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Imagine right, taking a priceless, one of a kind vintage
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Ferrari Oh boy, Yeah, you're pulling it out of this
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meticulously climate controlled garage, right, and you decide to drive
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it straight into like bumper to bumper, aggressive rush hour traffic.
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That's like a terrible idea, right, and you're doing all.
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Of that just to see if, I don't know, if
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the radio still works.
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Yeah, that is That's pretty much the perfect way to.
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Describe it, because that is exactly what it feels like
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an NFL head coach is doing when he decides to
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play a two hundred and seventy five million dollar franchise
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quarterback in a preseason.
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Game, the game that you know, literally does not matter.
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Exactly, It doesn't matter. Usually when we talk about preseason football,
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there is this collective, involuntary groan that just ripples through
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a fan base.
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Yeah. It gets treated as this entirely meaningless scrimmage. Yeah,
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like it is often viewed as the television equivalent of
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watching paint dry, right, at least for you know, the
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casual viewer who just wants to, I mean, check the
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final scoreboard and then move on with.
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Their evening exactly. But if you step into the world
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of an NFL coaching staff. Suddenly that meaningless exhibition game
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is reframed completely.
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It really is.
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We are looking at a landscape that is well, honestly,
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it's a live action laboratory.
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Yeah.
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It is the exact place where the regular season is
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engineered and tested and you know, calibrated under intense controlled stress.
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I'm of the lights, right, So welcome to today's deep dive.
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We are so glad you are here with us, because
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today we are heading straight into that laboratory.
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I really are.
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Specifically, we are looking at the Cincinnati Bengals twenty twenty
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six preseason opener. They're going up against the Detroit Lions,
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kicking off this Thursday night under the lights at pay
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Course Stadium.
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And our mission today is too well to cut through
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all that August noise. Yeah, for you the curious learner
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tuning in, we want to look past the vanilla play calling.
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We want to highlight the exact roster micro battles, the
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deep coaching philosophies, and the new physical anomalies on the
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field that actually matter for the upcoming season.
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Because there's a lot of them there, really are.
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We want to give you the tools to watch this
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game like an absolute insider.
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Okay, let's unpack this, starting with the most highly scrutinized,
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honestly stress inducing part of any preseason game.
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Both starting offense.
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The starting offense. Head coach Zach Taylor has officially confirmed
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that quarterback Joe Burrow, receivers Jamar Chase and T Higgins,
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and running back Chase Brown are all going to play.
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Yeah, they're suiting up now.
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The sources note it is just for quote limited snaps,
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but they're going to be out there on the field
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taking real hits.
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Right.
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And Taylor's quote on his philosophy here is just I mean,
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it's fascinating. He specifically said he wants the starting eleving
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guys to come out of the home tunnel stand on
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the field by themselves, with everyone else on the sideline
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and the fans in the stands, just to get that feeling, yes,
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just to get that feeling of week one.
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It's all about the sensory experience. He is prioritizing the
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environment over you know, physical preservation.
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But I have to push back on this because I
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genuinely struggle to buy the necessity of it, right, Yeah,
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I mean, these guys are professionals. They have intense joint
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practices with other teams all August. They pump in that
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deafening artificial crowd noise through the speakers at the practice facility.
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That's true.
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Yeah, Physically, the grass on a Tuesday afternoon is the
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exact same as the grass on a Thursday night. So
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what is actually happening in their nervous system during a
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preseason game that cannot be replicated in a closed, controlled environment.
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Is getting that feeling for ten snaps really worth the
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catastrophic injury risk?
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What's fascinating here is this psychological necessity of breaking the ice. Okay,
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you have to remember, for a team with genuine Super
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Bowl aspirations, the pressure cooker of week one can be
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just overwhelming if you haven't properly calibrated your nervous system
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to the actual stadium environment.
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And rush hour.
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That rush hour traffic, as you put it, is exactly
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what they need to experience, because a joint practice is
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still at the end of the day, it's a practice
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on Thursday night, you have the specific glare of the
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stadium lights, you have the physical routine of the televised
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warm up, and the sheer adrenaline spike of emerging from
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that tunnel with sixty thousand people screaming.
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Yeah, that's fair.
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The opposing jersey isn't just a practice partner anymore, right,
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It's an active threat under game conditions.
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So you're saying it is about establishing a psychological baseline,
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not necessarily a physical one.
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Precisely, and if we look at the historical data from
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the sources, Taylor's philosophy is backed up by incredibly tangible results.
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Oh you mean last year.
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Yeah, look at last year's preseason opener against Philadelphia, Burrow
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and the starting offense went out there. They absorbed that
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exact stadium environment and just flawlessly marched down the field
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for two touchdown drives before they were pulled for the night.
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They proved to them that their internal timing wasn't just
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you know, good for practice, it was game ready.
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Oh the stats from that drive were absolutely absurd, Yeah,
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they were. Burrow had a one hundred and fifty seven
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point five passer rating, And just for context for you listening,
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the NFL passer rating formula is notoriously complex, but one
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fifty eight point three is the absolute ceiling.
