00:00Jacob, I'm going to try to sell you on a football team,
00:03and I wonder if you're already sold or maybe you're not sold.
00:05And I'm buying the Bengals this year, and I really never do,
00:10and here's why.
00:10They added two players to the offensive line.
00:13Joe Burrow, the year they went to the Super Bowl,
00:15counting the playoffs was sacked 70 times.
00:18A year ago, you're talking about 50 times.
00:21I mean, you're talking about an offensive line he's never had that was above 28.
00:25They seemingly improved that.
00:27Then over on the defensive side, they added Dexter Lawrence,
00:30and I think Duke Tobin went out and really did a nice job at tooling this football team.
00:36Is this the best roster that Joe Burrow's ever played with in Cincinnati
00:40and gives them a shot to potentially get to the AFC Championship game?
00:46I'm right there with you.
00:47I've always been a believer in the Bengals' offense.
00:49I think everyone really is because you look at it and you say,
00:52if Joe Burrow stays healthy, he's one of the best quarterbacks in the league.
00:55They have a stellar receiving core.
00:56The issue is always the O-line on that side of the ball.
00:59They've really tried to address it over the years,
01:01but this season it seems like they're getting closer to where they need to be on that end.
01:06And defensively, you're 100% right.
01:08The Dexter Lawrence addition really changes things for them.
01:11And I think some of their free agent signings,
01:13getting Boye Mafe from the Seahawks just to add a little juice to that pass rush.
01:17And I love the signing of Brian Cook at safety, gives them a consistent back-end player there.
01:23He has Cincinnati ties.
01:25He grew up in the area and went to college there.
01:27So I think he's going to be super motivated to really elevate that defense.
01:31The one concern is, are they going to have kind of everything married together there?
01:36Are they going to have that one top-tier pass rusher emerge?
01:39Do they have enough talent at cornerback?
01:41But again, this is a situation where you're looking at the sum of the parts on defense,
01:45and you're saying, this is significantly better than what they've had in recent years.
01:48And if Lawrence can be kind of that star in the interior,
01:51I think that this team could end up being very, very good.
01:54It's all about what the defense can do.
01:57And Joe Burrow, stay on the field, and they'll have a shot.
02:00Yeah, and I think also, too, Al Golden being their defensive coordinator coming over from Notre Dame,
02:05I mean, he may not be a great college head coach, but as a position coach,
02:09I do think he's one of the better defensive minds in the National Football League now.
02:13So...
