Hi, get everybody.

I'm Dan Hoard and thanks for downloading The Bengals Booth Podcast.

The I guess you just want I needed addition as the Bengals opened the season with a road win in Cleveland.

Coming up radio replays, locker room comments, and postgame analysis from Dave Lapham.

Then, in this week's fun Facts Conversation, it's a visit with an all time favorite, Adriel Jeremiah Green.

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It's the greatest thing since Don Giller.

Okay, this is going to take me a few minutes because it falls under the heading of story Time with Dan.

About fifteen years ago, while I was in New York City to broadcast the Big East Tournament.

I attended my first taping of The David Letterman Show with former Cincinnati Inquirer beat writer Bill Cook, and we learned that Dave would come out and take a question or two from the audience before the show began.

The following year, I was able to get tickets again, and for whatever reason, I was picked to sit in the front row.

So when Dave came out to take questions from the audience, I stuck up my hand and began frantically waving like horse Shack from Welcome Back Cotter.

Sure enough, Dave picked me and asked where I was from.

I told him Cincinnati and that I was in New York to broadcast It's the Big East Tournament on WLW Radio, knowing that Dave had listened to the station as a kid growing up in Indiana.

After he informed the audience that WLW was one of the nation's most legendary radio stations, I invited him to be a guest color commentator on the UC Bearcat's Big Eiaest Tournament game the next day, and added that I might actually need him because my broadcast partner had once been kicked out of an NCAA tournament game for yelling at the referees.

If you don't know that story, my pal, the late great Chuck Mayshock got kicked out for yelling at official Mike Kits in a tournament game between Cincinnati and Gonzaga.

Well, David Letterman began laughing hysterically and asked me for all of the details.

By the time I finished telling the story about Chuck getting tossed out, the opening theme song started and it was time for the show to begin.

About thirty seconds later, Dave ran out onto the stage, and here's how his opening monologue began.

Gentlemen, I don't usually do this, but because it's a Friday night, you're all in such a great mood, I thought I would kick off the program this evening with an impression is my impression of a basketball radio color commentator.

At that point, the camera cut to me, laughing like a hyena in the front row.

Getting tossed out of his coverage of the NCAA double basketball MC double.

Okay's a It's gonna be good, ain't His partner or seated court side broadcasting the game back to well, let's just say Cincinnati the color commentator is such a homer that when there's trouble for the home team, the Cincinnati Bearcats, he becomes so incensed that he jumps to his feet and starts heckling the referee.

Okay and go something like this.

Are you crazy?

Thank you very much?

And just like that.

Dave's ad libbed imitation of Chuck Mayshock became a running gag throughout the rest of the episode, complete with the addition of Cincinnati sponsors.

Yeah, he wasn't traveling.

What are you blind?

That's not traveling.

Okay, we'll be right back after this message from Kroger's.

After each condition of Dave's out of control basketball announcer, the camera cut to me doubled over in laughter at the Ed Sullivan Theater.

Anderson brings the ball up the half court, takes a dribble.

Nobody open, bounce past to Johnson.

Johnson dribbles for the key, comes back out.

Oh from three point range.

He takes a shot.

It's good.

His foot was on the line.

His foot was on the line.

What's the matter with you?

Hey was on the line.

Okay, we'll be right back after this message from Queen City Tires.

It went like that for the rest of the episode, and just before doing the top ten list, Dave read a card that explained what happened to Chuck and introduced me in the audience.

So let me go back to where we started.

It's the greatest thing since Don Giller.

I've been trying to get my hands on the videotape of that episode for years, and recently learned that Don has archives of nearly every show that Letterman hosted, more than six thousand in all.

So I looked him up on Facebook and sent a message explaining the situation.

One day later, he sent the video to me with permission from Letterman's production company.

So Don and Dave, thanks for a great memory.

All right, the Bengals are one to zero.

Let's get to the radio replays from Sunday's win in Cleveland.

After months of talking about and hearing about the need to get off to a fast start, the Cincinnati Bengals finally get the opportunity to do it as they look to kick off the season with a road win in Cleveland.

It's the Bengals and Browns on Opening Day, and it is time for the pigskin to fly.

Here at Huntington bank field second and a long yard.

The ball is in between the four and the five of Cleveland.

Burrow waits for a shotgun snap at the ten goes in motion.

They hand it off to Chase Brown.

He's running left.

He'll go into the end zone.

Touchdown.

Chase Brown in the Bengals.

As Cincinnati begins the season with a twelve play touchdown drive that took half of the first quarter off the clock.

The Browns are going to go for it on fourth downend goal from the one.