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So a one fifty seven point five is essentially a
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mathematical perfection for a quarterback.
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Literally, he went night of ten for one hundred and
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twenty three yards and two passing scores. Yeah, Chase had
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that massive thirty six yard touchdown catch and run.
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Oh I remember that.
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Yeah, And then Chase Brown was churning out four point
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six yards on his five carries. It was an absolute
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clinic inefficiency.
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And by executing that clinic in a live stadium environment,
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they established a psychological anchor for the entire regular season. Interesting, right,
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They proved to themselves under the lights that the machine
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operates flawlessly. That ten snap investment, it pays massive dividends
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in September when they don't have to spend like the
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first quarter of Week one shaking off the ambient stadium jitters.
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Because they've already been there exactly.
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They have already broken the ice.
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That makes a lot of sense. The offense is out
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there to prove that an established, familiar machine still runs smoothly.
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But if that is the goal for the offense, the
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defense has the exact opposite objective, doesn't it, Oh Completely,
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The defense is deliberately unleashing an unproven, volatile, new element
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to well to break the opposing offense's machine. It is
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a brand new science experiment just waiting to be tested.
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It really is a complete overhaul. The new stripes as
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they are calling them in the building, right.
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The new stripes. So looking at our notes, we know
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offseason free Asian acquisition Brian Cook is not going to
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play in this opener, right.
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He has sendings one out, but.
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All the spotlight, and I mean all of it is
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squarely on defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
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The second oh Man.
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For some background, the Bengals acquired this guy in a
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massive trade with the Giants right before the draft. He
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is a three time Pro bowler and the quotes coming
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out of camp are just wild, They really are. Jamar
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Chase literally told Yaho's Sports that Lawrence has been quote
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terrorizing practice terrorizing.
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That is a highly descriptive word coming from, you know,
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one of the most elusive receivers in the entire league.
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Yeah, and Joe Burrow backed it up. Burrow was talking
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to Kay Adams and he said Lawrence is quote built
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differently than a lot of humans.
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Differently.
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Yeah. He called him big, strong, athletic, fast, and specifically
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noted his quick hands, which.
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Is terrifying for a guy his size, it is.
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But here's where it gets really interesting, because you and
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I both know how NFL augusts work.
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Well.
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Sure, every single August across the entire league, we hear breathless,
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hyperbolic reports about guys, you know, terrorizing practice.
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Yeah, everyone's in the best shape of their life.
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In August exactly. So how do we know as observers
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that this isn't just a typical training camp mirage.
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That is the perfect question to ask, and it is
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exactly why this Thursday night broadcast is so critical. Yeah,
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to understand why this isn't a mirage, you have to
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look at the mechanisms of football and the compounded effect
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of the other pieces they've added around him. Okay, lay
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it out, Lawrence isn't operating in a vacuum. He is
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lining up alongside other new veteran additions, guys like defensive
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tackle Jonathan Allen, defensive end Boy Mafe, and safety Kyle Duggar.
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That's a lot of new blood.
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Plus you have this influx of high tier rookie.
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Talent, right like Cashius Howell, the second round defensive end
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out of Texas A and M I mean, the guy
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had eleven point five sacks in twenty twenty five and
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was le SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
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Yeah, he's a monster on the edge.
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And not to mention Colby Young making some noise though
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he's on the offensive side, right that fourth round receiver
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from Georgia making those highlight reel catches.
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Yeah, the rookie class is stacked.
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But focusing purely on this defensive front, how does adding
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a guy like Lawrence actually change the physical reality on
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the field.
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It fundamentally alters the defense's geometry through sheer physics geometry. Yeah,
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think about the center on an offensive line. His job
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is to snap the ball and block the man directly
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in front of him.
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Simple enough.
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But when you put a physical anomaly like Lawrence in
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the middle, a three hundred and forty pound human who
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possesses the quick hands of a middleweight boxer. As Burrow mentioned,
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a three hundred pounds center physically cannot block him alone.
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Oh wow, He will just get shoved backward right into
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the quarterback's lap.
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So the center is completely overwhelmed before the play even develops.
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Exactly, And because the center's overwhelmed, the offensive guard standing
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next to him he has to abandon his own assignment
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to help ah Okay, that creates a domino effect. Suddenly
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you have two massive offensive linemen committed to stopping one
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guy in the.
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Middle, which leaves someone else open.
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Right. That changes the math for your edge rushers, the
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fast lethal defenders attacking from the outside. Suddenly a rookie
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speed rusher like Howell or veterans like Alan and Mayfe,
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they're facing one on one matchups on the outside with
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absolutely no no help from the offensive line man.
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That's brilliant.
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Lawrence is essentially creating a mathematical mismatch before the ball
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is even snapped. So when you were watching this game
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on Thursday, don't just watch the ball, watch the Lions
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offensive line right. Watch how they react, how they communicate,
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and honestly, how they physically panic when they have to
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commit double teams to Lawrence's gravity in the center.
