The Skinny Podcast: Ja'Marr Chase drama, Rhett Lowder's MLB debut

welcome into the skinny podcast it's the weekly pop predition I'm Richard Skinner local12.com digital Sports colist Net with Rick breing as always it's presented by Blake the attorney masin oh the Intrigue that's going on with the Bengals at the moment the Reds have become a a walking disaster and we got the starter college football season all ahead of us Rick yeah skinny this is going to serve as our Bengals NFL season preview show next week will'll be more into like the individual matchup with the Patriots we'll give you our pick for that today we will have our college football picks obviously for week one but we'll start with the Bengals and before we actually get into the season breakdown or preview or what have you we've got to talk some more about Jamar Chase of course he was back until until he wasn't anymore a day later the Bengals wide receiver practiced early in the week but then was back to sitting out on Wednesday he strolled in about 15 minutes late wearing street clothes to practice and that was just a day after Zack Taylor had said he was going to continue to practice and play in week one so at this point skinny where are we at with Jamar Chase um for starters I think way way way too much was made of him practicing on Sunday and Monday those two practices were closed to the media we don't know what he did um somebody from the team gave information to an nfl.com reporter Tom peler who tweeted out that he's practicing there were there was a picture of him catching a pass in in uniform and helmet um that might have been the only thing he did for all I know I'm going to guess it was a little more than that but but it wasn't really a practice either that's everybody took this and ran with like he's back those two weren't practices you know why they weren't really practices Rick cuz cut down day was coming Tuesday and you weren't going to afford a get a guy that you're going to cut to get hurt in one of those two practices they were basically walkthroughs and what I understand is Jamar did um participate in those um he he wants to if things go according to Hoy and he gets the contract extension at least not fall too far behind so those were a good du days to do that but it wasn't like he was back you know with people covering him and and and you know routes against physical contact so everybody took that way way too far now I think Zack though thought all right he's back I you know he's gonna practice um and he even admitted then yesterday put his foot in his mouth and probably spoke too soon so I I think what happened unfortunately for Zack yesterday with Jamar doing what he did is it really did make Zack Taylor look like a fool and that's unfortunate because Zach is really had his back the whole entire process as much as he can have it yeah we we finally hit the guys what do you want from me portion of the program with Zack Taylor when when he said uh basically he was just like every day is a new day right I mean to to me that was just him throwing his hands up going guys what do you want me to do at this point like right you you knew what I knew he was back I thought he was gonna be practicing all week he's not anymore he's doing his own thing obviously this is not what I want but uh what am I going to do he's one of our best players my my question is should someone else speak up to take the heat off of Zack Taylor I've heard that from some people saying like where's the front office why aren't they saying anything skinny what's your take on that should someone else be speaking out here I mean you don't have a general manager there's the problem I mean Duke Tobin is director of player personnel and his role is um you know trying to trying to get players on the club and trying to evaluate talent um he's not a contract negotiator the Brown family never is going to talk in these circumstances so you're not going to get them so you don't have that buffer and that is where Zach takes the bullet there there's been times um over the years where there's been a roster move or something or or a question that will come up that that should be asked of a general manager and he will literally answer it with that's a question for Duke and we've told him listen we don't get to talk to Duke but a couple times a year and maybe in this circumstance there does need to be a buffer Rick and I I don't know what the answer is because they just don't have that person on staff and and I also realize that to some extent there may be uh like the Bengals front office doesn't want to be talking right now that's part of the negotiation that's going on it's better if they don't say anything maybe but it does feel like Zack Taylor is in a really difficult position right now he is and I think he handles these situations really well like I think he's done as well as he could really do playing both sides of it not really upsetting anyone while also being fairly uh reasonable with the fan base and the media give trying to give you guys legitimate answers to your questions that are just coming day after day the same questions he knows what he's going to get asked it's exasperating but he does a good job of handling those situations um one thing that stuck out to me was when he was asked if he and Jamar are talking every day he said I'll keep that between me and Jamar what would I mean is that should we read into that or is that just like I'm not going to put any of our conversations out there period yeah I I I think it's more the latter but I would have thought that he talked to Jamar on Sunday and Monday and had a feel for where the direction was heading in my opinion I mean I he I don't think he would have said to us what he said on Tuesday um and then I asked him point blank on Tuesday will he play in the regular season open yes yesterday I literally asked him the same exact question and I got a I got a a Camala Harris word salad I mean I it was truly a non-answer answerers we're still working the plan and this is the latter portion of the plan what does that even mean I don't even know what that means but that wasn't as definitive as the yes of yesterday was it yeah and that's where I mean like you said you want to believe oh he's just having this guy's back he's like I'm not going to put our conversations out there but when you have a clear miscommunication like he had or even worse a situation where if they work communicating and Jamar Chase just completely threw Zack under the bus and lied to him saying yeah I'm going to be practicing I'm going to play week one and then went back to not practicing and holding in then man that's that's tough that that would definitely suggest there's some type of I don't know if issue is the right term but there's definitely a level of uh you're over here and I'm over here doing my business to this relationship between Jamar Chase and Zack Taylor and uh I mean that definitely Stu stuck out to me when he said that now uh there there is the possibility I guess that Jamar just doesn't practice at all and then when they get out there to play the Patriots he's in uniform playe Zack Taylor did say he doesn't need to practice to play and be ready to go week one do you believe that's a possibility or where are you at with this right now I I believe it's a possibility and I've said it half jokingly that he could roll in at 5 till 1 um on that Sunday maybe that's the time he signs a contract and rolls out and balls out