Flacco hands it off Rocket Sanders into the end zone for a Cleveland touchdown.

But there's a penalty flag at the five yard live.

Yeah, and let's see it's called from the other side of the formation.

The play was run to the right.

Was a Cleveland Brown offensive lineman with a off side to the lineup off side.

Let's see it is a touchdown.

There's no fire.

Had two extra offensive linemen are coming into the game.

The Bengals will have seven offensive linemen on the field.

Boy, that field is sinking now, it's not tilted his sinking.

Cody Ford lines up like a full back at about three hundred and fifty pounds.

Third down, end goal inside the one.

Burrow wants to throw his pass, caught by a wide open Noah Fant, who throws the ball high into the air in celebration as the Bengal score their second touchdown.

And this will be a forty five yard try for a kicker with the number twenty five.

That's unusual.

The kick is on its way, it has the distance, and it is good.

So the Browns pull within four with twenty three seconds left in the half, and Cleveland's going to get the ball to begin the third quarter with an opportunity to potentially take the lead.

On first and goal from the five, Flacco looking to pass his throw caught in the middle of the end zone by Cedric Tillman for a Cleveland go ahead touchdown.

Second down and sixteen after that six yard sack for Trey Hendrickson, Flacco fakes a hand off.

Here comes the rush his pass over the middle and it is intercepted offer ricochet by Jordan Battle.

He's running it back at the twenty five and he'll be tackled after getting down to the twenty five yard line.

Evan McPherson will try to give Cincinnati the lead.

This will be a thirty five yard field goal attempt from the right hash out of the hold of Ryan Rico.

Two fifty two remaining, third quarter, Cincinnati trails by two.

Here comes the thirty five yard kick, the swing of the right leg, a high spinning, end over end kick, and it gives Cincinnati a one point lead.

Flacco catches the shotgun snap passes over the middle, dropped by Judy.

I'm the Bengals takeover back to back drops by the Cleveland brown amazing.

And two very fine throws from Joe Flacco.

With two thirty to go, the Browns trying to take the lead.

Bojorquez catches, puts it down.

It's kick on the way, No, no good.

He missed it wide right.

He missed a pat wide right, and Schmidt misses a go ahead field goal tried wide right.

Two twenty two to go.

I mean go to the sideline right now.

It's tough for him to look teammates in the eye.

No prouds go no huddle, yep, two minutes drill, no huddle, and have it at their own forty three yard line.

Flacco looking to throw his pass.

And is intercepted.

It went off the finger tips of Tillman.

DJ Turner comes up with a football him that is coffin nails.

Bam bam bam about Turner Man.

Thirty seconds to go, the rookie snapper Wagner fires it back.

Here comes a high end, over end punt.

It's going to bounce at the nine, nice and the Bengals will down it at the one.

And it also took eleven seconds off the clock.

Man p J.

Jewles standing in perfect position.

He gambled a bit, allowing that oblong ball to bounce in his direction, but ultimately he played it perfectly.

Forty nine yard punt, eleven seconds taken off the clock, and the Browns have to start from their own one.

Eight seconds to go.

Flacco back to throw from the end zone.

Now he throws up the field, bobbled and caught.

The Bengals make the tackle at the twenty nine yard line and that ends the game.

The Cincinnati Bengals are one and oh doesn't that sound good?

Yes, it does, as they come to Cleveland and win on opening day seventeen to sixteen.

So the Bengals obviously got some help from Brown's rookie kicker Andre Schmid, but if you think about it, Cincinnati wouldn't have lost an opening Day in twenty twenty two to Pittsburgh if Evan McPherson didn't miss an extra point and a chip shot field goal in overtime.

In money max case, it was due to an injury to long snapper Clark Harris.

The key to the win on Sunday in Cleveland was a defense that bent at times but rarely broke, holding the Browns to forty nine rushing yards on twenty four carries while intercepting Joe Flacco twice.

Jordan Battle had the first of those picks and I talked to him after the game.

Gave up sixteen points and got two takeaways on defense, What did you think you guys did best on defense today?

Stopped the run.

I think they had like a two point zero average rushing today.

So d Lion frous seven did a great job, you know, stopping run.

So Joker put the ball in their so give us a chance to make plays on the ball.

Your interception was huge.

It ultimately led to the field goal that gave the Bengals to lead back for good.

Describe that play.

Yeah, it was great play obviously, you know playing cover two, you know, just breaking on the ball.

A quarterback made up throw inside, was forced to receive.

I think it was three to tip it and then you know just to focus to you know, maintain and catch the ball, you know, and uh put us.