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I love that framing. Don't watch the ball, watch the panic.
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That is a fantastic insider tip for anyone tuning in,
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and it is a perfect transition because from the giant
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humans bending physics in the trenches to control the geometry
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of the field, we have to move to the speedsters
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who are managing risks and deciding the game on the
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absolute margins.
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Hidden third of the games. Special teams exactly if the
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defense's job is to start points, special teams are there
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to manufacture the real estate needed to score them.
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Right, and assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Darren
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Simmons has declared a completely open competition for the kickoff
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and punt returner.
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Jobs lie open.
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We have two main competitors here and the contrast between
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them is just fascinating. Competitor number one is Charlie Jones.
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Old, reliable.
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Yeah, he has been the primary returner for over two
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years now. He is incredibly dependable. In fact, he is
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one of only two players in the entire history of
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the Bengals franchise, alongside Ring of Honor member Lamar Parrish,
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to have at least three career return touchdowns.
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That is elite company, I mean historically elite.
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It really is.
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But there is a caveat right. He missed significant time recently.
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Yes, Unfortunately, he missed the last three games of last
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season with an ankle injury, which opens the door for
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competitor number two, Keishawn Williams Ah. The Bengals acquired him
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on waivers from the Steelers when Jones got hurt and
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Williams was an absolute spark plug.
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He was electric.
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In just a few games, he racked up nine punt
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returns for ninety five yards and eight kick returns for
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four hundred and twenty five yards. That is a twenty
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three point six yard average on kicks, which is huge. Yeah,
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and he even had a forty three yard punt return
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against Arizona that directly set up a short touchdown drive.
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A massive swing in momentum and field position right there, right.
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So, Zach Taylor's stated philosophy here is that above all else,
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you absolutely must be dependable and quote secure the catch.
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Yeah, ball security is everything to him.
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He specifically praised Jones for this, noting they've had eras
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in the past where fumbling was a huge problem. But
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Taylor also admitted, you need that explosiveness to strike fear
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into the other team.
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You need the threat.
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Yeah. So looking at this roster battle, it feels exactly
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like balancing a financial portfolio.
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Okay, I like this.
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Charlie Jones is your reliable blue chip index.
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Fun.
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He guarantees you aren't going to lose your shirt. You know,
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you get steady, secure, predictable returns, safe and steady. Keishawn Williams,
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on the other hand, is your highly volatile tech stock.
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He carries more inherent systemic risk because he is newer
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to the system and maybe hasn't proven his consistency over years.
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But he might just ubble your money in a single
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afternoon with a forty three yard breakout.
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If we connect this to the bigger picture, your financial
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analogy is spot on because football, at its core is
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a game of mathematical probabilities and real estate. Zach Taylor
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places a premium on securing the catch first because a
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muffed punt meaning you know, the returner drops the ball
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and the kicking team recovers it is a catastrophic bankruptcy.
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You literally lose everything.
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You instantly lose the real estate, and you usually hand
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the opponent the ball inside your own twenty yard line.
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It swings the expected points model drastically in favor of
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the other team.
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So in a tight game like late in the fourth quarter,
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you probably want the blue chip index fund out there
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just catching the ball and going down securely.
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Exactly. Yeah, you want Charlie Jones taking away the risk,
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but early in the game, or say if you were
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trailing by two.
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Scores, you need the tech stock.
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That is when you might want the explosive tech stock,
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because once you guarantee the security of the catch, the
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explosiveness of a player like Williams alters the starting field
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position for your.
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Offense, which changes everything.
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Starting a drive at your own forty yard line versus
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your own twenty yard line fundamentally changes the playbook Zach
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Taylor can call. It changes the probability of scoring before
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the quarterback even takes the field. Wow. So this seemingly
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minor roster battle between Jones and Williams in a Thursday
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night preseason game, it could quietly dictate the margin of
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victory in three or four regular season games this year.
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That's incredible to think about. Which brings us to the
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ultimate margin of victory. Oh, when you secure that great
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field position and you march down the field but the
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drive suddenly stalls out on the opponent's thirty yard line.
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You need absolute mathematical certainty. You need the ultimate cheat code.
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You need Evan money. Make mcsherson.
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We have to talk about his preseason resume over the
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last five years, because the numbers in these sources are staggering.
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They're almost unbelievable.
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He is twenty six for twenty eight overall on field
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goals in the preseason, and get this, eleven of those
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thirteen successful kicks were from fifty plus yards.
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That's just yeah.
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He is also a perfect twenty one for twenty one
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on pats.
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The distance is what separates the good from the elite
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in the modern NFL.
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It is wild. The sources highlight some specific moments too.
