some familiarity with the opponent, just having played them last year. Nick Allegretti
Starting point is 00:16:04 is now starting for the Washington commanders as well. He was with the Chiefs last year. So that is a difference. Tyler Biatta is also a difference. Okay, so I take it back entirely. Only one of those interior offensive linemen, the same as last year, and that's Sam Cosby. But either way, Lawrence Guy is probably going to be relied on to play quite a bit right away because they do not have anyone else.
Starting point is 00:16:29 Yeah, he is. And it's the argument we made. Now, we weren't making the argument for Lawrence Guy this offseason. but Callias Campbell, it's like if it's a one-year deal, who cares how old he is? Like, you're not committing to him long term. You want them to be good for you this year. You want them to be good for you in this situation. You want him to be good for you right now and get you through week three against Washington
Starting point is 00:16:55 and week four against Carolina. And then hopefully you have some reinforcements coming down the fight that you can see. And we'll see if that happens. But he appears to be in pretty darn good shame. They, they're excited about, they were excited about his workout, what he showed. And so for a guy that was released in February, has been out there, was waiting for the right opportunity. And a lot of guys say that, I think it was the case.
Starting point is 00:17:23 Like, he could have been on a practice squad somewhere and he wanted to find a winning culture, winning opportunity. And so this is his chance. And by the way, who knows? Maybe he plays his way into a regular role period. and it isn't just this, he's in there now because of all these injuries. They need bodies. It's something we've talked about.
Starting point is 00:17:45 So if he plays well, he's going to have a role for quite some time, if not the whole season. That's obviously the best case scenario. The best case scenario is that he can contribute to you, especially in run situations, assuming you get BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankin's back before too long, and that he can provide something for you all season. The reality, unfortunately, is not to rain on the parade too hard or anything, is that he's a street free agent that you're signing in September. And they've been here before where they've had to sign defensive tackles off the street.
Starting point is 00:18:15 They've been able to get something out of these guys in the past, but it's tough. It's not a place you want to live. Obviously, it's a difficult place to try to succeed in the NFL. But hopefully, Lauren's guy with all that experience and a plenty of skins on the wall can be the right veteran move at this point in the season. Yeah, they need it. They need it, need it, need it, need it, got to have it. We'll see if they get it.
Starting point is 00:18:38 But let's go from veteran defense to Joe Burrow, in his praise for young players on the offense. Some rookies will discuss the rookies coming up next. Today's show is brought to by prize picks. Prize picks is the app you need to download right now. It's America's number one daily fantasy sports app with over 5 million active members. And with prize picks, it is the most exciting way to play daily fantasy. because all you do is pick more or less on two to six player stat projections and watch the winnings roll in prize picks is awesome.
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Starting point is 00:19:41 That's go locked on NFL on price picks and get $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It is guaranteed. Price Picks run your game. James, Joe Burrow offering high praise for some Cincinnati Bengals offensive rookies. And we start with Jermaine Burton, who had the most explosive play so far of the Cincinnati Bengals season on Sunday. And Burrow went as far to say that he has had exponential growth, exponential improvement through the regular season so far.
Starting point is 00:20:15 I don't know if you know how exponential growth works, but that's a line that points straight up on the graph. That is some lofty, lofty praise for Burrough for Burton, who could carve out a role here, could continue to refine and provide something for this offense now that they've seen him do it in a regular season game. he fits perfectly on paper and in hopefully that that growth has happened. And what I would say is we've heard Joe Burrough say other things about Jermaine, right?
Starting point is 00:20:46 He needs to get in the playbook, needs to keep working. It's not like he just throws out, praise to throw it out. And the other point that's, I think, even worth noting more so, he was asked about Eric All, not Jermaine Burt. It's not like someone said, oh, hey, Jermaine, what do you think of Jermaine's progress? No, he was asked about Eric All and he said, well, there's two rookies that were really going to be banking on. And then he ended up saying three because of Amarius. But the fact that he was asked about All turns that into mentioning Germain finishes his answer about all, which is his answer about all, which is huge praise.