Put the office in striking position.

And DJ got the one that more or less clinched to win the first of his NFL career.

That's what al it's been preaching.

Yeah, yeah, exactly plus two getting takeaways, you know, ball disrupting.

We've been working at the whole camp and uh, they sold today.

Describe your emotions on the Browns final field goal attempt.

Uh, Hey, I was.

I was super excited, you know obviously you know, just coming off the coming off the field, you know, getting to stop.

They had good field position.

Uh.

And then obviously you're gonna stop, get off the field on fourth down and then you see a kicker go out there and you know miss a kick.

Uh, It's it's very relieving and it's very you know, that's cheerful for us.

That's joy and that means hard.

Especially know on the office.

We got he had missed the pat from roughly the same distance.

In your mind, does that make you think he might miss again?

So sure?

You know obviously, Uh, with the way the game is going.

Uh, obviously it's a division game, you know, you know, all all tension is up.

You know when he goes out there, it's just him, you know, he has to he has to make a tough kit and obviously is always going.

You don't know how it's gonna go.

It can be a make, it can be a miss.

You're one and h for the first time in your NFL career.

Hey, describe how it feels in this room.

Hey, it feels excellently, you know, especially being one to know on a division.

Uh that that can that can put us on top, you know, based on how the other games go.

But uh, yeah, that was that was the main thing coming in the weakue one you know.

Uh, like you said, my first time at the bingals, being one.

To O to start the season.

So it's obviously great.

And grants on the win.

Thank you, thank you.

That's Jordan Battle.

Battle finished the game of the team high twelve tackles.

Demetrius Knight had ten in his first NFL game, and Trey Hendrickson had a sack and three quarterback hits.

The offensive numbers weren't as good.

Joe Burrow is held to one hundred and thirteen passing yards, and the Bengals only managed forty six yards on the ground gone twenty three carries like Cleveland.

That's two yards per attempt.

But are you really worried about the Bengals offense figuring it out?

I'm not.

Here's Burrow.

We'll take it.

Anytime you can win like this, you kind of steal one.

So we stole one today and we're gonna have to be better.

These early games are always tough.

You got to be able to establish the run, and that's what we want to be on offense.

We want to be able to run the ball.

On first half it was great, and then you the second half, the all pasts of the offense just weren't good enough.

So we gotta get better.

Even win any of these games last year, and so usually when you can win a game like this, that's a recipe for success and it means you're going to be some a good team if you can find a lot of different ways to win than we did today.

Joe's first touchdown pass of the year went to newcomer Noah Fan who led the team with four catches in his Bengals debut.

Here's my conversation with a twenty seven year old tight end.

Not a bad debut in a Bengals uniform.

Noah caught a pass in the first play of the game and caught a touchdown pass from Joe Burrow.

Describe your emotions after your Bengals debut.

It's been a whirlwind the last month for me, but I've been super excited to be able to come in and work and get to know the offense and all those things and be able to make some place today was really cool.

I'm more focused on, like, like first and for us, we got to win.

There was some things that we can clean up out there, so it's like it's gonna be nice to go back to the film and watch that and like get to pick up on all those things where we can improve on to like really put us in a good position to like close.

Out games a lot better than we did.

So there were some good things.

There were some bright spots, but I was that I was happy about.

But definitely looking forward to to getting back to the drawing board and improving on some of these things.

That feel like we kind of left out there a little bit.

I wondered if you would be a bit of a hidden weapon today in the sense that the opponent didn't see you much in a Bengals uniform in the preseason.

Did do you feel like they used you in a sense that way?

Well, I think, which is one of the reasons why I wanted to come here, is like I think that's it's hard to like, you have so many really good players on the offense, It's like it's hard to just like hone in on anybody, and like it gives me an opportunity to find like the nooks and crannies of the defense that might not be covered.

So it was.

It was a cool experience for me, and I've been trying to kind of find my footing there and find my way and doing that.

But I'm excited, like I said before, I'm excited to really get this thing going on offense and really score a lot of points.

So it'll be good.

It'll be good.

The touchdown was interesting.

Seven offensive lineman Cody Ford three hundred and fifty pounds lining up at full back.

They're obviously thinking the Bengals are going to try and stuff it down their throat and there you are.

Wide though.

Yeah, no, that was a great play design by our offensive staff and.

We detailed it up and obviously those are.

The nice ones right now in the goal line, It's like that's those are the pretty ones of the nice ones.

There's a lot of dirty work to be done down there, so looking forward to that and looking forward to getting to that all.

