1st & Goal: Dave Lapham, Bengals Radio Analyst/Former Offensive Lineman

The NFL season is inching closer and closer.

Who are the contenders and who are the pretenders? We have four downs to figure out your team's future. It's time now for First and Goal on The Zach Gelb Show. One of my favorite part of the Bengals run last year which just came out of nowhere was the energy that Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham had on the broadcast.

Remember? Coffee nails! Bam! Bam!

Bam! That was awesome after every game-winning field goal that the Bengals had or every big win in the postseason. Now we get to see what's in store for year number three of Joe Burrow in Cincinnati and how they could find a way to get even better from a year ago. Let's go out to the former Bengals offensive lineman, does a great job in the radio booth, Dave Lapham. Dave, how are you? Zach, how are you doing, sir?

I'm doing fantastic, can't complain. I'm sure everyone starts conversations with you talking about Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. I want to start on the defensive side of the ball because last year in the playoff run that defense played great football, especially what they did right at the end of the first half and going into the second half in overtime up against Kansas City. What will the defense look like this year in your opinion?

Yeah, I think it's going to look pretty darn solid. Luann Arrumo did a great job with his personnel last year. He's got a lot of positionless players. I mean, he had Sam Hubbard playing defensive end. He kicked him down to play defensive tackle versus a passer in the nickel against the Chiefs like you're talking about. He played him as a spy on Patrick Mahomes at the linebacker position because in high school, at Molar High School, he was a safety initially. He got bigger, moved to linebacker, got bigger at Ohio State, moved to defensive end. This kid's a very, very skilled athlete.

That's one example. He would go with three safeties and give a lot of different looks out there to Patrick Mahomes. It was kind of befuddling, confusing him a little bit in the secondary. He'd rush three and drop eight. It was amazing. I mean, they held the Kansas City Chiefs to three points twice in the second half in the regular season and in the postseason.

It's just a phenomenal job. The thing is, in the draft, they drafted three defensive backs that all run sub-4.4 40s. Two of them run 4.38, one runs a 4.36. Now they've increased that speed on the defensive back end. Cam Taylor Britt out of Nebraska, he's got a little bit of a core muscle problem, had some surgery.

He's going to miss a little bit of time in the early stages of the season. But man, Dax Hill looks like he's the real deal out of Michigan. He can run and he closes ground quickly and he flies out of the center of the football field to the perimeter in a heartbeat to make plays. And then, Tyson Anderson, another safety they drafted out of Toledo, he runs a 4.36 40. So, this kid is helping on special teams.

He's helping with Leonardo Romo's defense. Like you said, in the playoffs, they held the first two opponents less than 20 points in the playoffs. And during the course of the playoffs, seven different players combined for eight interceptions. Eight interceptions in four games, including the Super Bowl, recovered a fumble. So, they were nine takeaways, only two giveaways.

They went plus seven at the most opportune time to do it. And getting those extra possessions and taking possessions away from the opponent was a big reason why. And I still think Trey Hendrickson, on the defensive line, is one of the more underrated players in the league. But what he's been able to do the last two years has been sensational. No doubt.

No doubt. This guy is a very, very intelligent pass rusher. He always makes the offensive linemen commit. And he has an accountable to that commitment.

It's amazing. He never lets the offensive linemen counter him. He's almost countering that position player. And he's got tremendous get-off, tremendous first step. Deceptively strong.

And he can shrink the pocket. There's no doubt about it. This guy has played exceptionally well for the Cincinnati Bears. And they're hoping and expect that to continue this season for sure.

Let's get to the next down. Dave Lapham here with us. And we know the offensive line for the Bengals was not good a year ago. And they almost won the Super Bowl, which is so tough to even imagine with how the offensive line was playing. Now this offensive line, you got some significant players and some big pieces on it.

How is that group forming and coming together? Yeah. The philosophy that Zach Taylor has, same as Sean McVay, in about half the league has the same philosophy in the pre-season. The starters don't play.

So the offensive line as a group has not taken a snap in a pre-season game. Now they have been together for a limited amount, even in practices during the pre-season, because LC Lyle Collins has had a back issue. He's had a disc issue in his back. So he's been a little bit limited. Kappa had a core muscle issue in the early stages of training camp. He was limited initially. But he and Ted Karras and Collins worked in those two days against the Rams.

That was almost game speed conditions. They just didn't take people to the ground tackling them. But it was thumping the offensive and defensive line and pretty good talent that the Bengals' offensive line was working against. And that was the first time that the group that they hoped to run out there in their regular season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to work together.

And they looked pretty good. I mean, Ted Karras has been solid, Alex Kappa the same. Collins is a big physical guy, one totally healthy. I mean, he's a tone setter. The only starter from last year that's probably going to be a starter this season for the Cincinnati Bengals in that offensive line.

So they've remade 80 percent of it. In my opinion, Cordell Wilson will be the starter to left guard position in a rough state. They dropped it out of North Dakota State in the fourth round. So I think they're going to be much better in October than they are in September, once they get a lot of game speed reps against quality opponents under their belt.

But I think it's going to be much improved over the last year. Kilburn gets sacked 70 times in the regular season and postseason, 19 times in the postseason alone. He gets sacked 16 times in six quarters of play. The second half against the Rams gets sacked six times in the game against the Titans in the playoffs gets sacked nine times. Somehow they found a way to win it because they had three interceptions. And those three interceptions trumped the nine sacks they allowed.

Let's get to the next down. Dave Lapham, what is Zach Taylor as a head football coach? Last year what his team did was unbelievable.

We know the first years didn't go the way that he wanted it to be. But what do you think he is as a head football coach? I think he's a culture builder. I think that he's doing a pretty good job of, he'd have to be classified as a player's coach. I mean, he's got totally open door policy.