yeah I I I don't think he needs it would be nice I think it would be helpful but I don't think he needs it um but also or Joe burrow care if he practices one second before that game kicks correct no right I think they care that he plays in that game and that's again I've talked this for a month now Rick and I'm still I'm gonna stick to my guns I don't think he plays without a deal I just don't shefer said that he felt it was a goodfaith gesture for Jamar to show up on Sunday and Monday and be quote unquote back at practice maybe that's the case but did did it do more harm than good now for him to show up for those couple days or do you think this is leading us down the right path no I I I I think it was the good faith gesture of listen the media is not going to be there to see me do it um I do want to get some reps in just in case a contract does get done I want to show some good faith and I think that was part of it but I think the problem was everybody took this as like it was some formal practice it really wasn't I and I I keep wanting to reiterate that I literally told people on the beat Sunday when that story broke nationally I said I'm still not convinced he practices Wednesday and they're like oh come on I said I'm just telling you I I don't think this is a big deal because it's just him doing individual stuff doing some walkthrough stuff he did some of that stuff back in in mini camp um and it's just basically a time where he's doesn't want to make sure he doesn't fall all the way behind and so that's a great time to do it out of sight out of mind we don't see it we don't blow it into a big deal it did get blown into a big deal because somebody from the Bengals I don't know who that was leaked it to Tom peliso who puts it out there then we all come chasing our tales on it but I literally when I talked to handful of folks I said guys I'm not convinced I'm just not convinced he's practicing on Wednesday and lo and behold when I walked we walked in I said looked around for a minute we were all kind of quiet because I think we're all looking for the same thing I said I don't want to be that guy but I don't see him and they're like oh come on I said I don't see him I'm just telling you I said I'm an old man with old eyes you guys take a look where the receivers are and like kind of one by one like oh no oh no oh no oh no well then the great drama of all Rick cuz they they practice at the indoor facility right and and uh the team buses the players down from the stadium and two buses came and all the players were there and he wasn't on those buses obviously well then the third bus came and then the mystery was oh I betch he's on the third bus wasn't on the third bus either and then all of a sudden as the video we've seen on Twitter that Kelsey Conway took and and some others took um he Saun into practice about 15 minutes into it and I I thought that that almost looked like an Fu walk if there ever was one that's what what I was thinking watching again that's like okay I'm reading too much into this whatever but seeing that video of him sauntering into practice I literally used that word I said look at that is an absolute saunter if there was ever a saunter it was an Fu attitude about it the way it was like yeah I'm showing up 15 minutes late just because I can and this is what I'm doing right now it's like man after you just had those back-to-back days where you showed up if it was a good faith a show of good faith by showing up on Sunday and Monday then don't you think you're on time attentive and acting like you want to be a part of the team even if you're not going to participate on Wednesday yeah unless Zack Taylor was going to tell us after practice yeah actually he's a little nicked up or he's getting some treatment or it's fine it was cleared with us we we know what he's doing that's fine that wasn't the case Zack Taylor was caught off guard by the fact that Jamar Chase was not there on Wednesday by the fact that he showed up late on Wednesday and to me that was like the first time where this really felt like all right jamar's kind of being an [ __ ] about this and like he's he's starting to push this a little bit more into me me me type territory at this point I I mean I think he feels like that's the only way to get this contract done and and maybe it does maybe they maybe they still get it done I just I don't see them doing it right now and I listen I get it's hard to always get both sides right you always want to have the hot take of one side or the other I understand his point I do yeah you're making million dollars you want the the the the knowledge that hey um I'm guaranteed money even if I get hurt but the Bengals side is one too of this is why you have rookie contracts in the NFL you let players play on those rookie contracts um it allows you then to roster build around that it's usually the quarterback you're hoping is on the rookie deal and that was Joe burough for a handful of years um and at the same point in time I've said this a lot I'll say it a loud here I just don't I don't know why the wide receiver Market keeps getting reset and I'm I'm at the stage of I just don't know if I do it I I especially not now because here's the other thing if you're the Bengals let's just throw out C let's just throw out Justin Jefferson let's work off of his monies right 110 mil guaranteed $140 million what he can make let's work off those monies let's just say the Bengals cave and they pay it and Jamar Chase and I don't want this to happen Jamar Chase suffers a catastrophic injury in week five and never is the same they're on the hook for all that money when this year all they're on the hook for is a million dollarss in base salary and so I understand their point too fans may not like to hear that I know you know F if you're a fanboy you certainly don't want to hear just pay the man well it's just not that easy folks yeah that seems to be the big piece of this puzzle that everyone is missing when they talk about it like the fact of the guaranteed money is it's guaranteed if something happens to him you're out that money now whereas right now you still got technically two years before you'd be having to give him those types of dollars so I completely get both sides of it and to this point I thought both sides had really done a good job of playing playing their business side out but also keeping an amicable Mak being respectful making both sides look good and like Jamar showing up looking like he was invested in this I thought he was doing a pretty good job of being like yeah I want my contract but I'm also a part of the team and I'm really focused on winning all of a sudden things changed on Wednesday when he showed up to practice late like that and he made Zack Taylor look like a fool I'm not saying that's not within his right but things are different now and now as a Bangals fan I think there is much more cause for concern all of a sudden yeah and I mean we're doing this on on a Thursday morning in fact when I'm done with this podcast I'm driving straight to payor um and they practice um probably probably about 45 minutes after we finish this podcast get wrapped up uh they practice at 1:30 at the at I'm assuming at the indoor facility again today because of the heat he might be dressed for practice today for all I know I I mean to the point for all we know but again if this contract doesn't get done and I'm of the belief it doesn't it's just my opinion doesn't it could but I don't