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He had a fifty seven yarder against Miami in twenty
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twenty one. In twenty twenty two, he had a fifty
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eight yarder and a fifty six yarder in the exact
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same quarter against Arizona, a fifty eight yarder at Washington
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in twenty twenty three, and just recently in practice he
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went seven for seven, ending the day by splitting the
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uprights on a sixty five yarder that reportedly had room
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to spare inside Paykwort Stadium.
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A sixty five yard field goal with room to spare,
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that is just tremendous game altering leg talent.
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But I have to ask, and this goes back to
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our discussion about the starting offense, why does a kicker
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even need preseason game reps col I mean, I understand
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why the offensive line needs to hit someone, why the
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quarterback needs the stadium neurochemistry.
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Right, sure, but for a kicker, isn't kicking a sixty
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five yarder on an empty practice field the exact same
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physics is doing it in a stadium during a game.
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The ball weighs the exact same amount, the goalposts are
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the exact same width. Why risk him out there on
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a Thursday night? This raises an important question about the
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profound difference between isolated athletic skill and operational execution. Okay,
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unpack that the physics of McPherson's swinging leg might be identical. Sure,
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but the ecosystem around the kick is entirely different. On
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an empty practice field, McPherson controls the tempo. He can
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take a deep breath, eye the target, and swing when
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he's completely ready.
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Right, he's on his own clock.
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In a live game, he is part of a highly chaotic,
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tightly timed three man operation.
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The snap, the hole, the blocking.
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Precisely, the snapholed kick sequence has to occur in roughly
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one point three seconds.
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One point three seconds. That's insane.
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Think about how fast that is. One Mississippi, and it's
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over one point three seconds to avoid being blocked by
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elite NFL caliber athletes who are actively diving at his
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plant leg.
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Yeah, that changes things.
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He has to trust that the long snapper is going
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to deliver the ball with the perfect rotation so the
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laces are facing away from him when the holder.
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Catches it, which is incredibly hard to do.
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He has to trust the blocking scheme of the giant
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men in front of him, and he has to do
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all of this under the blinding stadium lights with sixty
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thousand people screaming while wearing full pads.
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Okay, so it's not just a leg swing. No.
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Preseason isn't just about his leg swinging. It is about
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synchronizing the three man operation of the snapper, holder, and
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kicker at full game speed. If that timing is off
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by a single tenth of a second, that sixty five
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yard leg strength is completely useless.
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Because the kick will get blocked. Exactly, So what does
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this all mean? It means that if you are tuning
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into the game this Thursday, you are now armed to
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watch it not just as a casual fan looking at
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the scoreboard, but as an absolute insider.
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You've got the cheet sheet.
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You are not going to be groaning about it being
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a meaningless scrimmage. You know exactly what to look for.
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You are going to be watching Joe Burrow's comfort level
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and how the starting offense manages the sheer sensory experience
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of breaking the ice in the stadium. Right, you are
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going to ignore the ball on defense and instead watch
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the sheer physical panic and mathematical mismatches that Dexter Lawrence
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induces on the Lions offensive line.
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Watch the panic.
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You are going to appreciate the delicate, high stakes risk
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reward balancing act happening every single time a punt is
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in the air. And you are going to watch that
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field goal unit with a whole new respect for the
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one point three second synchronized dance they have to perform
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while under siege.
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And if you want one final, truly fascinating nugget to
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take away from these sources, please take close attention to
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the very beginning of that one point three second kicking
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operation we just talked about. The long snapper. Okay, the
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Bengals have a player named Will Wagner at that position.
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He is a mechanical engineering major from the University of Michigan.
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Wait really, yeah, And what is so incredible is that
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he doesn't just view snapping as throwing a backward He
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reportedly applies the exact same rigorous thought processes used by
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top tier engineers at like Apple or Google to the
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single most forgotten, invisible position in all of football.
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Wait, how does a mechanical engineer view a long snap
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differently than a regular football player.
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It becomes a pure physics and engineering problem for him.
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He isn't just chucking it. He is calculating the exact
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launch angle, the necessary velocity, and the specific spin rate
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required for a football to travel exactly fifteen yards and
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land in the holder's hands with the laces facing perfectly
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outward every single time.
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That is just wild.
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He engineers the perfect snap by treating his body like
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a calibrated launch mechanism. It removes the guesswork and replaces
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it with mathematical consistency.
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That is amazing. A mechanical engineer optimizing the spin rate
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and launch angle of a football to guarantee the kicker's success.
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It really brings us full circle back to the idea
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of the preseason as a live action laboratory, doesn't it?
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It sure does testing the parts, engineering the outcomes, and
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finding edges in the absolute smallest details. It makes you
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wonder as you go about your week, whether in your
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own life, your household, or your business, what are the
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long snapper roles in your world?
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That's a great question.
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What are those invisible, seemingly mundane tasks that are just
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waiting for a rigorous engineering mindset to come in and
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completely revolutionize them. Think about that the next time you
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watch a football sale precisely through the uprights. Thank you
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00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:29.720
so much for joining us for this deep dive, and
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we will see you next time.