So, so, how happy are you for the defense considering how heavily scrutinized they've been to only give up sixteen points, to get two takeaways and opening down.

I mean, I don't know what more you could ask for them.

Two takeaways, like you said, held them to sixteen points.

I think they they held into two yards per carry or something like that.

It's like, that's a great showing for a defense.

So I'm happy for all those guys.

They've put the work in and here disfe Like from the time I've been there, been here, they bust their butts.

So I'm happy for him.

It was expected, like I think that they're gonna put keep putting great games together.

So yeah, it's been it's it's been awesome, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

For the last question for Noah Fant on the missed field goal by Cleveland, he had missed a pat from roughly the same distance.

Do you think there's a chance they'll miss again.

I mean, I don't.

I'm not sure it helped us.

So that's all I really care about.

I don't wish bad things on anybody, but that was a great miss that we needed.

So it was it was a good thing for us, and we came out with the win.

That definitely helped us a lot because of that.

So I was happy with that and happy to be able to get the win in the win column.

So that's what that mattered to us.

Congrats on a great debut and a win.

Thank you.

So the Bengals practiced in the morning a training camp, played their starters in the preseason games, and had more physical practices.

It didn't produce a masterpiece, but it did result in a Week one win.

Dave Lapham discussed it with head coach Zach Taylor.

Coach, that was a physical football game.

Do you think training camp, the way you conducted your training camp this year helped you in this encounter.

Our guys were ready, you know, physically, they were ready, mentally they were ready.

We knew there was gonna be times or it wasn't clean.

There was gonna be times We faced adversity, we're just gonna have to stick together and someone's gonna have to rise up and win it.

Our defense made some huge plays for us down the stretch that allow us to win that game.

So just really proud of the effort all those guys gave.

And there's plenty to clean up and I'm happy, more than happy to clean it up after a win.

That's exactly right.

I mean, win makes things so everything tastes better, everything looks better.

A win is what it's all about.

Plus two in the turnover department, that's big.

I mean, in the AFC North, games are going to be won by teams that are a plus one plus two plus three in the turnover battle.

How proud are you are?

That?

Extremely proud.

That's a week one winning stat right there is When it's a one score game like that, just look at the turnover margin and see who won the turnover managin, that's probably who won the game.

And you look at the New England game last year, that's exactly what happened.

You look at the Cleveland game this year.

That's how we got to turn in our favor.

Joe Burrow had what I would call in a fishing day at the quarterback position.

I mean, he did what he had to do for you to win the football game, had a touchdown, passed, no turnovers, kind of operated within the confines of what you wanted to do game plan wise and structure wise.

How would you evaluate his performance today?

Good?

Good?

Week one is no slouch, you know, especially playing defense.

Really proud of the guys up front.

You know, they really kept him clean.

We had a three play stretch there at the end of the game that was not our best.

All we're all accountable for that.

But at the same time, I thought, over the course of the day, they gave us what we needed to be able to win, and we know offensively will improve him.

Before that was not our best.

We left a lot of meat on the bone.

But again I'm more than happy to make those corrections coming out of a win.

When you go against that type of a defensive unit where they have an unbelievable coach, they have a tremendous defensive coordinator, great position coaches, they're good teachers, and they have all their guys on the same page doing, you know, things exactly the way they're supposed to be done.

That's a difficult way to start, isn't it.

It's challenging.

You had an experienced coordinator, experience defense, and again it starts as ninety five.

You know, he had to count for him on every single play.

He tries to find a way to wreck every run, every pass, run at him, run away from him, chip him, lick him, whatever you got to do.

He's difficult, and he finds a way to affect the game at a key moment.

And he did it today and we're fortunate that we were able to come some of that.

Two of the best edge defensive guys in the National Football League, maybe in the history of the National Football League in Miles Garrett and Trea Hendrickson.

Both of them, I thought put on a show.

I mean, you know, they're not playing against each other, they're not lining up against each other.

It's not that type of mono a mono battle.

Bit man.

They did a lot of things to help their football teams, didn't they.

They sure did.

And Trey again is a huge piece of what we're doing.

Just his presidence out there and to be able to play with a lead at the end of the game allows him to do what he does best.

You know, and Key got to throw at situations he's going to affect the passer, they got to account for him with somebody that can get down in the route.

And so I was happy with what he gave us today.

Coach, I thought you did an unbelievable job the way you handled training camp in that the physicality like we talked about.

But with that said, you didn't overdo it.

You didn't beat guys up, you didn't knock guys heads off and all that sort of thing.

Everybody came into this football game all hands on deck.

How big was that?

Huge?