believe it does then what is he going to do and I think that's the answer to this and if it's that he caves and plays well I know that's great it's all well and good then but I go back to what did this all do other than piss everybody off in the end yep all right let's switch gears here kind of preview this season a bit we'll go through the schedule in a second but I got a couple questions you know we've broken down the position groups we've talked about a lot of different guys we talked about the battles and everything so we're not going to go through all of that again but just a couple of quick questions I had for you one give me a potential breakout player for this season a guy to watch that's not already on the radar that's like going to be a fun one name early in the season to keep an eye on it's a name you already know and and he's going to get touches and we already knew that but I just think Chase Brown has a chance to have a great year I I I just think with his uh playmaking ability and if teams opt to to to play the Bengals the way they have in the last few years which is light boxes um you know getting him some touches in the in the pass game in the screen game felt like like I saw a ton more screen game in training than than I've seen in a in a long time um and I think they want to get his hands on the ball as much as possible I I think it's Chase Brown for me I think he has a chance to be really really really good I love that answer and I knew you weren't going to pick this guy but another guy I wanted to ask you about again because we talked about him after the first game we were kind of like well okay great you got a couple balls at the end there but like what have you really done to this point Germaine Burton ended up being the highest graded offensive rookie in all of preseason by Pro Football Focus his score was 86.1 if that does anything for you and we've talked about how much legitimacy to put into Pro Football Focus especially in preseason games but uh he did end up continuing to do a little bit more as the preseason went on even after that first game you saw him at training camp as well I still believe he's probably a little bit behind some of those other guys for that third receiver spot but has he has he done enough to show you that there's some potential there and you think he could make an impact at some point this season yeah I I I think that but he he needs to get the trust of one Jill burrow I mean when Jill burrow calls you out after a preseason game that you need to get in your playbook more um I think that's very telling the fact that he got to your point late snaps in in in that first preseason game and then was one of those player I mean the third preseason game is usually for for a handful of guys trying to make the roster and then a bunch of guys who aren't going to make the roster he got thrown out there with with those guys too but I do think you saw the playmaking ability without question I think that's the nice thing that you saw is the one thing the dude can do is he can run um and you know for him now it's it's the nuances of playing receiver at the profession level and being a professional and maybe the N nudging of a of a Joe burrow is enough to get him going uh but boy you don't get on the field a lot of times if you don't gain that dude's trust we've talked about all the positives all the reasons to be excited about this team give me your biggest concern going into the season I mean I I would go offensive line depth and and that's probably true for 20 25 teams in this league maybe even more maybe hell maybe all of them um what's a bigger concern offensive lined upth or defensive lined up no I'm gonna go offensive line I still think the defensive line has enough and they're going to get pieces back within a month you know miles Murphy will be off IR McKinley Jackson just went on IR today um and and I would assume he comes off in four weeks uh as well so I I do think that that the defensive line depth will be fine I mean obviously they had to go out and sign an edge guy just to have an extra body um in KJ Henry but listen this offensive line last year Rick stay pretty damn healthy right I mean they they were a really healthy group and that just doesn't happen every year in the NFL it just doesn't so if Ted Carris gets hurt listen I know Matt Lee was the darling of camp and good for him for making the rosters a seventh round pick rookie but that's who you're going to entrust your offensive line to if if if Ted Carris gets hurt you know the guard depth I mean you know is Cody Ford able to still play in there um you know we've already seen amarius Mims get hurt and don't think Trent Brown's going to get through the opener and play 100 snaps I just don't think his body's going to allow him to do that so somebody's going have to probably play some snaps there if it's not a Marius Mims and again that's probably true of a lot of teams but just coming off a year where they were healthy up front it's just I mean the law of averages catches up to you yeah you almost just feel like from a luck standpoint if nothing else you were lucky last year in that regard chances are this year it's not going to be that way so uh that definitely is a concern all right the Bengals win total for this upcoming season is 10 and a half once again again same as last year we uh we know what the schedule is um do you need me to put it up on the screen here you want me to throw it up uh yeah it wouldn't hurt for the graphic I got it in my head because I've gone through it about a billion times in my head all right here let's uh let's share the screen and we will go through these games here all right starting with the uh Patriots week one obviously we said 10 and a half was the win total um skinny I I think the way to look at this we always kind of do is there are games you feel really good about them winning games you don't feel very good about them winning you think they're going to lose and then you've got your tossup games is the way you usually put it obviously the Patriots I would assume fall into that likely win category how do you see the the rest of this kind of going from there yeah that's the first month that I'm looking at right now um so let's go with the likely win likely loss and and in the toss-up category and I'll tell you why I put a game in a tossup category game one is a likely win game two is a likely loss game three is a likely win game four is a likely win even though it's on the road game five is a tossup you know why it's a tossup it's at home that helps you but the Ravens swept you last year right so we're we're three one and one I'm going to put the the last number I give you is the toss-up category yeah to be clear there's where there's where because not everyone's seeing this it's the Patriots the Chiefs is a loss the commanders is a win the Panthers is a win and now the Ravens as a tossup at home I'm going to put the Giants as a tossup just because it's on the road so we're now 3-1 and two we go from there to the Browns on the road I'm going to put that in the likely loss category um so that gets us to 32 and two the Eagles game at home is a tossup in my opinion so we're at three2 and three the Raiders game is a win we're at 42 and three the Ravens on the road I'm putting in the likely loss category so we're at 43 and three the Chargers on the road is a toss up so we're 43 and four the Steelers at home I'm going to put in the win category because I