Starting point is 00:21:20 And we can get to him in a second. And then I fall up like, all right, well, what about Germain? Like, what is it about him? And just it just feels different. And hopefully he is getting it because we see the talent. and you remember the draft night where Zach is pounding his fists on that team. Like they want to play him. I know they do.
Starting point is 00:21:41 They're excited about him as a player. And so can he get everything down to be out there and contribute it and be a deep threat? Where, I mean, can you imagine? And I don't think he's going to play in the slot much. But outside, you have Jermaine Burton, the deep threat. You have T. Higgins on the other side. And then you have Jemar Chase in the slot. That feels pretty good to me.
Starting point is 00:22:02 Jake, let's go. So hopefully that that can be a reality much sooner than later. That package is exciting. I think that what that begins to make me think about is we talked earlier in the show about 12 personnel and how they have all these different 12 personnel packages they can get to now with three different tight ends. They like quite a bit. They probably still like Tanner Hudson quite a bit too. I know some fans don't want to hear that. I think that's probably still the case. Just go back to week one, go back to last year, the way they talk. about Tanner Hudson. I think that's still the case. We'll see when he returns. But not only can they be personnel versatile in 12 personnel, they can also be personnel versatile in 11 personnel when
Starting point is 00:22:45 Jermaine Burton is ready to play a handful of snaps a game more than we've seen him so far this year. When he's ready to play, say, 20, 30, even more snaps per game. Well, now you've got this vertical deep threat in Jermaine Burton, who allows you to move Jemar Chase around with he and T. Higgins outside. And to your point, I think that is a really interesting personnel package that allows them to get to one of their favorite LSU Joe Burrough staple plays, 989, two verticals on the outside and a poster dig on the inside with Jermar Chase on that poster dig, which typically is eye candy. It's typically not the primary on that play, but with Jemar running it, that changes is the way you approach that play a little bit from a quarterback perspective in Joe Burrow, I would imagine.
Starting point is 00:23:33 And then you think about the other skill sets they have a wide receiver that we're still excited about. I know a lot of fans are down on Trent Nervin right now, but if Jermann Burtt can play more, they probably don't need to play Trent Nerva as much because if Jamar Chase and T. Higgins are out there, then your third guy is going to more likely be a rotation of given the trends for snaps, Andre Yosevash and Jermaine Burton. You've got one guy who excels it uncovering in the Venn zone, who's been awesome in those short areas, has had a nose to score touchdowns in his career. We would like to see him play better between the 20s, sure, but he's great in the red zone.
Starting point is 00:24:08 He has been going back to late in his rookie year when he started to come on. You've got another guy who you can use as the explosive play threat between the 20s and Jermaine Burton, and suddenly your wide receiver rotation outside of T. Higgins and Jemar Chase could become a lot clearer in terms of roles that you have and where you like to use those guys and a lot more exciting in terms of youth getting opportunities to show what they can do in the future for this team. Yeah, yeah, I think it can come together. And I think that's the beauty of this now is can tea get a little healthier and be ready Monday? Can Eric all hopefully Mike is okay, Mike is sickie? That's the last thing you want right now as all settles into his role and sample, obviously, has a role on this offense.
