Proverbs 16:18

We made it WhoDey Family!  The NFL New Year is here!  Welcome to season 4 of the Who Dey ALL Dey Podcast!  Special thank you to all our listeners.  

Bengals Front Office starts off hot signing Bryan Cook and Boye Mafe to boost our Defense.  Who else do Bergs, Brian, and Brant hope the Who Dey Brass add to our Roster. 

Maxx Crosby was a raven, then he wasn't.  Trey Hendrickson took his spot.  The Boys have thoughts.  

Finally, Coach Zac Taylor was on the Whit & Fitz Podcast.  The Fellas tuned in and share their takeaways. 

Let's keep the spending going and Who Dey ALL Dey!!!!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:44

Happy March 11th, 2026, and welcome to the Who Day All Day Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Berg, in beautiful carefree Arizona. Spring training still going, March Madness still going. Hopefully, Team USA baseball gets to keep going. We'll see. But uh, not only welcome to the Who Day All Day Podcast, gentlemen, welcome to season four. The NFL New Year is here. Happy New Year! Let's get some celebration, gentlemen. We made it.

SPEAKER_00 1:16

Yes, we did.

SPEAKER_02 1:18

We got our boys with us tonight. Brian Kyle, Utah County. Brian, how you living?

SPEAKER_00 1:23

I am living well. Good news is that Italy is up on Mexico three to nothing at the top in the top of the fifth. So knock on wood. Things are looking good for uh I don't know what coach was thinking last night, but hey, hopefully we uh could uh skate in. They playing for their lives today. US isn't playing because they lost to Italy last night. They need Italy to win or Mexico to win and score or five runs.

SPEAKER_02 1:51

So yeah, they they thought they were in, and I mean, good for the boys. I love the team bonding. They were all out probably way too late at night, past our bedtimes for sure. Uh, but I was glad they were bonding and spending some time together. I think that's cool for uh for major league baseball. Brant, Northern Kentucky. Brand, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 2:09

You know, uh went to work today, got home from work as quick as I could. A lot of things going on. Uh, you know, presidents in town, tying up traffic all over the place. Sorry, thunderstorms all over the city. So uh it was a good day to to try to work from home as much as possible. So, but more excited to talk to you guys and get excited about this upcoming year.

SPEAKER_02 2:33

Let's go. Let's kick off this season. Have a good feeling. Need and have to do some great things this year. We know we will on offense. We're gonna talk about the defense. Uh, we thank all of our listeners, those that are riding with us, tons of interaction. Holy cow! If the Bengals front office don't realize how important this offseason is, not only to Joe Burrow, but to the uh pretty much the emotional well-being of uh of all Cincinnati fans, uh, they better not jump on social media because everyone is on pins and needles. So, first down, you know the drill. We're gonna go four downs. First down, Brian Cook and Bouye Maffey are in the house. Want to get your thoughts on those two free agent signings that we have to date. Second down, clearly, we still want to get some guys in the building. Uh, who are you eyeing and who are you keeping an eye on? Maybe what positions. Third down, Max Crosby, not a Baltimore Raven. Trey Hendrickson is a Baltimore Raven. Want to get your thoughts. And then fourth down, Zach Taylor, coach Zach Taylor was on the Wits and Fitz podcast. Wits and Fitz giving some Bengals love. Uh, so want to get your thoughts on that. Brian, kick us off. Two new guys in the building. How are you feeling?