just don't think Pittsburgh is going to be very good so I'm I'm going to go to 53 and four Cowboys on the road is a toss up 53 and five Titans on the road is a tossup because it's on the road 53 and six Browns at home I'm GNA put that in the win category because it is at home and they beat him last year I know it was in that wonky last game that didn't matter so we're at what 63 and five right no 6 three and six actually at the moment then the Broncos at home is a win at 73 and six and the Steelers on the road I'll put in the tossup category 73 and seven so if you can basically split the toss-up category maybe win one more than you lose that gets you to 11 wins I'm going to go 11 and six yeah so I mean there are seven teams in the NFL this year with an expected win total under seven games according to Vegas odds uh the Bengals play all seven of them that's the Giants Raiders commanders Titans Panthers Broncos and the Patriots the first game of the season what what what's the number they have to go in those games is it six and one five yeah and I always say this too when I write this because I have I'm writing my prediction piece next week that'll include some of this stuff in it rick um every year that I've done this exercise where I try to predict the record put the likely wins likely losses toss-up games every year a game in the likely win category turns into a loss remember when they played the Jets a couple of years ago and Mike White had the game of his life and every year there's a game I put in the likely loss category that turns into a win so those always balance themselves out so to your point yeah out of the seven games that of that probably six and one is what they should go and probably will go yeah so you go six and one then it puts you in a position basically where you got to play 500 ball in the other 10 games yep and if this team is a Super Bowl Contender like we've talked about and they will obviously a season is weird it can it can be like a few years ago where they start slow and they lose a few games where they shouldn't and then they catch fire and they play great football at the end of the year and they still make the playoffs but if you're a team that is theoretically a real Contender for the Super Bowl in a given year you got to play 500 ball in those 10 games I mean yes there are some very difficult games in there when you talk about the Chiefs the Eagles but there are also some winnable ones in there like you know I think at Dallas is a very winnable game even though it's on the road so um you beat the Chargers and maybe the Cowboys split the AFC North games you're at five and five right right and there you go there you're to 11 wins without almost batting an eye yeah I just with Joe burrow in there I know like sometimes when you look at this and you're like the NFL you go game by game it's it's hard to pick a team to win 11 or 12 gam but we've seen the Bengals with Joe burrow healthy they that's what they do I mean they go on Long stretches where they just win a bunch of games in a row and let's go back to last season I mean even with the Joe burrow injury issues at different points of the season and missing games at the end and all of those things and giving up so many big plays on defense playing a first place schedule they still went nine and eight even through all of that they still went n and8 yeah so I'm asking for a two- game improvement against the last place schedule basically yeah I don't I I think 11 and 11 wins I'm probably short shrif in him win I mean I could be easily convinced this team goes 12 and 12 and five 13 and four is probably a stretch just because of you know who they do play and the fact of how tough North yeah exactly yeah um speaking of the AFC North what are your predictions for the division I I think the Bengals win it I think Baltimore be a new defensive coordinator some new bodies on defense uh I know the Derrick Henry Edition everybody's geeked by and they probably should be but I I'll say they're a playoff team I'll say Cleveland knocks on the door of the playoffs again and might be a second wild card team and I think Pittsburgh for the first time in Mike tomlin's era finally finishes under 500 God that'd be great to see I'm always amazed at what he does because I feel like his roster has not been good for but this feels I mean this whole quarterback situation just feels like it's an implosion ready to happen I hope so I'd love to see it be that way um Super Bowl prediction skinny you got one for us who you think's going to make it yeah I I'm it it there's some termo with the 49ers right now right with Trent Williams holding out and Brandon auk's contract issue but man that roster is so damn good and that the team that everybody's going to be Chic on obviously is Detroit and understandably so I think they're a really good team and they did some good things in the off season Philly's either going to tank badly because of their internal strife or they roster so good they could compete but I'm going to go I'm going San Francisco over Kansas City I mean just it's it just feels like those are the two teams and it's and it's usually different right but it's it it feels like that's the case I will say this I would probably be more bullish on picking the Bengals to go to the Super Bowl again at least if they can get HomeField Advantage I know what they did a couple years ago going to Kansas City and all that but I I think that's the big part for this year is can you get HomeField advantage and I think you a chance to do that after last year I want nothing to do with picking the Bengals to win the Super Bowl and I want nothing to do with anyone else picking the Bengals to win the Super Bowl because that's all we heard this time of year last year and obviously we saw where that went um I'm going Chiefs and lions I think the Chiefs beat the lions like you said lions are a bit of a Chic pick right now but I hate I mean the NFC is just kind of ridiculous anyway so uh they're as good as anyone I guess the Chiefs until someone skinny they've been in four of the last five Super Bowls they've won and you know what's funny I was doing some I had one Fantasy Football Draft I'm getting ready to do another tonight and I was just looking up some stuff you didn't have a I didn't realize he I didn't realize he didn't have as good a year last year as I as I thought because I always he's he's the arguably the best quarterback in football go look at Pat Mahomes numbers last year they weren't great and and you look back at some of their run they won with defense so to your point uh they find different ways to win it's not just Pat Mahomes slinging 45 touchdown passes well and that go back to the Bengals the year that they went to the Super Bowl everyone talks about Joe burrow and thinks back to like oh the Bengals were so magical when Joe burrow was healthy but that run was not Joe burrow throwing the ball over the place and the Bengals putting up 40 points he had some incredible moments during that run and that's the same thing Pat Mahomes does when the game is on the line when you need that fourth quarter comeback those guys step up and they make those incredible plays that's why I'm not picking against Pat Mahomes until he I'm with you and again they don't need Pat Mahomes to to do what he's done in years past and throw you 45 TDS he threw 27 last year and they still won a Super Bowl and they want it because he's still right to your point when you need him