Toad Strangler

When it rains, it pours...Who Dey vibes!  NFL Executives are talking and so is our Joey B.  Bergs, Brian, and Brant give their thoughts. 

Pressure is off Shemar Stewart.  Will he take a step forward in 2026?

Rookies showed out at their 1st practices.  Who stood out to the Fellas. 

Finally, 2026 Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor nominees are announced.  Who are the Boys hoping join the Who Dey greats for 2026?!

Who Dey ALL Dey!!!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:42

Gentlemen, happy May 27th, 2026, and welcome to the Who Day All Day Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Berggs, in beautiful, carefree Arizona. Can't believe next week is freaking June. I mean, we are mini camp is here. The rookies are already in. Uh, it is gonna be training camp before we know it, but even better than that, we got our boys with us tonight. Brian Kyle, Utah County. Brian, how you living?

SPEAKER_00 1:12

Living good, beautiful weather outside. Uh, sun just showed up with uh beach and buzz, the buzz cut, trying to pull out the old 2024 Joe Burrow. All I needed was a pink shirt, and the uh the look would be uh complete. So things are good. Summer's in the air.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

Excited to talk Bengals football with you guys. Uh tell Liam absolutely looked amazing. We uh we we definitely need some some good pictures of that. Super proud of him, Brant, Northern Kentucky.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

How are you doing? I think you guys might have been following maybe some weather reports around here, but trying to stay dry. So good story for you, real quick. They call it a toad strangler. I don't know if you guys have ever heard it's called a toad strangler. That's basically what I've been living through here in Cincinnati. Everybody else, they know what I'm saying to a certain degree, but heard this described this way, right? So it's when the rain comes so hard so fast in Cincinnati, it just starts building up, and you get basically these puddles and you know, just bodies of water just start forming, right? So the great Tommy Tupperville used that at a speech I was at, and he's like, Oh, it's been raining like a toad strangler around here. So thought I'd throw that guy that that out for you guys. I thought you liked that because I had to go home and look it up, and I was like, that must be a southern thing. So I love it.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

Is it next to uh Wikipedia when it comes up it uh as Tommy Tuberville, Toad Strangler?

SPEAKER_01 2:36

Uh he might have that trademarked. We'll have to ask the the senator, Tommy Tuberville now. But uh former former UC football coach. Don't let anybody forget the forget about that.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

We know we love that UC football. Don't know about his time there. Loved him in Auburn, but you all know the drill. Toad Strangler. We're gonna go four downs again. End of May. The news does not stop. An SI Sports Illustrated article came out today. A lot of NFL executives are jumping on that Bengals bandwagon. Want to get both of your thoughts. Second down, Shamar Stewart not eating sugar, looking good, saying the right things. Want to see if you both think our man may take a step forward net or this upcoming season. Then third down, we did have the rookies at uh practice. They've been around Cincinnati for the last couple weeks. Want to get your thoughts on them and that class. And then fourth down, just announced today the 12 Ring of Honor nominees for the 2026 Ring of Honor class. Super excited for that. We will get your two picks. Brian, kick us off. The NFL executives, they want some of the bandwagon. What's in this article?