He's a young guy. Players can relate to him and they don't abuse it. They've done a good job. Zach Taylor has been provided by the personnel department players that love football. Football is important to him. And he's taken that and built a very strong culture and it's we us, it's not I me. And he's done a very, very incredible job in that regard. And that's going to carry you through adversity during the season. I don't care what team it is, whether it's injury or a little bit of a playing slump or whatever the case may be, you're going to face some adversity and character and togetherness and everybody rolling the boat in the same direction will take you through this storm.

And I think that's what he's built here. Let's get to the final down. Wrapping up with Dave Lapham, former Bengals offensive lineman does a great job in the booth with Dan Hoard now on the Bengals radio network. Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase.

What else is there to say? We know how great they've been in this league and Jamar Chase is one year and then Joe Burrow season and a half because of the unfortunate injury in his rookie season. What's the next step for these guys? Man, they were unbelievable what they were able to do a year ago.

Yeah, they really were. There's no question about it. And I think I think that the next step is Jamar Chase doing what he did this offseason, not being satisfied with the great year he had as a rookie who worked his tail off with a track coach. And he's come he came back five pounds lighter unintentionally. Wasn't really trying to lose weight, but he worked so hard with his conditioning and he's he's stronger and faster. And I mean, he's hungry.

He's still hungry. That's that's the big key. And I think he and Joe Burrow are going to put up crazy numbers again because they've got two number ones. T Higgins being number one receive on most teams in the National Football League and then Tyler Boyd and then Hayden Hirsch. You know, I mean, if you want to if you want to try to double Jamar Chase every down and the other guy is going to hurt you. And the other thing that Jamar is doing a good job of is learning how to line up everywhere, not just as a split end as an X. He's lining up as he is a flanker. He's lining up as a Y in the slot.

He's motioning around. So it's going to be harder. He's not just anchored in one spot.

Well, yeah, there's just we go double teamer right there. So they're going to utilize them in a lot of different ways. He's got football intelligence. He's got really good football IQ. So I think that they're going to put up significant numbers again this year.

I don't think it's a one hit wonder by instruction. This turnaround for Joe Burrows really something when he did it. LSU was just unbelievable. And then no one could have predicted the Bengals would have been in the Super Bowl last year and almost win the damn thing when the season started in five years from now or even 10 years from now. Dave Lapham, how do you think we'll talk about Joe Burrow? Yeah, I think we're going to talk about him as as one of the best to play the game. I think he's got that kind of that kind of a mind. His football mind is just and you know the movie The Beautiful Mind. Joe has a beautiful mind for the game of football. He just he sees it.

I mean, he's got the answers to the test now. He sees it before it happens. I mean, he diagnosed gets that ball out so quickly. And, you know, he can make every throw. He's extremely accurate to put the ball on tight spots. I mean, he's he is the real deal. Totally legitimate.

And, you know, I think that he's going to be very, very consistent and performing at a very, very high level for a long time. When we get into this season, no one's gonna sleep in the Bengals anymore. I believe in them because I believe in the quarterback and also Jamar Chase and the other talented players they have on the roster. Is there any concern, though, that maybe they take a step back?

Because it's weird. They should be getting the respect. But I keep on feeling like I hear people saying, oh, they'll take a step back this year. Yeah, I mean, it's hard to run it back, as they say these days.

Everybody wants to run it back. I will say in franchise history, they set a record last year. Bengals had number one a playoff game on the road in franchise history. They've been to the Super Bowl two prior times, but with the number one seed. So all their playoff games were at home. This was the number four seed. They had to go on the road and knock people off to get to the Super Bowl.

So they set a record there. And the Super Bowl team I played on in 1981, Super Bowl 16, we lost in the first round of the playoffs the following year. Didn't win a playoff game the next year. Super Bowl 23 team in 1988, 89, didn't even make the playoffs.

Won eight and eight, lost five games by five points or less. So this football team could set a record. You know, last year they set the record with the road playoff win. They could be the first playoff team in franchise history to win a playoff game the following year after playing in the playoffs the prior season.

So they get some incentive, they get some motivation. And I think, I think they're going to, I think they're going to be there. I think they're going to, they're going to compete. I mean, 10 and seven, that wouldn't, that would not be an embarrassing record. If you go 10 and seven again with the record, the teams they play the last eight games of the season, that's a job well done. I'm not sure that'll be enough to win the division, but usually 10 wins gets you in the playoffs.

And that's what you want to do. First, you want to get in the playoffs and the next goal is to win the division. It seems like this division is coming down to them and then also the Ravens, the Steelers, who knows, is going to be starting week to week at quarterback. And when you look at the Browns, we know Watson's out for the first 11. Do you agree that this division is really between the Bengals and the Ravens this year?

I guess on paper, that would be the situation, you know, because there are, as you say, there are other challenges and you don't know how they're going to, how they're going to unfold or how they're going to work out. The Ravens last year, what they have 21 guys on IR on 12 and we're starters when the season ended, including Lamar Jackson and a bunch of other important players. So when the Bengals played the Ravens toward the end of the season, they were a crippled football team and the, and the Bengals spanked them. They took advantage of it. Big time borrow through for over 500 yards in that game, over 400 yards in the other game against them. And the hell he threw for 900 yards and it was like eight touchdowns or something in two football games against the Ravens.

It was nuts. It's going to be a different Ravens team this year and they're going to have some blood in their eye. Dave Lapham, appreciate it as always. Thanks so much for previewing the Bengals with us. I'm sure we'll be talking to you throughout the season. Appreciate you Zach. Thanks for the opportunity.