to make a big play makes a big play and they've added weapons to him too that that doesn't hurt either I mean he did it last year with as pedestrian a group of wide receivers as you could possibly have which is maybe another reason why you don't have to pay wide receivers top dollar I mentioned that I didn't want anything to do with picking the Bengals to win the Super Bowl but let me just throw this out there to you real quick Bengals odds to win the Super Bowl right now at FanDuel 12 to1 15 to1 I like that that's a good price that's a good value skinny that's a I mean regardless of how you look at the NFL this year even if you have a very pessimistic view of the Bengals they're what top five top six contenders yeah 30 to win 450 bucks that's that's worth a $30 play right I I feel like 15 to one's pretty good odds for a team that has I'm With You by almost anyone's estimations a fairly real chance at competing in the yeah no right I'm with you uh yeah 15 to one that's rarely am I enticed by Super Bowl odds but 15 to1 for the Bengals feels pretty good if you want to put a flyer on that any thoughts here on the NFL at large or the Bengals be obviously we'll talk again next week before they play their first game but yeah no I it's it's it's almost upon us that's all I that's all I'm just glad the training camp portion of my life is over now I just have another week to deal with Jamar Chase can can I just say though like I hear the media types doing the whole like oh Jamar Chase wake me up when this is over this is this is so old like I I love Mo show he does a great show but I heard him yesterday complain about that for like two segments of having to do the Jamar Chase thing what else would you guys be doing right now this is gift from the football media gu otherwise should be talking about nothing during training camp instead you're talking about something that's very real and very interesting to every fan why would you not be like thank you Jamar Chase no I I I don't disagree with that on your point I just talk about just training camp in general it's just oh yeah no doubt and by the way I get asking the same questions every day like as a beat writer is old and talking about the same thing as a guy who does a radio show like MO is old I get that but at the same time remember it's training camp there's nothing interesting to talk about I think there were a lot of people that honestly thought this was over on Tuesday when Zack killer said what he said and I I stucked I even sucked up my guns that day I'm like I'll believe it when I see him there tomorrow guys I I'll believe it then and sure enough my man wasn't there he was there but he wasn't there practicing y all right let's switch gears to the Reds they are one and five since we last talked they're 63 and 70 overall fourth place in the NL Central 13 and a half games back of the first place Brewers they're now 10 games out of the last wild card spot and that'll be the last time I go through all that this year thank done with that portion of the program um the reds are going to to promote pitching Prospect Rhett louder and give him the start on Friday night against the Brewers louder is the number two Prospect in the organization and is 22 years old he was drafted seventh overall last year after pitching for Wake Forest he made his first and only start in Triple A last Thursday and tossed six scoreless Innings there's been some hand ringing about the Reds making this decision to bring Rett louder up on Friday to make his debut already skinny where do you fall on that are you good with the Reds doing this I I am but but that was not the plan at all this was not the this wasn't Rett louder pitching his way to the point where hey let's bring it this was literally out of necessity they've run out of arms man you've seen the last two nights two Bullpen nights for goodness sakes they're out of dudes and so you could throw someone else out there right um not really I mean honest to goodness not really um because their plan was to let him start in Louisville for the rest of this season that's the perfect way to end let him end on a high note and then go into spring training let him compete for a rotation spot maybe he starts in Louisville again and then maybe the first call up when an injury or or ineffectiveness happens to one of the the starting pitchers but this was not the plan um so deviating from the plan is a little Troublesome but at the same time like I said they're just out of dudes yeah I I guess my question and I'm not sure how you feel about this I don't really think if if you're a guy who can't handle going up to the major leagues struggling going back down and then coming back up later and and succeeding like you're you're just probably not a guy right like you're not a real dude that's going to succeed at the highest level of the sport and listen he struggled for a bit at Chattanooga this year and pulled himself up by his bootstraps so I don't think he's that type of guy whatsoever right so when people start worrying about like oh you're rushing him and he's going to be ruined by this like I don't necessarily buy into that but to your point that was when I also don't love a front office being like we have a calculated plan for one of our top prospects in place and just because your season has gone down the tubes no one cares about what's going on at the major league level and you can't even keep an actual major league pitching rotation together now you're throwing him into the fire like I don't love that either no the way this season is unraveled as as optimistic as I was at the start of the year and maybe too much so um not believing in too many guys having sophomore slumps and and not realizing the injury bug was going to get him the way it did and all that thing I mean here here's here's my problem right now moving forward yeah I love h green I love Nick Lolo when he's right I like Andrew rabbit quite a lot I I do I like all three of those guys and I do think they're the core of a rotation moving forward um I like TJ fredel a lot I I I like some of these parts a lot but when hunter green Nicko and Andrew Abbott can get through a full season pitching a full season wake me up because I don't know if it's ever going to happen and then you look at at guys like fredel who um you know can't stay healthy and is actually playing a little bit nicked up right now at the moment and good God Matt mlan is he ever gonna I mean is that dude ever going to be right again are we just going to keep testing him for different maladies which is terrible because he was the one guy we were certain was going to be good he was going to be solid he'd be fine and now we're doing that game with him yeah and so I mean do you do you trust this front office to go out and add free agent pieces do they think that no it's just a matter of getting our guys healthy again um but you know hey even if next year uh again I love hunter hunter green became sa young material this year but again he can't finish the season and I know that's probably that's a that's a lot of major league pitching today but it's damn problematic and my other issue is now I know this season they've really almost never had everyone healthy but even when they've had at least most of these guys healthy it still hasn't been good good enough to compete for anything by the way right like it still hasn't been good enough with those guys all healthy now they're like maybe one day all of them will be