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Uh, I actually really like both signings. Uh, and I'll touch on Brian Cook first. The reason I like that signing is because uh he's an excellent overall safety, but he's one of the best tackling safeties in the league. So, right there alone, huge upgrade over uh Geno Stone. I think that alone will make uh make the defense start to head get the defense defense headed in the right direction, or one of our biggest problems. And we talked we talked about it so much last year. If we if we just tackled better, you know, how much our defense would would improve. And so that definitely helps. I love uh Cook also has I believe he's got two rings from his time with the Chiefs. So he comes from from winning when he was at UC. So hometown boy as well. Uh he knows he knows how to win. So I love that. That's gonna be great for the locker room. And then with uh Mafe, Boye Mafei coming off a Super Bowl victory. And while he only put up two sacks last year, uh he had a ton of pressures, he's a disruptive guy. Uh he's a little bit different than what the Bengals have had in the past at the end. He's a little bit smaller and but uh has a little bit more speed and burst to him. So I love that. I think he mixes well with with the two young guys in Murphy and and Stewart as well. Uh at this point, he's he can be considered a vet in the NFL. So I like I like the start. Um I know we're gonna get into it a second down, but I like that the two signings they made were both impact players, in my opinion, and they did not uh there's been a lot of overspending in the draft when hey, I know he's a UC uh bear cat as well, but when Pierce, Alec Pierce is making more money than T. Higgins, I question that quite a bit. So uh I like the Bengals being smart as well with their with their contracts.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Agree. Uh, I'm glad that they filled those spots, uh, especially Brian Cook. We've talked about it, him being the top free agent safety available, massive, massive upgrade to that safety room. Brant, you got to be pumped. That 2021 team, good heck. I saw some crazy stat of the money that uh those guys have now pulled in as professionals. What a freaking team for UC. Brant, what do you think about uh Mr. Cook, Mr. Mafe?

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Yeah, I'll hit on Mafe and uh you know kind of expound on what Brian already uh what he talked about with him, and uh then we'll finish up with Cook. But I think Boye Mafe, uh, I was super excited to lock him up, especially at the price that we got him. Uh, I think it was three years 60, right? Compared, especially compared to what Owe ended up getting, which was right right around four years, I think 100 million with the Commanders, and then uh Jalen Phillips going for big money. Uh, I think it was 120 with Carolina. So I think it's a great deal. Uh, and I really do like Mafia as a player. I know he kind of maybe got lost a little bit in the in the shuffle and some of the rotation at in Seattle, but if you look at his season coming off of 2024, uh I mean he the arrow pointed nowhere but up. So from a uh athleticism standpoint, he's super athletic. Uh, and what I love about how him it specifically is just how hard he plays. Uh, somewhat reminds me a lot of uh Osai and what we're losing in Osai. So I think Mafe fits uh you know great at the other edge spot, giving you a proven veteran that can rush the passer. And then for Brian Cook, I will admit Brian Cook was my favorite player off that UC 2021 team. Uh, the pride of Mount Healthy. Uh Brian is he's everything that I look for in a defensive player, smart, physical, tough, sure tackler, like Brian said. So, you know, the Bengals knocked it out of the park in in targeting the top free safety in the in free agency, getting him at a at a pretty good price, I think, still. And uh, you know, super excited to shore up the back end and make sure that we're not we're not missing tackles, you know, and I hate to bring this up, but if everybody remembers that uh what was that that 22 uh AFC championship game, and was it the second interception that that Joe threw was Brian Cook tipping it up in the air and making a great play when he uh when Joe threw the ball down down the field to T Higgins. So I mean that's the type of player he is. He can make plays on the ball, can tackle. He's just such a sound free safety and a great, great person as well. So I think everybody's got to be excited about that.

SPEAKER_02 8:57

Love that. And love that I'll echo the the tackling piece on there. And with Mafe, I think this is what we're gonna see a lot more with this defensive front, is a lot like what Seattle took. Uh, not a lot of superstars, a lot of rotation and a lot of creativity, a lot of aggression and aggressiveness, and hope we see that a lot more from the defensive front this year. So, second down, Brand, I'm glad this landed on you. We're done. Free agency's done. We don't need anybody else. We're good. Duke cooked, we're ready for the draft. Just kidding. What else you want uh us to uh be adding?