SPEAKER_00 3:54

Definitely. There's a lot of uh there's a lot of buzz right now about your Cincinnati Bengals. A lot of that is coming from because of Joe's comments last week, uh, and how confident he's filling in the in the roster. He's excited about the talent that's been put together this offseason. He's obviously uh he he's always confident in himself, but he's definitely feeling himself when he's throwing out things like he he feels he can break his own franchise record for touchdowns in a season. Um, and if that if he does, that means he's spinning it, uh staying healthy, and and Jamar and the and the rest of the boys on the receiving end are catching his passes. So really excited. But no, when you when you've got executives kind of giving kudos to what the Bengals have done this offseason, to me, that's pretty telling uh more than anything when your peers are speaking highly of you. Bengals it shows that the Bengals don't need to really say anything, uh let others speak for them. And then we all know it's it's fun, it gets you really excited about the season. Uh September, you know, I think it's the second Sunday of September. If I've got my dates right, can't get here soon enough. Um, because at that point, all that all that talk goes out the window. We realize it that it it is what it is. Talk is cheap, and it's time to uh not just be talented on paper, but on the field. So more than anything, it gets me excited about the season. Not only are executives jumping on it, but you're talking heads when when they don't say nice things about us, we hate them when they say good things about us, we love them. I think it was the former Patriots cornerback uh McCourty came out today, and he's all in on the Bengals as well and what we've done so far. So people are paying attention, which is nice. When you get dressed up for the prom and look good, you want people to pay attention and give you some kudos, and that's what the Bengals have done so far. So we're we got our ticket to the dance, we're ready to roll. Now we have to uh be the best looking person in the room and and dance the night away. So let's go, Brant.

SPEAKER_02 5:57

And if you uh we need video evidence, we can find some old pictures of Brian. He was the best looking dressed uh person back in uh whatever that was, just a couple years ago at prompt. I love that with the peers. You're so right. If your peers are speaking highly and they're unprovoked, uh, but them just sharing thoughts, and this is May, and then coming into June, and that is their take. A lot of good mojo agree. And I think that that's what Brandt is probably feeling in Cincinnati. Brandt.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Yeah, I think uh expectations are already riding high. I think exactly what Brian's saying, and you're you know, echoing uh when your peers have noticed what you've done in the offseason. And you know, huge, huge kudos to you know, the the front office, Katie Blackburn making the money work, um, Duke Tobin being aggressive, being willing to pull the trigger with the sexy dexy trade. You know, this is just this is atypical for the Bengals, right? And I think that's what you're seeing a lot of executives notice. And you know, let's face it, I think it it's it's as a fan, I think this is what we've been talking about. If you could just get Joe a halfway decent defense, I mean, look what he was doing with no defense. I mean, that 2024 team had no business being close to making the playoffs, and he almost took us to the playoffs, just threw us on his back with a horrible defense, uh, just giving up point after, you know, just touchdown after touchdown. So uh why why wouldn't you be bullish on the Bengals right now? So I think you know, the executives, the talking heads, uh, I think a lot of your your betting sites are all saying the same thing. I think they they're they're seeing what we're seeing. Uh the last thing I'll say, and what I wanted to highlight, what makes me so excited is just how good I think Joe is feeling about their offseason moves, and specifically his quote when he said, uh, we're gonna win a lot of games this year, play great, win a Super Bowl, and everything that comes with that comes with that. And he just said it so nonchalant, like, yeah, we're gonna win the Super Bowl this year. It just the guy exudes confidence. I don't think he's just coming out and saying that in May, unless he feels really good about what we we've done. So, Bengals fans, get excited. This season's gonna be something special.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

If I learned anything from 2021, is we're all Bengal fans and we want to believe. I didn't believe enough in Joe Burrow and what he does and his presence in the locker room and building people up, like Brian said, no D uh Brant said, no defense, no offensive line, being sacked 90 times that season, just insane stats, and yet still fighting. That is part of that swagger. And then, as well, when you back it up, when you are the best player in the NFL, and these are not mandatory practices, these are not mandatory meetings, and he's staying late. This is the stuff that sets the tone as an example without having to say a dang word that pays off in September, October, and hopefully in February. Uh, Brandt as well, since I am wearing the Vegas Golden Knights hat uh with them in the Stanley Cup. Uh, Vegas, the reason those buildings are big is uh they are usually right. They have us favored, like Brand was saying, in 15 of the 17 games today. So a lot of good stuff to be excited about. So second down. I don't know if we can handle all of this excitement. Look, we didn't, we it's not that we did not like Shamar Stewart, we just would not have picked him. All three of us were very out loud and consensus on that, but he's on the team. We saw a little bit of flashes, but not a lot of stuff last year. Brant. Joe Burrow feels good. What if Shamar Stewart takes that step forward? Do you think he can?

