Bengals Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer on SiriusXM Blitz

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer joined SiriusXM Blitz with Bruce Murray and Rich Gannon on Monday, with the topic being the Cincinnati Bengals being featured on Hard Knocks against this year. The embed player is below and below that, the transcript of what was said.

Thoughts on the Bengals being featured on Hard Knocks, will it change the way he does things and whether it's a distraction.

"You know me, I'm not going to change. I'm going to do how I've always done it. I'll say this: The thing about the two times that I've done Hard Knocks, they've been tremendously professional people. They come in and they handle their business and they're good guys too, just trying to do their job. At first it's a little bit unnerving because you've got cameras around all of the time and all that stuff. Once you get focused on, "hey, we've got to focus on getting ready to play Atlanta in the first preseason game and Chicago in the regular season", all of that goes out by the wayside.

"I didn't know that we were going to do it and it's not really my pay grade and it's not really my (inaudible), whether I want to do it or not because I don't have any choice. We just need to go out and concentrate on what we do.

"The one thing that I did last time, I think our guys focused a lot on the, 'we were 4-11 going into the season and swept the division that year', but we really had a mindset going into the season and we weren't going to let anything stop us and I think this group of guys that we have right now is kind of the same way."

When the cameras are on, how cognizant are you of them and how do you adjust your behavior?

"Sometimes you're cognizant, but honestly, most of the time you forget all about it. And honestly I don't watch the show until after the season. Like I said, I'm a veteran, I know how to turn the microphone off if I need to. But one example, I had a conversation with Tank Johnson in my office and I know how to turn that one off. I forgot all about it and didn't turn it off and next thing I know it's on TV. It's pretty darn real with everything.

"You know, I think it's great for our fans, I think it's good for the NFL and obviously it's great for the exposure that everybody gets out of it.

"The only thing that I don't like about it, to be honest with you, they can kind of put on there what they want and they might say things in a way I don't normally go out and say. I'm talking to my daughters, I'm talking to people out on the street or something like that and that's not usually how I am. And sometimes I'm portrayed as a raving lunatic a little bit. That's just the way life is. It's part of the business. I'm not going to change my (coaching). I'm going to coach these guys the best I can and try to get them to play as good as they can with 11 guys and try to win a bunch of ball games."