SPEAKER_01 9:36

Yeah, Duke talked about it in the offseason, and I'm a little perplexed at this point, but uh I'm still adding to the pass rush as much as possible. Yeah, wherever I can, whether that's an interior pass rusher, whether whether that's an edge rotational guy. I think there's guys that are still out there. Um Ebachidi that was with Atlanta. I think he would be a nice fit. There was a report that came out today, though, that the Bengals kind of sniffed around but aren't interested anymore. I think Joey Bosa, uh, at the right price, I'd be in on. Jadavian Clowney. Clowney's still got some juice in the tank.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

Oh, talked about getting a veteran guy to go with this group.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Would love it. Uh Mohammed that was with Detroit, he's got some pass rush juice still. So any of those guys to put in a rotation uh and make sure that you you can put pressure on the on the quarterback, I think would be key. From a defensive tackles position, I'd love to bring back Reeder. I think he gives you a little bit of both, can still stop the run, can give give you a nice you know, bull rush from the middle, and and kind of back up both spots really with DJ Hill and Slayton. So I think that uh DJ would be a great move. Linebacker, I'm I'm a big Bobby Wagner fan from a leadership standpoint. He can tackle still. Love Bobby, can still tackle. So there's some there's some quality vets out there that you're you know, I it really just gonna come down to the price and how much they really want and are you willing to pay it. I'll give you one more name that I'm really interested in, besides bringing back Flacco, which I hope that's trending the right way. But uh Martin Emerson, I didn't see that Martin Emerson signed anywhere. Maybe I'm wrong on that. I was a big Martin Emerson fan when he was coming out in the draft out of Mississippi State. Uh, I think he had two really good years with Cleveland, and then he got hurt. And he's he's struggled to come back. He's a perfect uh buy-low guy. I think you can get him pretty cheap. He can back up your corner spots, and you're gonna need a good fourth corner. And I think Martin Emerson can be that guy for you.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

That's a good one with Emerson. Totally forgot uh about him being being there in Cleveland. Yeah, great one. Definitely want to add. Honestly, you cannot add enough to your boys up front, both sides of the ball. I don't care how good it looks on uh paper for starting rotations, both on the offensive line and the defensive line, keep adding. And then when we're done signing, keep adding some more. All as much competition as possible and depth. Somebody's gonna get hurt. We always need depth, Brian.

SPEAKER_00 12:10

Yeah, I uh I just hope we've been talking about it for multiple years, and so I'll I'll preface some some names with this. Is I know we're only in the officially day one of free agency, but the Bengals have to strike. They have those the two that they sign are great, but it can't be the end-all. I love what you're saying, Mike. That sign one and sign another one and sign another one and load up the roster. And I'm with Brandt. I love some of the vets that are still out there. I think bringing in Bobby Wagner would be a fantastic move. He's got at least one year of high quality production in his Hall of Fame career left. Might as well be with the Bengals and let's let's get that man a ring. Uh, why not? I also love Joey Bosa along the defensive line. I like Jonathan Allen, who was released by Minnesota. I like bringing back the gravedigger, bringing him back. Our defense is young. And we're gonna find out pretty soon if if these guys are in the in the league for one more year or not. But might as well put with some pets. The one position I think where we can strike and be aggressive, and some people and some fans might be like, well, that doesn't make sense. We've already invested a lot of money in that position. But I think it could uh take our offense to the next level is there is a ton of wide receivers still out there. Uh Debo Samuel would be great in the slot, in my opinion, in Cincinnati. Juwan Jennings, uh he not only catches the ball, but he will knock your head off in the run game. Right with Brown's best friend. I know we signed it. I know we signed Mr. Cook as safety, but I think the Bengals, if they're serious, they take they go back into the film room right now and decide is battle our guy? And if there's any hesitation, then the guy I'm calling is Brisker. Uh, and pairing him, him and Cook as your two safeties. And I think that's a major upgrade from what you had last year. So I think there's a lot that can still be done. Um, and so I hope uh here in the next few days as we head into the weekend that some of that starts to unfold.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