SPEAKER_01 10:12

Yes, I I absolutely think he can, and I think Shamar is gonna be a much bigger contributor to this team than he was last year. I think unfortunately he only ended the year with six tackles, one sack, only played in eight games, just wasn't the rookie season he was hoping for that we were hoping for as fans. I think that the team was hoping for, obviously. So uh quick points that I can make about why I think it's gonna be a really good year for Shamar. I think there was tons of pressure on this kid last year. Like we've we we drafted him, you know, in the first round. We didn't do a lot to address the defense in free agency, and we were putting a lot of pressure on him to be somewhat of a savior for you know adding that extra pass rush that we had alongside Trey. He doesn't have to be that this year. There's not like it's a it's a collective group effort this year, which I love that approach. So I don't think the pressure's on him as much. The second thing, and he's even said it, uh, he's not overthinking already, like he knows much more uh in terms of the scheme, what he's supposed to be doing. And when you guys know when when you have it down, right? Like, and you know the scheme, you know where you're supposed to be, the muscle memory is built in, like now you can play fast. And Shamar was already playing fast. So if this guy can play fast and he knows what he's doing now, and he's got that awareness, uh you know, quarterbacks better look out because he hits you, it's gonna he they're gonna feel it. So I'm really yeah, I'm really excited about what Shamar can bring this year. I think I think people should be really you know uh feeling good about what he's gonna add to this defense. Love your two points.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Uh no pressure because it is, it does feel like the defense is a collective group. Burrow was very clear on that multiple times in his comments that there are lots of guys, like you said, not just one star rookie, hopefully step up, and then two, not overthinking it and doing what he does best. Because we know he's fast, we know he's athletic, but yeah, he was definitely looking around and thinking a lot last year. Brian.

SPEAKER_00 12:30

Yeah, I'm with Bran. I think there's a lot of good things that are going on for Shamar Stewart. Uh, number one is that he he's in camp from day one. Uh, that was not a good thing last year with the contract. Um, Shamar Stewart has always had he just kind of has a passion about him. Um, and I think he does have a passion for football and he loves football. His commitment to his guy already was a had had a body that I think most men would take at the snap of their fingers. I mean, being that big and that much must muscle is impressive, and the fact that he wants to better his body, you know, eliminating sugar in his diet and doing things to uh and it whether it's for the you know the look of his body, it's not for the look of his body, it's gonna it's the way it makes him feel and the the way where he's getting his energy from from from solid nutrition and not you know processed sugar. So good for him. That also shows commitment and discipline, which is what it takes to be a good football player. But I think Brant hit the nail on the head when he talked about the pressure, pressure's off. Uh he doesn't have to be that savior and have to have to be an all-pro. He he gets to play next to one. And Dexter Lawrence, uh Boy Mafe helps take that pressure off as well. Uh, and Miles Murphy. We're all looking for Miles Murphy. Has started to take steps in his career, uh, ended the seat last season with five and a half sacks, most of that kind of down the stretch. If Murphy can get to you know increase his pressure rate and and jump to like eight, eight and a half sacks, that's a great next step for Murphy, and it's gonna do nothing but help Shamar Stewart. Uh, it gets you a little excited about the thought of maybe you know, at times on the field that you've got Mafe, Stewart, and Murphy on the field at the same time, maybe even go really fast and throw Howe out there as well at the same time. That's a lot of speed and a lot of versatil uh tilty that the the defense can throw at a quarterback. So I love it. Uh if Shamar Stewart makes that next step, you're talking about going, you know, Dexter, I think, gets us to a top 20 defense, maybe a little better. If Shamar Stewart plays like a first round pick, you know, we're creeping in top 15 or or higher uh because there's just talent across the board. So get you excited.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