You know where you needed everybody in this game.

And so again proud of the way the guys have taken care of it, embraced it.

They understand why we practiced the way we did.

They understood when we were going to get them a chance to get their bodies back, and they came out and gave us their best effort.

Evan McPherson, I mean, in a game where it came down to special teams, came down to kicking, Kevin McPherson stepped up for you.

Didn't he he did?

You know, Evan's had a great consistent camp and we got a lot of trust in him.

Up next, the home opener is The Bengals open in Orange next Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are also one to zero after beating Carolina twenty six to ten.

The Bengals Booth Podcast is brought to you by pay Corps, proud to be the Bengals official HR software provider, by Alta Fiber future Proof Fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business, and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health, the best care for the best fans.

Kettering Health is the official healthcare provider off the Bengals.

Now time for the radio guys recap lap.

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but the Bengals won on opening day in spite of their offense.

The offense scored touchdowns on two of the first three drives.

Really struggled after that, but defense and special teams turned out to be the difference.

Absolutely, And the biggest difference was the pitiful performance of the kicker for the Cleveland Brown special teams.

I mean, he left four points out.

There for that's a Syracuse grad.

Be kind Yeah, I know, really.

Man, Let's go Orange.

Well, let's go he did it for us.

I love it, but man, that was a hard fought, very physical football game.

I mean, both teams left it out there.

They gave superlative effort.

Everybody played every snap as hard as they possibly could.

Nobody gave up on any snaps.

It was a typical AFC North football game and had to play it on the road in Cleveland to open the season, so I mean there was some brutality to it.

It was not pretty.

In fact, it was brutally ugly.

But I'll take a UW and ugly win anytime over a pl a pretty lost.

Love a good u W.

And to the Bengals, credit special team's great play at the end of the game to down the ball at the one and take eleven seconds off the clock.

I mean, other than some penalties, they played mistake free football.

They did, and Darren Simmons has to be excited about how they went out and performed.

There were some new guys on his special teams units, there always are, but you know, I thought that the Bengals basically handled the field position part of it.

They never put themselves in harm's way from a field position standpoint.

And then Cleveland, you know, I mean they get the ball down on him at the one yard line.

It was just a phenomenal effort to down that football.

I mean, had total field awareness, knew exactly where he had to go to keep that ball out of the end zone.

It was close.

I mean he was kind of tight roping that tight roping that goal line a little bit.

I mean, if you stepped on it, it would have been a two point play.

But it worked out.

And the Cincinnati Bengals, you know, are are winners in this football game, and honestly, then I think they're gonna win a lot of football games.

I'm thinking about all the practices where the Bengals begin with these ball disruption drills like four stations where guys are punching it out and knocking up into the air, et cetera, all in hopes of winning the turnover battle.

Well, they're up to zip to begin the season.

Great reactions by Jordan Battle and DJ Turner to come up with those picks.

Absolutely, I mean those were not, you know, easy picks.

They had a lot of work to do there.

First of all, their coverage was right on point, and that's the first thing that I think jumps out at me when I think about those plays and look forward to watching them.

Again, I thought that their coverage was dynamic on those plays.

And you know, if if a receivers going to tip the ball, you know, defensive backs or ballhawks, man, they're trained.

They do all kinds of drills every single day on you know, if the ball's airborne, it's your ball, go up and get it.

And the Bengals did that twice.

And that's you know, you can say a lot of things about Joe in the game.

It was not a pretty game for Joe.

In fact, Joe probably would not say it's one of his better performances, obviously, but the biggest thing that Joe did was not put the ball in harm's way.

He gave his team a chance.

Every time they had the football, you know that they had a chance to do something with it because he wasn't giving it back to the Cleveland Browns right away.

The offense was so sharp in training camp and in the preseason games, at least when the starters were out there.

Did we more or less learn today that the Browns defense is back?

Is that why the offense struggled to the extent that it did.

I really believe that.

I mean, I think Cleveland has the ability with the personnel that they have and the defensive coordinator they have, the scheme that he puts out there with those players.

And in doing the post game show a Zach he said, believe me, they got plenty of players, and they got plenty of really good football players, and they can do a lot of things very well, and their coordinator puts them in good position to take advantage of their physical and mental skill sets.

So uh that that was a good defensive football team.

They may not face, you know, uh another defense as good as that Cleveland defense till they play the other AFC North teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Baltimore Ravens.

That's what this that's what this division is all about.

That's why I think it's so encouraging to everybody in Bengal fans in particular, that the Bengals did so much to improve their defense and to you know, get get closer to what is going on in the the other cities in the AFC North on on that side of the football, and I think, uh, I think they got the right guy to put it all together.