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Imagine right, taking a priceless, one of a kind vintage
2
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Ferrari Oh boy, Yeah, you're pulling it out of this
3
00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:11.679
meticulously climate controlled garage, right, and you decide to drive
4
00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:15.839
it straight into like bumper to bumper, aggressive rush hour traffic.
5
00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:18.440
That's like a terrible idea, right, and you're doing all.
6
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Of that just to see if, I don't know, if
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the radio still works.
8
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Yeah, that is That's pretty much the perfect way to.
9
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Describe it, because that is exactly what it feels like
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an NFL head coach is doing when he decides to
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play a two hundred and seventy five million dollar franchise
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quarterback in a preseason.
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Game, the game that you know, literally does not matter.
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Exactly, It doesn't matter. Usually when we talk about preseason football,
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there is this collective, involuntary groan that just ripples through
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a fan base.
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Yeah. It gets treated as this entirely meaningless scrimmage. Yeah,
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like it is often viewed as the television equivalent of
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watching paint dry, right, at least for you know, the
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casual viewer who just wants to, I mean, check the
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final scoreboard and then move on with.
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Their evening exactly. But if you step into the world
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of an NFL coaching staff. Suddenly that meaningless exhibition game
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is reframed completely.
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It really is.
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We are looking at a landscape that is well, honestly,
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it's a live action laboratory.
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Yeah.
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It is the exact place where the regular season is
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engineered and tested and you know, calibrated under intense controlled stress.
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I'm of the lights, right, So welcome to today's deep dive.
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We are so glad you are here with us, because
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today we are heading straight into that laboratory.
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I really are.
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Specifically, we are looking at the Cincinnati Bengals twenty twenty
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six preseason opener. They're going up against the Detroit Lions,
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kicking off this Thursday night under the lights at pay
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Course Stadium.
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And our mission today is too well to cut through
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all that August noise. Yeah, for you the curious learner
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tuning in, we want to look past the vanilla play calling.
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We want to highlight the exact roster micro battles, the
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deep coaching philosophies, and the new physical anomalies on the
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field that actually matter for the upcoming season.
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Because there's a lot of them there, really are.
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We want to give you the tools to watch this
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game like an absolute insider.
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Okay, let's unpack this, starting with the most highly scrutinized,
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honestly stress inducing part of any preseason game.
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Both starting offense.
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The starting offense. Head coach Zach Taylor has officially confirmed
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that quarterback Joe Burrow, receivers Jamar Chase and T Higgins,
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and running back Chase Brown are all going to play.
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Yeah, they're suiting up now.
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The sources note it is just for quote limited snaps,
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but they're going to be out there on the field
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taking real hits.
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Right.
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And Taylor's quote on his philosophy here is just I mean,
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it's fascinating. He specifically said he wants the starting eleving
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guys to come out of the home tunnel stand on
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the field by themselves, with everyone else on the sideline
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and the fans in the stands, just to get that feeling, yes,
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just to get that feeling of week one.
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It's all about the sensory experience. He is prioritizing the
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environment over you know, physical preservation.
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But I have to push back on this because I
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genuinely struggle to buy the necessity of it, right, Yeah,
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I mean, these guys are professionals. They have intense joint
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practices with other teams all August. They pump in that
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deafening artificial crowd noise through the speakers at the practice facility.
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That's true.
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Yeah, Physically, the grass on a Tuesday afternoon is the
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exact same as the grass on a Thursday night. So
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what is actually happening in their nervous system during a
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preseason game that cannot be replicated in a closed, controlled environment.
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Is getting that feeling for ten snaps really worth the
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catastrophic injury risk?
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What's fascinating here is this psychological necessity of breaking the ice. Okay,
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you have to remember, for a team with genuine Super
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Bowl aspirations, the pressure cooker of week one can be
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just overwhelming if you haven't properly calibrated your nervous system
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to the actual stadium environment.
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And rush hour.
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That rush hour traffic, as you put it, is exactly
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what they need to experience, because a joint practice is
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still at the end of the day, it's a practice
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on Thursday night, you have the specific glare of the
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stadium lights, you have the physical routine of the televised
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warm up, and the sheer adrenaline spike of emerging from
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that tunnel with sixty thousand people screaming.
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Yeah, that's fair.
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The opposing jersey isn't just a practice partner anymore, right,
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It's an active threat under game conditions.
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So you're saying it is about establishing a psychological baseline,
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not necessarily a physical one.
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Precisely, and if we look at the historical data from
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the sources, Taylor's philosophy is backed up by incredibly tangible results.
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Oh you mean last year.
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Yeah, look at last year's preseason opener against Philadelphia, Burrow
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and the starting offense went out there. They absorbed that
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exact stadium environment and just flawlessly marched down the field
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for two touchdown drives before they were pulled for the night.
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They proved to them that their internal timing wasn't just
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you know, good for practice, it was game ready.