Let's play games now. I am ready. Uh, but speaking of uh commitment and discipline, uh, like Brian was talking about with the uh sugars. Brian, I think he was on your diet. Look at you looking good. Thank you. Those of you uh that aren't watching or can't see, woo! Our boy is looking good, proud of you. A lot of commitment, a lot of discipline. Keep it going. Third down, rookies were in Cincinnati. Um, I believe is everybody signed because Bobo, I know got who we got? Is How's John? Yeah, I know he was out there practicing and well participating, we'll say. Um he signed his waiver. Signed the waiver. The key words from last year with Shamar. Brian, why don't you your take on anything that stood out, anything you took away from the time having the rookies in Cincinnati?

SPEAKER_00 15:43

I think that's a huge one, is how wanting to be on the field uh with his teammates. That's one it does speak to him, his agent being in line with the way things work and getting out there. But I got a bigger sense from him that he's feeling the buzz. Uh and there's the there's a feeling in the locker room right now that yeah, the talent, the talent is there uh to make a run at this thing, and how wants to be a part of it. So that gets me really excited. Um you heard good things about Robinson kind of making already making, and this is without pads on, already making some noise. Uh he realizes he has an opportunity to not just make this team but to work himself into the rotation on the defensive front because he's different. He's different from what the rest of the guys that we have in the building. Uh he can be a pass rusher. He's built a lot like a guy we're gonna talk about here and in our next round. Uh, I know he's a seventh-round pick. He may not be it, but Gino was a fourth round pick. So you never know. It may not be that far from the uh from the apple tree. So good things about him, but I also want to uh point out our our fourth round pick, Colby Young. We had our guest on last week that got to announce that pick. Hearing nothing but good things about the talent that he brings. Uh, it's gonna it's all gonna be maturity with that young man. Uh, he's already making waves with how he can go up and get the football. Uh, and Joe loves to trust his receivers and say, Go get it. I'm gonna throw it up, try to put in a position to where only you can go get it, but go make me a play. So having another weapon, I mean, he's built like AJ Green, gets you a little excited.

SPEAKER_02 17:30

So you uh with that Colby Young, I know we called him out. I specifically uh after we drafted and said pressure's on. Yoshi seems we seem to have Yoshi's attention, let's just put it that way, which means Colby Young came in ready to play. No wonder Yoshi's there walking around with his shirt off in his eight-pack, showing off. Exactly. Him, Brian, and Shamar have been on uh the same workout plan. Brandt.

SPEAKER_01 17:58

Yeah, I would highlight uh, you know, a guy that's already been mentioned by Brian, but a guy that had the guts to uh say, hey guys, I need to miss a few days of rookie minicamp. But Landon Robinson, and he missed it for a great reason, guys, but had to uh graduate, go to his graduation ceremony at the Naval Academy. So hats off to him uh and all those other uh naval uh academy cadets and graduates and for what they're doing for our country, especially with Memorial Day, just you know, uh being this past weekend. But I just love as soon as he was done, he's back in the building, getting work in and uh staying late to make up for missing a few of those days. So the kid's made of all the right stuff. Uh great representative of his family, of the Naval Academy, of the country, and uh for our Cincinnati Bengals. So I would highlight Landon, you know, a hundred times over, such a great seventh-round pick. Uh, and then the other one I think that you know, this is the obvious one, and Brian mentioned too, would be Cassius Howe and uh his athleticism, and quite honestly, he's he is not skinny, like he's got some muscle and some bulk to him, even though he's not super tall and are you know the typical 6'5 to 6'7 defensive and edge uh height range that we usually draft, uh, he his proportions just look really like he just looks like a football player, he doesn't look like a guy that's gonna get pushed around on the edge uh when I first watched him. And the second thing I thought was really interesting about how during rookie minicamp is I saw multiple cut-ups where he's dropping into coverage. Love. So I'm curious to know or think like, is he taking that Demetrius Knight role a little bit more and gonna play more of that Sam Backer slash edge role, come up as a fifth guy on the line of scrimmage, give you a little bit of that. Am I rushing? Am I dropping? And really allowed Knight to kind of peel back and play more to his skill set. So that's what I saw a lot during rookie minicamp gets me excited. I think what I love most about a lot of these guys that we picked up this year is the versatility, which is really what I think Al was hoping for.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