Love what you both are saying. The one piece that we missed out on last year. I'm sorry, but if you're gonna pay these superstars, you have to be better in the draft, you have to build through the draft. All the championship teams have done it. We can then go back and forth on it if we've drafted well at times. But when we do have guys and if we're gonna put them out there and play, both you guys listed off countless veterans. And I want you Bengals fans, the main reason I want to bring this up on second down. One, hey, great, glad for the guys. Everybody keeps talking about Duke said we're all in. Duke said we're all in. Just because we haven't filled out the roster yet does not mean the Bengals are not all in. They probably had some targets, but I like what both of you said. They got to be contractually smart uh for what we're doing. But that other piece, these veterans that could be in their last year of their NFL career, don't sign on the first day. Those are guys that are getting deals. And that is the piece that was missing with these young guys and the rookies was having guys a Bobby Wagner, a Joey Bosa. Can you imagine in the film room if guys are laughing and Bobby Wagner is sitting there, or if Joey Bosa's sitting there, they will be duct taped to a toilet in the locker room and probably won't come out. We won't see him for 48 hours. Like that stuff would not be, and I think that's what we're missing on the defensive side because we do have a lot of talented pieces, but I think we need to have we heard a little bit about that locker room, and it on the defensive side, it needs to grow up because we know Burrow's a professional. Jamar and T, for as funny as they are, those guys are freaking professionals. The offensive line is a group of professionals, and so very excited to see what else we add. So third down, Brian, the topic everyone is talking about. Woo! Yesterday was a crazy day in the world of sports. Max Crosby traded to Baltimore. Whether that's true, what Jamar Chase was on a hot mic saying, I still think it's AI, but whatever. Uh, I'm sure in his own thoughts was like, dude, what are we doing? And then for it to rescind and then for Trey to go there, your thoughts.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

I believe that this is actually working out quite well, and somebody is going to be very happy with I because I still think Max Crosby gets traded. Um, the good news for the buyer in that situation, and why I would be in as the Bengals, is I think the price, the right, the Raiders cannot demand two first-round picks any longer for that guy. Uh, I would be surprised. Uh, they might be able to get somebody on the hook for it for one uh first-round pick. And I would be uh I would be open to that. In fact, if I was offering, I would start, I would actually start my offer, I'd probably uh be on the phone with Mr. Davis and low ball him and say, hey, I'll give you a third this year and next year's first. Uh I'd be willing to do that. And then if he came back and said this year's second and next year's first, I'd probably say tell Max to pack his bags.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

Yes, Brady and Henderson.

SPEAKER_00 17:44

As far as as far as Trey Hendrickson goes, um I've already wished him well, so I'm not gonna do it again. All I'm gonna say is uh he's a hell he's a heck of a player. I'm sure he's gonna cause problems for any team he faces. Uh but if I'm Coach Taylor, the first three plays of the game for the Ravens, even if we have to end up punting, is whatever side he's lining up on, I'm running right at him. And I might even if Drew Sample happens to be on the roster, I'm sending him to the same place. As Orlando Browns, gotcha, he's you're gonna get blasted right in the side uh as well. Um, nothing against Trey, but if he has a weakness, it's in the run game, so might as well go at him that way. Because if you let him get it uh eat on third and long, and then Joe, you better get rid of that ball blood because he's coming.

SPEAKER_02 18:36

I absolutely love that. Uh, I text a buddy of mine that was asking the the social media comments have been absolutely priceless. But dude, I want to go back to the wishbone and T formation when we play Baltimore and just freaking whatever, whatever big guys keep Cody Ford just for that game. That's just for that. There you go, Brand.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