healthy at the same time okay and then what like I've lost all faith and I've said this a few times so I won't go through it but I have lost all faith and optimism for the future of this team because I just don't know that they're good enough even if they are healthy yeah and getting them all healthy at this point is a lost cause it feels like and and then adding the pieces to it the the couple of pieces that you need to add do you trust the front office to go do that well no and you know this is another great point that Mo eggar made uh earlier this week is that their argument this offseason is going to be like well getting these injured guys back are almost like free agent acquisitions those are Acquisitions for the off season we got all these guys healthy yep I'm with you I think that's what we're gonna hear yep I I have nothing else to add on the Reds at this point do you no I I will say I went to the game on um what night was that Tuesday night I went to the game on Tuesday night after I wrote my cutdown story and um uh it was it was sparsely attended obviously but I I've never seen a crowd that was that sparse boo so loud when Spencer steer was held up at third and then when that game ended all 4,000 attendant were really letting them have it they were letting them have it for sure all right uh real quick college football we'll get to our pick them in a second but I got a couple comments here from an Ohio State standpoint Urban Meyer made a few comments this week about the buck guys um one on quarterback will Howard and then one on Ohio State schedule that I wanted to get your thoughts on will Howard is currently fifth in Heisman Trophy betting odds at plus 1400 but Urban went out and said he doesn't think Howard will be a finalist for the award which ruffled some feathers in the Ohio State fan base quote they have two first rounders at running back they have an incredible group of receivers I'm just not sure I think he's a great player and he's going to run one of the top offenses in the country but when you get to November you have to have the stats I'm not hating on him I'm just afraid he won't have the stats I just don't see him having that 40 touchdown passing season I think he'll be a pretty good runner for Ohio State but not enough statistically to put him in the Heisman skinny do you have any issue with Urban Meyer talking that way about a current Ohio State quarterback hey I just people go get so angry at others opinions I mean it's his opinion right and it's a pretty informed opinion is is a former coach and I don't and my opinion of his opinion is I don't think he's wrong I think that's probably right I think I talked glowingly about will Howard last week right when we talked about college football and I like I think it's a great addition to for Ohio State and and he's going to do good things for them but to that point I just don't think he does quite quite enough to be in that Heisman conversation maybe he does and if he does people are going to scream at urb me's an idiot the same people who loved on him for all those years when he was the head coach now I think he's a dope um urb Myers a lot of things he's not a dope I think this Ohio State fans being way over sensitive just because it's Urban Meyers saying it's like if anyone else says this they're probably like yeah our strength is going to be running the football this year our quarterback probably is gonna have to put up crazy numbers through the air uh that's our path to success and yet they're getting mad because it's Urban Meyers saying that I I clicked on the headline of the story and I expected it to be like Urban Meyer taking pot shots sounding like some old bitter hater who's out of the game and I read this I'm like Wonder know that's a very reasoned well out analysis of the Season ahead for Ohio State doesn't sound like taking shots at will Howard really at all to me and the other thing was he talked about Ohio State schedule he said I worry about the schedule if you look closely at the at it there's five weeks until they play a game they start with three games where they'll be 50o favorites then they have a bye and then Michigan State in week five as a shell of themselves they're going to pull the starters in the third or fourth quarter I'm worried about that yeah I don't know if I'm worried about that I i' I'd almost rather say I let's go into that that Oregon game as fresh as possible that's what I would want I want listen maybe you don't think they're going to be tuned up but I'd want my guys to be as fresh as can be for that game wouldn't you I mean in theory that sounds good but I will give some Credence to a guy who's been there before and been there with this program and been like hey I'd rather be tested a little bit earlier in the season all those cakewalks and not playing your starters full games and not having their conditioning level up might be a concern if you're a head coach of a football CRI that seems like a reasonable concern coming from a guy who coached college football I don't think this is crazy I don't know if I necessarily agree with it but I don't think it's like a crazy thing to say here's the thing I do you want to have one of those um tough games right before the Oregon game I don't think I want that no but I I might want a game the one thing about this is they are like games where the actual spread is like 48 and a half points on Saturday yeah it's 50 or was 50 at one point yeah you might want it to be more like you know a FBS team that you're going to only be by four or five touchdowns in theory instead of like seven or eight touchdowns I I don't I don't know if that helps you but maybe it does something to get you more ready for Oregon here let me let me look and and since you said that I want to see who Oregon got before they play Ohio State maybe they're in the same boat right I don't know that they've got Idaho Boise State Oregon State UCLA and Michigan State so it's tougher but it's not like you're you're not like you're gonna be totally battled to I mean Boise's not the Boise we remember um no but it's it's better than it's better and then the game at UCLA is going on the road playing a high major team and then you've got Michigan State at home which obviously we talked about Michigan State stinking already for Ohio State but um yeah I don't know I don't think that's a huge deal personally I don't either yeah I don't either all right let's get into our pick home will start Saturday 2:30 p.m. talson at Cincinnati the beats are 31 and a half Point favorite the total is 53 and A2 well I'm looking at 29 and a half at the moment but we'll use the line that you have 31 and a half because it's your line and you're looking no it's good I'm good with it it might have changed I did I did do this at one in the morning last night so it could have guess if if it did that's a pretty big two-point switch is a pretty good I I I think much like last year UC gets off to a a rousing start um and there was false optimism over the emery Jones era when that that that happened but I I think they named their score here and I think they'll name it pretty solidly I'll go UC 51,3 so UC and the over for me all right UC and the over for you I'm going to go UC 45 t7 you see in the under I was I was looking at um talson and what they've done in recent years against other FBS teams they played West Virginia in 2022 and year 65 to7 and then uh they beat Maryland last year 38 or Maryland beat them rather 