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Oh the stats from that drive were absolutely absurd, Yeah,
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they were. Burrow had a one hundred and fifty seven
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point five passer rating, And just for context for you listening,
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the NFL passer rating formula is notoriously complex, but one
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fifty eight point three is the absolute ceiling.
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So a one fifty seven point five is essentially a
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mathematical perfection for a quarterback.
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Literally, he went night of ten for one hundred and
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twenty three yards and two passing scores. Yeah, Chase had
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that massive thirty six yard touchdown catch and run.
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Oh I remember that.
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Yeah, And then Chase Brown was churning out four point
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six yards on his five carries. It was an absolute
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clinic inefficiency.
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And by executing that clinic in a live stadium environment,
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they established a psychological anchor for the entire regular season. Interesting, right,
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They proved to themselves under the lights that the machine
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operates flawlessly. That ten snap investment, it pays massive dividends
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in September when they don't have to spend like the
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first quarter of Week one shaking off the ambient stadium jitters.
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Because they've already been there exactly.
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They have already broken the ice.
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That makes a lot of sense. The offense is out
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there to prove that an established, familiar machine still runs smoothly.
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But if that is the goal for the offense, the
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defense has the exact opposite objective, doesn't it, Oh Completely,
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The defense is deliberately unleashing an unproven, volatile, new element
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to well to break the opposing offense's machine. It is
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a brand new science experiment just waiting to be tested.
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It really is a complete overhaul. The new stripes as
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they are calling them in the building, right.
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The new stripes. So looking at our notes, we know
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offseason free Asian acquisition Brian Cook is not going to
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play in this opener, right.
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He has sendings one out, but.
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All the spotlight, and I mean all of it is
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squarely on defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
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The second oh Man.
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For some background, the Bengals acquired this guy in a
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massive trade with the Giants right before the draft. He
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is a three time Pro bowler and the quotes coming
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out of camp are just wild, They really are. Jamar
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Chase literally told Yaho's Sports that Lawrence has been quote
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terrorizing practice terrorizing.
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That is a highly descriptive word coming from, you know,
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one of the most elusive receivers in the entire league.
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Yeah, and Joe Burrow backed it up. Burrow was talking
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to Kay Adams and he said Lawrence is quote built
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differently than a lot of humans.
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Differently.
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Yeah. He called him big, strong, athletic, fast, and specifically
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noted his quick hands, which.
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Is terrifying for a guy his size, it is.
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But here's where it gets really interesting, because you and
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I both know how NFL augusts work.
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Well.
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Sure, every single August across the entire league, we hear breathless,
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hyperbolic reports about guys, you know, terrorizing practice.
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Yeah, everyone's in the best shape of their life.
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In August exactly. So how do we know as observers
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that this isn't just a typical training camp mirage.
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That is the perfect question to ask, and it is
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exactly why this Thursday night broadcast is so critical. Yeah,
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to understand why this isn't a mirage, you have to
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look at the mechanisms of football and the compounded effect
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of the other pieces they've added around him. Okay, lay
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it out, Lawrence isn't operating in a vacuum. He is
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lining up alongside other new veteran additions, guys like defensive
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tackle Jonathan Allen, defensive end Boy Mafe, and safety Kyle Duggar.
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That's a lot of new blood.
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Plus you have this influx of high tier rookie.
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Talent, right like Cashius Howell, the second round defensive end
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out of Texas A and M I mean, the guy
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had eleven point five sacks in twenty twenty five and
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was le SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
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Yeah, he's a monster on the edge.
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And not to mention Colby Young making some noise though
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he's on the offensive side, right that fourth round receiver
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from Georgia making those highlight reel catches.
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Yeah, the rookie class is stacked.
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But focusing purely on this defensive front, how does adding
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a guy like Lawrence actually change the physical reality on
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the field.
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It fundamentally alters the defense's geometry through sheer physics geometry. Yeah,
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think about the center on an offensive line. His job
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is to snap the ball and block the man directly
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in front of him.
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Simple enough.
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But when you put a physical anomaly like Lawrence in
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the middle, a three hundred and forty pound human who
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possesses the quick hands of a middleweight boxer. As Burrow mentioned,
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a three hundred pounds center physically cannot block him alone.
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Oh wow, He will just get shoved backward right into
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the quarterback's lap.
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So the center is completely overwhelmed before the play even develops.
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Exactly, And because the center's overwhelmed, the offensive guard standing
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next to him he has to abandon his own assignment
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to help ah Okay, that creates a domino effect. Suddenly
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you have two massive offensive linemen committed to stopping one
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guy in the.
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Middle, which leaves someone else open.
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Right. That changes the math for your edge rushers, the
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fast lethal defenders attacking from the outside. Suddenly a rookie
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speed rusher like Howell or veterans like Alan and Mayfe,
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they're facing one on one matchups on the outside with
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absolutely no no help from the offensive line man.
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That's brilliant.
