Dave Lapham, the Bengals' long-time radio analyst who received his doctorate in down and distance from Paul Brown himself, has left his mark in every nook and cranny of Bengaldom.
"You seem to have a thirst for knowledge of the game," Brown told his rookie guard in 1974.
One of those landmarks stands as the right guard for the Bengals greatest team ever, their first Super Bowl team. And the only way to begin celebrating the 40th anniversary of 1981's highly-ranked juggernaut of the NFL's No. 2 offense and No. 12 defense is to have Lapham kick it all off in the first Old School Scribe Podcast of the year.
"Anything with old in it fits me fine," says Lapham, who is 68 but always sounds as bubbly as the Wakefield High School lineman that helped knock off Melrose ("Smellrose") in the annual Turkey Day Classic on the North Shore of his native Massachusetts.
Here are some other things maybe you didn't know about David Allan Lapham that he reveals in the podcast.
Images from the 1981 AFC Championship between the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers, a game affectionately known as the "Freezer Bowl." The Freezer Bowl is recalled as the coldest game in NFL history.
Cincinnati Begals quarterback Ken Anderson turns to make a handoff during the AFC championship game against the San Diego Chargers in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982. Subzero temperatures curtailed the aerial duel expected by the two teams. (AP Photo)
The Cincinnati Bengals break out in celebration after defeating the San Diego Chargers 27-7 in the AFC championship game in Cincinnati, Jan. 10, 1982. (AP Photo)
Their breath made visible by sub-zero temperatures, fans cheer during the AFC championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers in Cincinnati, Jan. 11, 1982. The Bengals defeated the Chargers, 27-7. (AP Photo)
San Diego Chargers defensive players Louie Kelcher, center, and Ray Presten, right, stop Cincinnati Bengals running back Charles Alexander, left, for a short gain during first quarter action of the AFC championship game in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982. (AP Photo)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, left, reacts as San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts, right, looks dejected after the Bengals defeated the Chargers in the AFC championship in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982. Fouts was intercepted twice in the game, and Anderson passed for two touchdowns and no interceptions. (AP Photo)
Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Louis Breedon, right, intercepts a pass to San Diego Chargers receiver Charlie Joinor, left, to break up a second quarter drive by the Chargers in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982. Breedon's interception came on the Bengals six yard line. (AP Photo)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, left, reacts as San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts, right, looks dejected after the Bengals defeated the Chargers in the AFC championship in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982. Fouts was intercepted twice in the game, and Anderson passed for two touchdowns and no interceptions. (AP Photo)
San Diego Chargers running back Chuck Muncie (46) reaches for a pass from quarterback Dan Fouts during the AFC championship game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Cincinnati on Jan. 11, 1982. Bengals defensive player Mike Fuller helps break up the play. The Bengals won 27-7. (AP Photo)
Cincinnati Bengals tight end M.L. Harris is carried by teammate Mike Wilson after scoring a touchdown on a pass from quarterback Ken Anderson in the first quarter of Sunday, Jan. 10, 1982 AFC title game with the San Diego Chargers in Cincinnati. (AP Photo)
Cincinnati Bengals tight end Dan Ross drives for yardage after a pass reception from Bengals quarterback Ken Andersen during the AFC Championship game against the San Diego chargers, Sunday, Jan. 10, 1982, Cincinnati, Oh. Chargers linebacker Woodrow Lowe makes the stop during first half action. (AP Photo)
Shirtless Cincinnati Bengals fans are joined by another in a snowmobile suit as they cheer on the Bengals in the AFC championship game against the San Diego Chargers in Cincinnati, Jan. 10, 1982. Temperature at the game was minus 9 degrees. (AP Photo)
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson, left, prepares to throw during the AFC championship game against the San Diego Chargers in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982. (AP Photo)
San Diego Chargers defensive back Bob Gregor, left, walks off the field with a Cincinnati Bengal in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982. The Bengals defeated the Chargers 27-7 in the AFC championship game. (AP Photo/Harold P. Matosian)
Cincinnati Bengals coach Forrest Gregg is carried off the field by jubilant players and fans after the Bengals defeated the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship playoff game in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jan. 10, 1982. The win gives the Bengals their first Super Bowl position. (AP Photo)
San Diego Chargers linebacker Ray Preston kneels on the turf after the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Chargers 27-7 in the AFC championship game in Cincinnati on Jan. 10, 1982. (AP Photo)
- As a Wakefield senior he was accepted at every Ivy League college, but stunned his mother when he opted elsewhere. (You can find that discussion starting about 12 minutes in.)
- He played for a College Football Hall of Fame head coach at Syracuse before playing in Cincinnati for a Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach in Brown. Lapham struck up such a solid relationship with him that he served as a pallbearer at Brown's August, 1991 funeral, calling it at about the eight-minute mark "as high of an honor as I could imagine."
- When the head coach of that '81 team, Forrest Gregg, left for Green Bay after the 1983 season, he talked to Lapham about coming along as a coach. Lapham seriously considered going into coaching, but with two small children he didn't want to move them around the country. At about 32 minutes in he talks about knowing he made the right decision when he sees his kids staying in Cincinnati to raise their families.
And you already know that Lapham believes quarterback Joe Burrow is going to have a great career (at the 24-minute mark he says there are two things that stood out about his rookie season) and that head coach Zac Taylor made a game changer of a move when he hired Frank Pollack as offensive line coach/run game coordinator.
"The players who were here when he was here the first time (2018) are unbelievably excited about his hire," says Lapham in the 26th minute. "To me that speaks volumes."
There's a lot more in here.
How the 1981 team's mistakes cost them Super Bowl XVI and how they annually visit him. (41:00). Bengals assistant general manager Mike Brown jumpstarting his broadcasting career. (35:00). How he adjusted to broadcasting road games from home in this pandemic season. (19:30).
Down through the years we've heard Lapham break down generations and generations of players. At the six-minute mark, here's how he breaks down himself.
Yet Lap's Look-Inward tells you why he's such a great broadcaster. He had to know his football because Paul Brown not only wanted Lapham to know his playbook, but everybody else's. Brown gave his players tests, but he gave Lapham two grades instead of one.
"He would give this test and you would have to draw the assignments on the formations," Lapham says, "and he said, 'I want you to draw everybody's. I'm going to give a grade in the upper left hand corner on your assignments and a grade in the right hand corner on everybody else's.'
"He opened up my eyes a lot to understanding the game of football," Lapham says. "It all goes back to the early influence of Paul Brown."