38 to6 last year uh so I don't know if there's much you can really take from th from those games other than they haven't scored many points at all Saturday at 3:30 we've got akaran at Ohio State Ohio State is a 48 and a half Point favorite the total is 58 and a half uh what do you got there skinny I'm going Ohio State 56 to nothing okay so Ohio State and the under OSU and the under total there was 58 and a half you've got it 56 to nothing yep uh Ryan day's average margin of Victory against ma teams guess 38.6 try 59.7 wow 59.7 I believe that's four games that it took to that he's played against Mac teams average margin of Victory 59.7 so you see that spread of 48 and a half seems ridiculously high uh it's come down giving you some wiggle room it was and a half at one point I did see that so that's come down a little bit so I guess the money's come in on akan the smart money's come in on akan yeah this this is Chip Kelly's first game as offensive coordinator I know uh Ohio State's going to run the football a lot this year but I also think Chip Kelly is gonna Flex a little bit here in the opening week and put up 70 points on his own so Ohio State 70 akan three for me OSU and the over Saturday at 7:45 we've got Southern Miss at Kentucky Kentucky is a 28o favorite the total is 49 and a half I mean there are so many unknown on that offense but that defense I think is going to set them up all night long you got 10 starters back on defense you got a All-American up front you got one of the top 100 players in the country according to ESPN in a cornerback position you got my guy JJ Weaver on the edge I think that defense just dominates and actually helps out the offense in that regard and I do think the offense I mean you got Baran Brown you got some Playmakers still and and again we the unknown of Brock Vandergriff is there but highly regarded guy who transferred from Georgia I'll go Kentucky 4 Southern Miss 10 all right so that is Kentucky and the over here yeah I think the defense sets them up with one short field and actually gets a score of their own in this game all right I I like Kentucky to cover the number as well I'm going to go 38 to6 though I agree that Southern Miss just can't score at all maybe they get a couple field goals or a late touchdown but 38-6 UK and the under for me skinny Do you have a favorite bet or a parlay for the week um I do have a favorite bet hang on one second I just I just closed out of that but give me two seconds and it's one of the big games of the weekend I gotta find it first this is a great week one slate by the way it is I I love Georgia lay in 13 and a half I do too against Clemson that's that's part of part of my bet here I've got Clemson under 17 and a half points against Georgia is my favorite yeah no I I think Georgia wins this thing 30 38 to 10ish I think they win it comfortably in my opinion so it was 13 and a half as the spread is that what right that's that's that's literally what I'm looking at it could go upus 13 and a half I would say if it went to 14 and a half Rick I'd probably buy the half a point and just get it to 14 I feel I feel really comfortable at 14 yeah I agree I loved that number as soon as I saw it but I I dug even a little deeper I just wanted to see I was like how many points do they think Clemson is going to score in this game when I saw 17 and a half to me that feels like stealing money I'm going clemon under 17 and a half points and this isn't for betting purposes but I am so interested in in the the Colorado game tonight as we're doing this podcast I I I mean just from all the stuff that's been built up from the transfers to uh the way Dion has handled some of his Media stuff um and they're playing a legit FBS team I mean this isn't like the the K I think they're n are they nine and a half Point favorite tonight I thought was like two or three unless he got up time the opening line was Tiny no it's it's nine and a half they're a n Point favorite over North Dakota State at home I mean either they're going to roll North Dakota State because it just is what it is it's again they're a great FBS program I don't know that they will skinny that could be an interesting program yeah I I think it's gonna be I'm trust me I I've got a fantasy draft at nine and I'm I'm a little bummed by it because I'm trying to watch this game at the same time yeah there's a couple games on the Slate even for tonight that are that are fun to watch so I'm I'm looking forward to that one all right let's get into ask skinny anything let's do it what is your typical game day TV setup for watching college or NFL on an off day uh I'll start with NFL NFL for me is is it's it's all Red Zone um I'll see what the two local games are because it's usually the only way I'm home on a Sunday is if Bengals aren't playing yeah correct we're playing on a Monday night whatever or I've just played on a Thursday night so I get a I get a handful of them this year um handful of my Sundays which is nice get one actually where we at are we like are you do you the basement no C couch in the living room just couch in the living room Red Zone and that's probably all I watch I will occasionally if like one of the local TV games is on and I might have a little interest in it and it's getting down to the wire and they're cut into a bunch of different games I may just flip between Red Zone and that game but for me on a Saturday man I am a zoo switching around games I just flip like a crazy person I am I try to lie I swear every year I go all right I'm gonna lock in on this game at 12 o'clock and I'm gonna watch it until it gets boring and then I'll I can't do it I just cannot do it now like I try to watch the locals when they're on if uc's on I'll try to lock into that Ohio State I'll lock into that as much as humanly possible for a bit and certainly Kentucky I'm not flipping the channel except for commercials um when when they're playing um but yeah I'm just an I'm terrible at it I just flip like a crazy man and I I literally sometimes will write down what channels all have games just to make sure I don't miss a channel that's got like a random like ion or something's got a game they might have an Ivy League game for all I know all flip to yeah or like uh Spectrum Pacific has Hawaii on at 12:30 in the morning correct um that what's your set up I can't do the flipping around like I've got to just do mult I I gota watch multiple games I can't only watch one game but it's like I've just got to put them all in front of me if I need like a phone and a tablet and a laptop or something get there like I'll do that but I just need multiple screens the the if I'm in my office it's a pretty good setup I've got two TVs on the wall I've got two computer monitors here I can do like three games and Twitter and that's usually enough for me all right yeah um if skinny had to cover one college as the beat writer which one would he choose um cover my alma mater was interesting because there was a chance to go back to Lexington on a regular basis and I love the SEC it's hard not to love the SEC that was that was that I I'll go Kentucky just because it's my alma mater do you like covering football or basketball better at the college level um probably football just in general just has a rhythm to it right it's just this day is this this day is that this day is this and then and you got the game and the aftermath after the game college basketball could can can be a little bit of a grind um the grindy part of