Yeah. I don't even know where I was gonna what I was gonna lead off with because now I'm all I'm thinking about is just going heavy on Trey's side, putting you know, a six lineman in, and then yeah, putting Cody Ford in the backfield as a lead blocker. And I don't even care if we gain a yard, just send three, four guys at Trey and just bury him. So uh so about the situation, yeah. Uh hard not to have probably a lot of the feels that uh a lot of other Bengals fans are having right now. Uh in regards to Trey. I I think a lot there's a lot of uh betrayal. Um you know, uh I'm trying to take the high road here like Brian. I really appreciate his perspective. I do want to wish Trey uh all the success in the world, except when he doesn't play the Bengals. You know, for my money, he was the best free agent signing in in our history. But it's really hard for me to believe now looking back on some of the things that Trey said. I think the one that really sticks in uh sticks with me now, I believe he was on I think he was on Pat McAfee's show. Yeah, didn't he? No, uh I'm talking about when he was on there last year. Okay. Uh when he was on Pat McAfee's show, and he was basically saying he wanted to get paid, but then requesting a trade. And he basically said along the lines of if I can't help the Bengals win a champ uh Super Bowl on the team, I want to help them win it off. Essentially saying, uh, trade me, get more picks, you know, uh help you guys get better. You know, now I just see it as lip service. It was just you know, come on. Like there was no there was no substance there. He just he wanted what he needed for himself. Um, you know, those those words are empty to me. So it's really hard to feel, you know, uh any positive feelings towards Trey. And I honestly feel really bad for Max Crosby. Um I think he got jerked around. Uh and I I think I've seen a couple people on social media kind of talking, and I truly believe I think this is Max is the type of guy. It seems like this is gonna be nothing but fuel for him. So I think I'd be excited if the Bengals picked him up because I I think he's on a mission this year to show not that just the Ravens messed up, but the Raiders have messed up getting rid of him and not investing more in their team while he's been on that on their team, and then the rest of the league, whoever chooses is to doubt him. So, yeah, if we have that opportunity, bring Max on the team, would love it. How fun would the AFC North be after that with the stud pass rushers in the in the division? But the last thing I'll say real quick uh Eric DeCosta. That's putting a spin out there. They were actually trying to bring in Max and Trey. I'm sorry. I don't believe that for one second. Anybody, anybody that's listening to this, don't believe that Baltimore saw what was happening with Trey and that he wasn't getting the market that he thought he was going to get. They had already made the move for Max and then they had a little buyer's remorse and knew they could get Trey at a good price and still keep their ones. So don't believe it. There's going to be a lot of NFL people that love Baltimore because they're a darling of the NFL trying to push their narrative. This is this is abregious by Baltimore. They should be investigated. And anybody that says otherwise is in the bag for Baltimore.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

I absolutely love that and I appreciate you bringing that up. I have oceanfront property in Arizona for anybody that wants to buy that story. It brand completely nailed it on the head. Max, I just want you to know, I hope it's Cincinnati that you show up in. I hope Burrow has already gone and flew with Jessica Alba to go pick them up at the Henderson Airport. I can see it. It's right behind Cookie Friday. Our buddy's Cookie Company. That guy, you're right, is going to be heck on fire this year. Super excited for him. Heard a great story from him talking about the now coach at Eastern Michigan. They show high school tapes, and one of them was included his high school tape, and said, Hey, would you recruit this kid? And they give five different players. And the every single coach has been like, he's the worst one out of all of them. There is motivation to that. And that just reared its ugly head for as big a superstar and successful as he's been, you just put a complete flame under that guy's backside. So, Trey, I will just leave you with this. Uh, I know you're a uh man of God, man of faith, and you always like to put scriptures on your uh social media, and so I have one for you Proverbs 16, 18. Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall. I wish you the best, Trey, but we will see you, and that game will be national television at home in Cincinnati. Fourth down. Let's get out of here, fellas, real quick. Zach was on Wit and Fitz. Any takeaways from that conversation, Brant?