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Lawrence is essentially creating a mathematical mismatch before the ball
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is even snapped. So when you were watching this game
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on Thursday, don't just watch the ball, watch the Lions
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offensive line right. Watch how they react, how they communicate,
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and honestly, how they physically panic when they have to
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commit double teams to Lawrence's gravity in the center.
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I love that framing. Don't watch the ball, watch the panic.
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That is a fantastic insider tip for anyone tuning in,
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and it is a perfect transition because from the giant
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humans bending physics in the trenches to control the geometry
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of the field, we have to move to the speedsters
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who are managing risks and deciding the game on the
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absolute margins.
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Hidden third of the games. Special teams exactly if the
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defense's job is to start points, special teams are there
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to manufacture the real estate needed to score them.
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Right, and assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Darren
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Simmons has declared a completely open competition for the kickoff
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and punt returner.
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Jobs lie open.
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We have two main competitors here and the contrast between
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them is just fascinating. Competitor number one is Charlie Jones.
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Old, reliable.
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Yeah, he has been the primary returner for over two
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years now. He is incredibly dependable. In fact, he is
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one of only two players in the entire history of
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the Bengals franchise, alongside Ring of Honor member Lamar Parrish,
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to have at least three career return touchdowns.
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That is elite company, I mean historically elite.
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It really is.
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But there is a caveat right. He missed significant time recently.
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Yes, Unfortunately, he missed the last three games of last
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season with an ankle injury, which opens the door for
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competitor number two, Keishawn Williams Ah. The Bengals acquired him
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on waivers from the Steelers when Jones got hurt and
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Williams was an absolute spark plug.
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He was electric.
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In just a few games, he racked up nine punt
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returns for ninety five yards and eight kick returns for
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four hundred and twenty five yards. That is a twenty
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three point six yard average on kicks, which is huge. Yeah,
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and he even had a forty three yard punt return
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against Arizona that directly set up a short touchdown drive.
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A massive swing in momentum and field position right there, right.
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So, Zach Taylor's stated philosophy here is that above all else,
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you absolutely must be dependable and quote secure the catch.
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Yeah, ball security is everything to him.
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He specifically praised Jones for this, noting they've had eras
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in the past where fumbling was a huge problem. But
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Taylor also admitted, you need that explosiveness to strike fear
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into the other team.
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You need the threat.
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Yeah. So looking at this roster battle, it feels exactly
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like balancing a financial portfolio.
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Okay, I like this.
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Charlie Jones is your reliable blue chip index.
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Fun.
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He guarantees you aren't going to lose your shirt. You know,
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you get steady, secure, predictable returns, safe and steady. Keishawn Williams,
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on the other hand, is your highly volatile tech stock.
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He carries more inherent systemic risk because he is newer
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to the system and maybe hasn't proven his consistency over years.
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But he might just ubble your money in a single
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afternoon with a forty three yard breakout.
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If we connect this to the bigger picture, your financial
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analogy is spot on because football, at its core is
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a game of mathematical probabilities and real estate. Zach Taylor
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places a premium on securing the catch first because a
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muffed punt meaning you know, the returner drops the ball
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and the kicking team recovers it is a catastrophic bankruptcy.
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You literally lose everything.
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You instantly lose the real estate, and you usually hand
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the opponent the ball inside your own twenty yard line.
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It swings the expected points model drastically in favor of
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the other team.
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So in a tight game like late in the fourth quarter,
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you probably want the blue chip index fund out there
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just catching the ball and going down securely.
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Exactly. Yeah, you want Charlie Jones taking away the risk,
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but early in the game, or say if you were
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trailing by two.
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Scores, you need the tech stock.
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That is when you might want the explosive tech stock,
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because once you guarantee the security of the catch, the
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explosiveness of a player like Williams alters the starting field
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position for your.
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Offense, which changes everything.
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Starting a drive at your own forty yard line versus
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your own twenty yard line fundamentally changes the playbook Zach
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Taylor can call. It changes the probability of scoring before
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the quarterback even takes the field. Wow. So this seemingly
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minor roster battle between Jones and Williams in a Thursday
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night preseason game, it could quietly dictate the margin of
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victory in three or four regular season games this year.
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That's incredible to think about. Which brings us to the
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ultimate margin of victory. Oh, when you secure that great
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field position and you march down the field but the
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drive suddenly stalls out on the opponent's thirty yard line.
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You need absolute mathematical certainty. You need the ultimate cheat code.
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You need Evan money. Make mcsherson.
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We have to talk about his preseason resume over the
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last five years, because the numbers in these sources are staggering.
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They're almost unbelievable.
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He is twenty six for twenty eight overall on field
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goals in the preseason, and get this, eleven of those
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thirteen successful kicks were from fifty plus yards.
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That's just yeah.
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He is also a perfect twenty one for twenty one
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on pats.
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The distance is what separates the good from the elite
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in the modern NFL.
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It is wild. The sources highlight some specific moments too.