college basketball was um you know leaving for a city getting in the city covering the game flying out the next day and then maybe having to drive to Lexington the next day to to cover a press conference because there's a game the next day of that I mean whatever it just it does get you I mean it it builds up I prefer like traveling back from Washington State on three different flights and then driving the centa center for a noon tip off the next day wow uh can skinny rank these Greater Cincinnati based pizza joints camper Roa dewis L roas Bourbon House Pizza Goodfellas adriatico and sentos those are all and you sent me this question just for for full disclosure just so I could could do it so I've had pizza at all of them I have not had serenos in honestly 20 years where is serenos I've never had in it's in Norwood um okay not I mean almost right off the lateral um feel like I should be more familiar with it must be fairly close to Xavier yeah it is yeah yeah yeah yeah um I'm G to put that one like as a as a as a incomplete because I just haven't had it in 20 years okay the other ones are hard because I like them all for different an interesting list so I'm GNA go from bottom up and again somebody's got to be in the bottom of this list and I would tell you for full disclosure I've eaten all of these and I would eat all of them again dewi is at the bottom for me it just never is a go-to play I I I enjoy it when I do go it's like once a year probably because some friends want to go to it or whatever and it's the place we want and they all right we'll go to Dew's but that's kind of like that would be the last on this list then L Roes again I like L Roes I just yeah here's the thing for me I have a taste test of you know what's this guy the bar stool guy has the one bite taste test I call I call it the cold pizza taste test if a cold pizza is good yeah if it's good cold and that's a really good pizza unfortunately roses is just not a good cold pizza to me I like it when we get it bring it home and it's hot and you have whatever slices you have of that I'm like yeah but then it goes in the in the in the fridge and I don't like to reheat pizza normally but that is one that I literally have to reheat because it just doesn't taste cold yeah it just weird get kind of Cris yeah it's not the same U but I on that note though if you let the traditional crust pepperoni L Roa Pizza sit out for like three or four hours and it just gets that like room temperature with the cheese is kind of like it's no longer melty and stuff then it's fantastic yeah but you're right the second it goes into the fridge it's done all right above that I'm GNA put bourbon house with the caveat I absolutely love Bourbon House the damn thing is so big though and unfortunately nobody in my house really liked it theyd let me get it about once a year and okay Dad you can have that and we'll all have our slice and I can't eat more than two slices of that um it just it's so it's just so much it's it's so good almost like Chicago style but it's not even it's like it's what they call stuffed pizza it's I mean it really is I love it I mean there's there's one there used to be one right up where I live they actually moved to um off the pl off um Oak Oakbrook Drive at the end of it near Pleasant Valley um so again again I'm ranking these and I'm not trying to hate on any because I like them all for different reasons bird so much yes all right so I'm down to camper Roa Good Fellas in Adriatica man the Bearcat from [ __ ] is so good but it's going to come in number three on this list Fair it is really really good you like adriatico yeah it's good I do but but I I would agree that it's like it's not the top of this list for me it's probably like third or fourth but it's very good Goodfellas comes in at number two I mean I love it's it's it's actually the greasiest of the pizzas probably that we're talking about but it's just it's outstanding I I I I I love Good Fellows and camper Ro is number one to me I just hate there the other night as a matter of fact I've never had a bad meal at camper Roa never I had it too camper Roa is like real like I feel like that's more closer to what Italians eat potentially yeah maybe yeah I say that never having had like actual Pizza in Italy but describe it to me that's what I Envision is and I say this because I do think it is outstanding Pizza I personally know the owners I've known them for a long time our daughters played golf against each other throughout like junior golf and high school stuff so I got to know them on the golf course that's actually this is not what their business was they were actually in in the the real business world and decided to start this pizza place and I don't know if you saw the other day I think it was in the state of Kentucky right where it got the the number one pizza in the state award and I believe that's right rightfully so so again I mean that's probably different rankings from people because we're all kind of partial to the place that you know there's what but man all these I can't go wrong on any of them to be honest with DWIs is probably the one wouldn't have to beg me to go but it it's just not one that comes to the Forefront I like deys but I never get it I would say like every time we go to deys I'm always like oh that was great but I never think no I'm the same way yeah I'm the same way um I would put bourbon house probably down towards the bottom of my list but again I like it it's just the one I would probably not ask to go there out of any of these places because it's too much in terms of the food it's just it's so filling it's a lot yeah Bourbon House L Ro is next um again I've never had sarentos but I have good Fellas at the top for me I just think to me that's like it's New York style pizza it's actually New York style pizza tastes like New York it's it's really good it is really good I I will say this the funny part about L Rose is is we probably get it once a week um for dinner because we're always out and somebody just brings it home but usually it's a calzone or a hogy before it's a pizza as goofy as that sounds what what do you get the uh buddy or whatever it's called No I get the I get the steak hogy oh okay steak hogy with a little pizza sauce on it I know some other people do the mushroom sauce but I go with this I go with the PE the the tomato sauce I'm a big hogy guy I I love hogies I I do the I do the bake buddy or the bake Royal every once in a while you know who has is it Riverfront what's it Riverfront Pizza Riv Pizza fantastic Hoke really yeah had theirs no I've seen the I've seen the place I just oh yeah go get a Riverfront Pizza hogi and come back and talk their bu kill you I'll do it I got challenged to eat one of those Diamond Shar crunch thing ofama jiggers and did it so I'll do this y this is better than the Star Crunch I can guarantee that all right all right all right that's all we got all right good stuff appreciate it we'll be back next week as the Bengals get set for the opener will Jamar Chase play or will he won't we'll see how our betting picks did in week one and we'll dive into week two as well and much much more for Rick breing I'm Richard Skinner it's been the skinny podcast the weekly po predition presented by Blake the attorney masley sure you could stop watching now but let's be honest you want to see more so click some of those links or better yet go ahead and tap subscribe that way you'll catch more content from local 12