I'm very encouraged by what I've seen out of Al Golden.

Give a hat tip to Duke Tobin in the personnel department, because after training camp began, they signed Noah Fan four catches in a touchdown today.

They added Dalton Rise near late.

He winds up playing most of the game at right guard.

They picked up Mike Knell a week ago.

Less than a week ago.

He played a chunk of snaps today.

So you usually don't think about guys added after the start of training camp being huge factors on opening Day, but they were.

They were, and some of them, you know, right before the game.

I mean literally had very little time to familiarize themselves, you know, with the scheme and their teammates, you know.

And it hats off to the position coaches and coordinators that spent time with those guys getting them up to speed where they could go out there and handle business, you know, against a defense of this caliber up in Cleveland.

I've seen a lot of AFC North games up here, and it's always tough letting this defense never bolds their tent.

They never they never rolled over and played dead.

I mean, they're gonna make you earn every center meter that you that you gain out there in the stat sheets.

So I think that those guys, you know, made significant contributions, and and one of them inside.

You know, we talked about the interior of the offensive line being a big key to success.

I mean to go out there and play with I mean very little time to get familiar in acquainted with what was going on, that's a.

That's a huge, huge plus.

And you know, to work as efficiently as you did next to mems And and next to Ted Carris, that's that's big time.

That's that's NFL football right there, and that's an NFL football player.

I'm sure in you're playing days, there were games like this where the offense didn't play nearly as well as you anticipated, but the breaks went your way, the other team missed the field goal or an extra point.

What's the emotion as an offensive player when you you sneak out of the stadium with a win like that?

Yeah, I mean I've been in you know, many games over the years, NFL, college, high school, where you know, it's like you go into the locker room after the game and you know it didn't you didn't play all that great individually and as a unit, and you just go up to defensive players and you're hugging and you say, man, thanks, I appreciate your man for saving our hide, saving our tail, because you know, we didn't we didn't do what we thought we were going to do today.

We had higher hopes, bigger.

Aspirations than than the you know, than the the bad performance that we put out there today.

So but the good news is, you know it'll the warm will turn the other way too, and the offense will you know, save the save the defense on more than one occasion.

That's what good teams do.

And in my mind, this is a good football team.

Well here you go.

They gave up sixteen and opening day last year and lost.

They gave up sixteen and opening day this year, and what I love it?

I love That's That's about as simple, you know, uh a statement as you can make.

And and you know, I feel like defensively played winning football.

Special teams played winning football.

Offensively didn't play winning football, but you know, didn't do anything you know that was such a you know, a bad scenario that you put the defense in a situation that they couldn't crawl out of.

So all in all, it's a win.

What you want to do is you want to come up to Cleveland on opening Day, do your rival quiet the fans get a win.

When we get on the bus, as we drive out of this stadium, they'll all be going nuts.

I'm sure we'll see a lot of middle fingers.

It will be fun.

They'll all be real happy and excited.

And as I have to say, you won by one, and now what that fingers.

That's a good call, Dan, They'll be flipping us off like crazy.

But you know it's everybody will be laughing and smiling in that in those buses.

For sure.

We remember when Cleveland was thought to be Joe Burrow's kryptonite.

He lost his first four starts of his career against the Browns four and one since, so that narrative is long gone.

It is, it's long gone, and you know, chuck up another one.

Joe Burrow is a class act.

Joe Burrow is a phenomenal football player.

It means everything to him.

His life is his football.

You know, he's got a dad that was a successful coach at the collegiate level.

I mean that family is all about the game of football, and I think it.

Always will be.

Could to be one and no, my man.

Excellent, awesome to be one and oh again the man.

Last time the Bengals started the season with a win.

They finished the season in the Super Bowl.

My first game is the Bengals radio announcer was also in Cleveland, a game that Cincinnati won on a fourth quarter touchdown pass from Bruce Gradkowski to the subject of this week's fun Fact segment.

Time for some fun facts with one of the greatest players in Bengals history, aj Green.

If a Bengals game is on, are you watching or does it depend on what you have going on in your regular life.

I'm always watching at some point, you know what I mean.

But uh yeah, most part I'm watching that all times.

You played in ten games with Joe Burrow his rookie year year, last year in Cincinnati.

A year later he was in the Super Bowl.

What was different about Joe from just about anybody else you played with.

I think his his leadership, not the aspect of him just talking so much, is more leading that example, And you want a quarterback who's the same guy every day, and I think that's what separates him from the other guys because you're gonna, you know what you're gonna get out of Joe every week.