SPEAKER_01 24:45

Uh, my quick favorite takeaway. Uh, I didn't, I'll admit I did not listen to all of it, but my favorite part that I was able to listen to was when Zach was talking with them about uh just Mount Lookout and just kind of being a regular guy, going up with his wife, having dinner at some, you know, some classic spots in the city. So for anybody that hasn't made it out to Mount Lookout, some great you know, places to eat. Uh specifically mentioned zips. Zips is one of my favorite places. Get a burger at Zips, watch the train go around the bar over over top your head, the toy terrain. So fun place, guys. If you're looking for a place to visit in the city, uh I'm not the biggest fan of Raimundo's pizza, but you know, if you've had a few drinks at MLT's, it's great, it's pretty good. So uh yeah, and then you know, Witt dropping the uh the bomb that you know he had a he had a little bit of a run-in, I guess, at MLT's one night, and so wanted to get into that. Um so that was that was funny to hear. But I guess my my closing thought would be uh it Zach is super likable, like from a regular guy, good guy, uh relatable. I that's what I got from from him being on the podcast with with those two guys. And so um, you know, I'm rooting for Zach. I I hope he makes me a believer, but you know, loved hearing his thoughts on MLTs and Cincinnati as a whole.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

Brian, I mean Brian, excuse me.

SPEAKER_00 26:22

Yeah, uh the one thing that uh I've I've always liked about Zach, and he definitely showed it on this podcast, is uh he's got he does have great energy about him and he and he's excited about what he does does for a living. He he obviously loves his his players. It's uh Marvin Lewis was great, but sometimes Marvin was man is as dry as as the desert sometimes, and just like do you even do you even like football? Uh or Zach Taylor, like sometimes you probably gotta restrain that guy a little bit, probably, but uh and the other thing is he re he realize he does the one I'll give him credit, is he does realize how much talent he has on the offensive side of the ball. Uh it's a it's a job that if it came open, I think a lot of coaches would want because of that, because of Joe uh Trey uh Ortiz and uh Jamar. And so uh he knows that the defense has to improve. And if and if they do, then this, you know, the sky's the limit with this team. So I love his energy. I love that he's ready to go and still excited to do the job. He does not feel like it doesn't seem like he's burnt out or the or the Brown family has burnt uh burnt him out in any way. He still has excitement in the job and he wants to win. So now he's got to go prove it. Now he's got to go do it.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

You know, it was and those are both great points. I it was nice to hear him not give coach speak. Look, he is the whipping boy for the Browns and the Blackburns. We can say that for the money we'd be able to do it. We wouldn't. There would be one press conference where I know I would absolutely break and go off about the choices and the decisions that the Browns and Blackburns do if I knew behind closed doors. So it was nice to hear him not give coach speak to be himself. I love them talking about the I think too, he they have a lot of special memories with Whitworth and where he was in his career between Cincinnati and LA and Zach Taylor being a young coach, and then Ryan Fitzpatrick with the Bengals, 2019. Uh, that that infamous Miami game and them sharing stories and listening to that, they were kind of all crossed over in a in a crazy time in football, Cincinnati football history. Look, I'm gonna say it and I'm gonna keep saying it. All of you that said fire Zach, get rid of Zach, Zach's not the problem. Does he need to improve and get better? Absolutely. I like what Brand said. You know what? I want to believe in him. I'm I'm looking, I won't say he's lost his faith. I think he just needs to be reinspired. Bringing Zach back in this division with all the instability. Look at what Baltimore just did this week. They are very unstable, and that is putting shockwaves through that locker room right now with a brand new coach. We don't have that. We've got stability with Zach and with Joe. Zach was also very comfortable in that conversation, not because he just knew those guys, but I think he knows good stuff is coming this year. And so I think he's excited to get out and share. It was nice to hear him speak. Um, so hang in there with Zach. Zach's not the problem. Duke wants to spend money. We all know what the problem is with the Browns and the Blackburns, but we I feel very strong that we have the right guy leading this ship at this time and it'll pay dividends this year. Keep the faith on free agency. Duke's not done cooking. We'll get some more guys in. Let's get this thing right and let's get ready for the draft and then the season. Gentlemen, happy season four. Hoodé all day.

SPEAKER_00 30:03

Houday all day.