Starting point is 00:24:54 You want Mike to be out there. And the other part of this is Amarius. And he limited again on Thursday. And I am curious now what the limited meets. Did he do team drills? Did he not? Because if he did team drills for X amount of snaps, but took a few off and that's why he's limited,
Starting point is 00:25:16 well, that's great. Last week I know he didn't do team drills. And that's why he was limited. So I do think that getting him out there in team is crucial before you make him active and you want to do that. And we'll see if they do. And maybe it's one more rest day, so to speak, without team. And then Friday, he does some team drills. And they're off and running. So I am watching Amarius pretty closely too, because for all of the excitement about Jermaine and the excitement about Eric All in this offense, Amarius Mims was so
Starting point is 00:25:50 awesome in camp and in that first preseason game. And it would be nice for him to be healthy, even if he doesn't start. And I don't think he will on Monday, even if he's active. I don't think he's going to start. But that's okay. I just want to see big number 71 out there and active. I mean, how many snaps of Cody Ford play on Sunday? Was it six? Do I have that rate? Six, yeah. The improvement that you get out of, it was five, the improvement that you get out of putting a Marius Mims in that extra lineman spot or that unbalanced line. where they move Trent Brown, or not Trent Brown, Orlando Brown to the right tackle on one play in the red zone and try to go unbalance. The improvement that you get with putting the athletic giant of Amarious Mims out there in that extra lineman package is exciting to think about in that sub package,
Starting point is 00:26:38 even if he isn't starting, to your point, James. And just the peace of mind to have Amarious Mims coming off the bench, if you need a tackle to come into the game is also, a big boost. So hopefully, like you said, Friday, big practice for our Mario Spins. If we can see him go full, that would be a huge indicator that he will be ready to go. If we get that indicator on Friday, we'll be feeling very positive about his ability to play on Monday night. And the last one that we need to talk about as far as these rookies go is Eric Hall, who Joe Burrow was asked about. Had nice things to say about Eric All, certainly. But Zach Taylor's quote on Eric Hall stands out to me a little bit more than even what Burroughs said,
Starting point is 00:27:20 about putting a lot on Eric All's plate and reiterating, as we have reiterated on this podcast many times, the difficulty in transitioning from college football to pro football for tight ends and the amount of different responsibilities on their plate. And we've seen Eric All in a variety of alignments doing a variety of things for this team. And the fact that Zach Taylor talked about how much they can put on his plate already as a rookie and talked about that transition being tough, speaks to the level of confidence this coaching staff has an Eric all,
Starting point is 00:27:53 and I think is a bullish sign for him going forward long term as a future starting tight end for this team. Yeah, I agree. I think, hey, he might be starting week eight. Like, I mean, he's just the trajectory. You want to talk about the trajectory with this guy. I mean, he was cleared August 1, August 2, like something like that where he's cleared.
Starting point is 00:28:20 It was after the first week of camp, maybe it was at the end of July. But to go from that to, ah, we're going to take it slow. Yeah. And I think they did plan to take it slow. And it's just like Zach said, they've been putting this on his plate, checks that box, eats the meal that's on the plate. They give him a bigger meal on the plate. He eats that meal.
Starting point is 00:28:39 It's just crushing food, man. No, I think whatever it is, he's getting it. And I've talked to him a couple of times about the playbook, and it's just he's so much more confident now than he was a few weeks ago or a month ago. And obviously you just hear, you see Joe's reaction when asked about Eric, Zach's reaction when asked about Eric. He's doing all of the right things. And the other thing that I love to highlight is the joint practice with the Colts. And I've highlighted a couple times on the pot, but he was not afraid to mix it up. guys are talking trash to him he's like all right well we we can do that he's got he's got that to him
Starting point is 00:29:18 he's about that life and and you want that he's got a little nasty to him and he also really really enjoys blocking so a lot to like about eric all and he's off to a heck of a start like in april when they picked him was it i think it was in the draft when they picked him i had been may may first but fourth round you're like all right well he's got the injury history what is he going to do. I think this is like the best case scenario. Like he's a significant contributor right away. And that's what he's been. And you just love to see it. He's playing to the upside they hoped they would get when they drafted him at what they perceived. And many, to be honest, perceived to be a discount because of that perceived injury risk. And hopefully he can
Starting point is 00:30:00 continue that ascension with the Bengals because that is an exciting future. We'll keep an eye on how things are going with those practices over the next couple of days. Like I said, our next show will come to you on Sunday. We'll have a game preview for you. You can be enjoying watching Red Zone with your free three-week trial of NFL Sunday ticket perhaps, or if you already have Sunday ticket, I guess I'm not sure if that free trial includes Red Zone. But either way, if you're enjoying out-of-market games on Sunday in one way, shape, or form, we'll have a preview for you for that Monday night game shortly thereafter. And James, you talked about food. You made me hungry. We got to end the show.
Starting point is 00:30:40 Sorry to the people. You can blame James. He brought up food on the podcast and I got to go eat now. So until next time, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Ho-Day. And have a good one. I'm hungry, too. Just throwing it out there.

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