And to play that position, you have to be that low key.

You can't be a guy that's gonna be ra ra ra rao doing a game because you have so much on your plate.

So for him to keep everything leveled, that would make him so great.

You are a lead by example guy.

Sounds like a good match.

Yeah, it was.

It was.

This happened to be.

I'm a little older, coming up a couple of injuries, but you know, I enjoyed my time playing with Joe and I knew from day one that he's gonna be one of the greatest that ever played this game.

And never put on the Bengal jersey.

You didn't overlap with Jamar.

What do you like about his game and his approach?

I think he just very confident and the play that position, you have to be very confident, and I think that's how he he's so great.

He doesn't talk that much, but you can tell you know, he got he got it in him, you know what I mean.

But his runs out the catch, he's just a playmaker, man.

He's just a especially when he gets the ball in no balls in his hands, he can take it at any point at a time.

So we're visiting with aj Green.

Who do you have and why the twenty fifteen skill position group, yourself, Marvin Jones, Mohammed Sanu, Tyler, Riifert, Giovanni Bernard, Jeremy Hill or Jamar.

Chase, T.

Higgins, Mike Kasicki, Andre Yosi, vash Chase Brown, samajp.

Ryn, Oh Man, that's tough.

I think I'm taking us top to bottom.

I think running back tight end, I think we had what me my omarv Yeah, if was a Pro Bowl tight end, uh Geo could do it all.

I think I'm taking us.

Hard to go wrong either way, that's for sure.

We're having this conversation during the NFL Draft.

What do you remember about the lead up to the twenty eleven draft, your contact of the Bengals and then all culminating with being the fourth pick overall.

Oh, for me, I just remember having my whole family there just felt surreal, just because that's what you dream of your whole whole life and there and then you're there in that moment, this having my name called, it was like, oh my gosh, like at number four that it was very special.

That's a big mess.

Probably probably one of the best moment of my life.

You know, it was still back in New York then, had you ever.

Been no no, haven't.

That was my first time in New York City.

That's a lot.

That was the first time my family ever flew on a airplane, probably some of them.

So it was just so real experiences to have everybody there that saw little Aj grow up into this this first round pick AJ.

Do you know what team you caught the most touchdown passes against?

Most touchdowns?

Ravens?

Ravens is correct, Yeah, okay, you caught nine against Baltimore.

John Harbaugh famously said, a couple of years into your career, one of these days will figure out how to cover Aj Green.

What was it about the Ravens?

Was it how they covered you?

Why did you dominate Baltimore so consistently?

I think we played each other so much, and the games are always tough, so it's like just a matter who made the most plays.

Is no out tricking anybody, so it's like me versus you a lot of the times.

So and they played a lot of man, they had a lot of great corners in there, so just got the best of them sometimes, so it was.

Good pretty frequently.

Do you have a most memorable touchdown catch?

I think the playoff game Steelers, we should have won that that was our chance.

That's probably probably one of the best moments of my career, just seeing the fans and how close we were, just for pulling off that that playoff win that we haven't had in there and so long.

So probably that that that touchdown.

Was so I hate to pick the scab, but we're going to go back.

You catch that touchdown with one fifty to go, you've got a one point lead.

On the very next play, Vontez comes up with the interception, So now it's basically a minute and a half to go.

You've got the ball and the lead.

In your mind is the drought over?

Oh, the game's over.

We celebrating already before we even get to that locker room, like everybody's on the sideline going crazy.

And then the fumble happened, and then it kept getting worse.

I kept gott it getting worse after that, And that's why the mostly disappointed time I in my player career, just coming back into the locker room doing that.

We should have won that game.

Let me bring up another touchdown.

This might have been the most memorable in the regular season.

Lent less than ten seconds to go in Atlanta, I think seven seconds to go you catch your touchdown pass from Andy and what's become your hometown thirty seven thirty six win.

Just a crazy game and a game winning TD with less than ten seconds to go.

Yeah, that was That was another big one, especially being in Atlanta, all the Georgia fans.

I had a lot of family at that game and a lot of friends at that game.

So I remember straining like a little bench route against cover two.

I don't know what the corner was doing, and he just put the ball placed a great ball, and I slid and caught it.

So and Joe Mixon, who wasn't active, came flying down the field to try to tackle you.

I'm like, Joe, I thought you hurt.

You're flying down there, almost knock me over.

But that was a great game as well.

Aj who is the toughest cornerback he faced the toughest Probably Patrick Peterson is the best corner I ever Well, him and Dora Reebs, dere Riz pat P and uh Joe Hayden.