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He had a fifty seven yarder against Miami in twenty
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twenty one. In twenty twenty two, he had a fifty
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eight yarder and a fifty six yarder in the exact
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same quarter against Arizona, a fifty eight yarder at Washington
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in twenty twenty three, and just recently in practice he
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went seven for seven, ending the day by splitting the
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uprights on a sixty five yarder that reportedly had room
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to spare inside Paykwort Stadium.
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A sixty five yard field goal with room to spare,
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that is just tremendous game altering leg talent.
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But I have to ask, and this goes back to
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our discussion about the starting offense, why does a kicker
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even need preseason game reps col I mean, I understand
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why the offensive line needs to hit someone, why the
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quarterback needs the stadium neurochemistry.
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Right, sure, but for a kicker, isn't kicking a sixty
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five yarder on an empty practice field the exact same
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physics is doing it in a stadium during a game.
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The ball weighs the exact same amount, the goalposts are
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the exact same width. Why risk him out there on
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a Thursday night? This raises an important question about the
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profound difference between isolated athletic skill and operational execution. Okay,
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unpack that the physics of McPherson's swinging leg might be identical. Sure,
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but the ecosystem around the kick is entirely different. On
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an empty practice field, McPherson controls the tempo. He can
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take a deep breath, eye the target, and swing when
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he's completely ready.
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Right, he's on his own clock.
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In a live game, he is part of a highly chaotic,
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tightly timed three man operation.
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The snap, the hole, the blocking.
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Precisely, the snapholed kick sequence has to occur in roughly
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one point three seconds.
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One point three seconds. That's insane.
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Think about how fast that is. One Mississippi, and it's
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over one point three seconds to avoid being blocked by
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elite NFL caliber athletes who are actively diving at his
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plant leg.
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Yeah, that changes things.
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He has to trust that the long snapper is going
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to deliver the ball with the perfect rotation so the
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laces are facing away from him when the holder.
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Catches it, which is incredibly hard to do.
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He has to trust the blocking scheme of the giant
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men in front of him, and he has to do
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all of this under the blinding stadium lights with sixty
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thousand people screaming while wearing full pads.
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Okay, so it's not just a leg swing. No.
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Preseason isn't just about his leg swinging. It is about
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synchronizing the three man operation of the snapper, holder, and
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kicker at full game speed. If that timing is off
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by a single tenth of a second, that sixty five
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yard leg strength is completely useless.
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Because the kick will get blocked. Exactly, So what does
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this all mean? It means that if you are tuning
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into the game this Thursday, you are now armed to
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watch it not just as a casual fan looking at
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the scoreboard, but as an absolute insider.
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You've got the cheet sheet.
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You are not going to be groaning about it being
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a meaningless scrimmage. You know exactly what to look for.
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You are going to be watching Joe Burrow's comfort level
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and how the starting offense manages the sheer sensory experience
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of breaking the ice in the stadium. Right, you are
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going to ignore the ball on defense and instead watch
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the sheer physical panic and mathematical mismatches that Dexter Lawrence
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induces on the Lions offensive line.
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Watch the panic.
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You are going to appreciate the delicate, high stakes risk
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reward balancing act happening every single time a punt is
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in the air. And you are going to watch that
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field goal unit with a whole new respect for the
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one point three second synchronized dance they have to perform
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while under siege.
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And if you want one final, truly fascinating nugget to
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take away from these sources, please take close attention to
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the very beginning of that one point three second kicking
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operation we just talked about. The long snapper. Okay, the
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Bengals have a player named Will Wagner at that position.
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He is a mechanical engineering major from the University of Michigan.
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Wait really, yeah, And what is so incredible is that
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he doesn't just view snapping as throwing a backward He
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reportedly applies the exact same rigorous thought processes used by
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top tier engineers at like Apple or Google to the
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single most forgotten, invisible position in all of football.
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Wait, how does a mechanical engineer view a long snap
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differently than a regular football player.
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It becomes a pure physics and engineering problem for him.
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He isn't just chucking it. He is calculating the exact
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launch angle, the necessary velocity, and the specific spin rate
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required for a football to travel exactly fifteen yards and
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land in the holder's hands with the laces facing perfectly
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outward every single time.
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That is just wild.
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He engineers the perfect snap by treating his body like
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a calibrated launch mechanism. It removes the guesswork and replaces
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it with mathematical consistency.
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That is amazing. A mechanical engineer optimizing the spin rate
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and launch angle of a football to guarantee the kicker's success.
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It really brings us full circle back to the idea
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of the preseason as a live action laboratory, doesn't it?
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It sure does testing the parts, engineering the outcomes, and
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finding edges in the absolute smallest details. It makes you
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wonder as you go about your week, whether in your
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own life, your household, or your business, what are the
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long snapper roles in your world?
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That's a great question.
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What are those invisible, seemingly mundane tasks that are just
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waiting for a rigorous engineering mindset to come in and
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completely revolutionize them. Think about that the next time you
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watch a football sale precisely through the uprights. Thank you
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so much for joining us for this deep dive, and
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we will see you next time.