You know the my three top corners that I faced.

Patrick Peterson was your draft Yeah yep, actually yeah, you just retired, and he's he'd be your first Battle Hall of the Famer for sure.

You and Andy Dalton will always be linked.

What don't people know or understand about Andy?

I think how good he was.

I think people really you don't appreciate how good he was at at at the time that he was starting.

And you look around the lead it's only what six seven great quarterbacks, you know what I mean.

But to have him the way the way we was consistently winning each and every year nine wins, nine wins plus every year.

I think he's very underrated and probably one of the smartest guy I've ever been around.

And he's still playing and.

Still playing and speaks volume.

Man if like I said, if you don't want to be a starter, to be a backup quarterback, and I'll take that job any day.

They need that for wide receivers where you don't take care of.

Yeah, no, right, you once you get over thirty, it's like, oh it's time, but you get out of here, buddy.

But when you turn thirty in your quarterback like, hey, you can mentor this young guy.

So but I'm happy for him.

I talked to Andy.

We talk all the time, and you know, I went to his game last year when he played the Bengal So it was fun.

Like we can.

We always talking, So who is your funniest teammate?

Andrew Hawkins?

No hesitation, no hesitation, Like we just talked and he sent us a video and he was shooting a two B movie and I'm like, it's just a guy that he does everything like, So probably my fun like my best teammate and the funny.

You were uber competitive.

Anybody that accomplishes the things you accomplished has to be how do you get your competitive fix?

Now?

Play a lot of golf and I think that's that gets me because I'm not very good at it, so it keeps me coming back each and every week.

But I think I just moved to a new phase of my life just being now and just being a dad, and that's probably I get that same feeling, you know, especially when I see him playing well as well and just watching them.

They smile on the face when they see me on the field or me coming to a game, or we have those conversations coming back from a baseball game when it's not so good and for him to be like I'm telling him is okay, you know you eight, You're gonna make mistakes.

So just being a family man and being a dad is probably the best joy in my life right now.

Do you get nervous when you watch your boys play sports?

Of course I get the same feeling like I get I used to get on Sundays and I'm not even playing, so but I don't show that to him.

He's just out there having fun.

But I definitely get nervous sometimes.

Is there anything on your bucket list in retirement?

A place you'd like to go, something you would like to do or see.

I've hit some of those those buckles that I went snowboarding for the first time last year, So the family and I we went to Aspens for uh a couple of days and got the snowboard and got the ski.

So I do all the adventure stuff.

Now, go give me another.

I might give me an e bike, just fly around downtown and just a little things like that.

Was that prohibited in your contract in your playing day, stuff like that?

Yeah, of course.

And my wife wouldn't let me do that.

She wasn't gonna let me do that when I was playing.

So now that I'm not playing, I get to do.

Brought me a snowboard, so we go each year, go and buy me an e bike, and I'm gonna go downtown, get the boards.

We're gonna e bikes, We're gonna ride down the sidewalks and stuff like that.

I'm imagining the Bengals fan that goes to a ski resort and suddenly sees aj Green on skis.

That's gonna be quite the freak out moment.

Yeah, but you know, I have all the masks on, so it's right.

They don't see me.

They don't see me falling all the time.

They like, who's this guy?

Who's this baby on the baby on the bunny slopes?

Oh, just have a grown man over here.

So I used to say your full name when you caught touchdown passes.

Do people randomly say Adriel Jeremiah Green.

Oh?

Yeah all the time, especially at the baseball fields now, so it's like they are like Adril Jeremiah at first space.

I'm like, yeah, that's me.

Final question, This one's kind of deep.

If you could meet anybody in history, anybody living or deceased, who would that person be?

For me?

It's probably I think my brother at my stage of my life, because I had an older brother got killed in a car accident.

I think that would be the person that I ad met because growing up together, you know, losing him at I was five, he was nine.

Just to see how he would react to where I'm at today and what I've accomplished probably would have been something special.

He would have been very proud and thrilled, no doubt, as am I to a chance to visit with you again.

Welcome back to Cincinnati.

It's always so great to see you.

Thanks for all the memories.

Thanks Dan, thanks for having me.

I hope you enjoyed that visit with a great AJ Green as much as I did.

That's going to do it for this episode of the Bengals Booth podcast, brought to you by pay Core, Proud to be the Bengals official hr software provider, by Alta Fiber future proof fiber Internet designed to elevate your home, business and community to a new level, and by Kettering Health the best care for the best fans.

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I'm Dan Horde and thank you for listening to the Bengals Booth Podcast