So you know, it's such a great point, too. It's probably why Knight and Barrett Carter feel so much more confident. Not only has the team said, hey, you're still our linebackers, we made adjustments all around you, uh, but you're right, taking some of those thinking uh moves that really aren't your skill set off of the plate. Uh agree with all the guys that you mentioned, just obviously offensive line at heart, uh, Connor Lew and Brian Parker. Like you can tell the veteran offensive line are excited to put their arms around these guys and to watch them grow and develop. Look, this draft class may not be the Joe Burrow draft class, the Jamar Chase draft class, but this might be one of the more foundational drafts that we have where these pieces can be such a benefit. Even uh I know we're pretty full in the uh in the tight end room, but uh uh Jack Endries, like he's saying all the right things. That guy is gonna fight to be to stay on the field. And uh when when you're the fifth tight end or whatever right now, uh that's the kind of attitude you gotta have. So love it. Speaking of fighting, being a winner, ring of honor, 12 nominees, uh, five new ones were uh presented today, and so want to get your two today that you're hoping will get inducted into the ring of honor. Brant. Ooh, this is tough.

SPEAKER_01 21:51

Uh class or good group. Just I I think everybody I'll just say this to start. I think out of the 12 guys that Are on this list now, they all deserve to be in. I don't know that there's one that's even like, uh, I you know, I'm I'm surprised he kind of made it. Um so just quickly, I I'll I'll admit I haven't studied it extensively, but my first pick, I think I would go with Chris Collinsworth. Uh he's you know became the first in franchise history, I think a thousand-yard receiver in an unforgettable rookie year in 1981. He has four 1,000 yard uh seasons, three Pro Bowls, uh, you know, made some great catches in his uh Super Bowl uh that he was in. Uh so I I just I don't think you can go wrong there. Sorry, there's two Super Bowls he was in. Yeah, so 81 and 88. Yep. And I mean, I think not only for that, but I think you gotta recognize him for the NFL icon that he is as an analyst and how much he has changed the game with PFF and the data and analytics, and I think that's gotta be a component to a certain degree. So I would go with Chris Collinsworth and all he's done for the game. Uh, my second, and I I just have a soft spot for him, and I maybe this is because we're we've kind of gone back to the these roots a little bit this year with some of the moves we've made, but I'm gonna go Gino Atkins, and I'm gonna say this because if if it wasn't for that freaking guy in LA, Gino would have been seen as the top defensive tackle of his time. And uh, you know, it just what that guy could do at his size and how strong he was and just the impact that he had on the game. Uh I I just I just loved that Gino was all about business. Yes, loved that. Kept his mouth shut, uh, went out, played as hard as he absolutely could, impacted the game, you know, brought a lot of wins to Cincinnati, and was just an all-around great guy and great ambassador for the team. So go Gino Atkins.

SPEAKER_02 24:07

Those two. I love those two. And uh probably that was might be my first take. Brian.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna cheat a little bit, and I'm gonna say it depends on what game uh they they do it in. Uh rather than doing the right thing. If it's if it's you know, the Jacksonville home game seems like one that would fit. Uh, you know, that's a 1 p.m. kickoff there in Cincinnati. I'm going with uh Bob Trumpy because I think if he doesn't get in this year, he he may never get voted in, uh, just because we get further and further away from hit his playing days. And the other guy would actually put in, uh, and I think it's maybe nostalgic for me, is uh one, he was the first bangle player, one of the first bangle players that I stood next to in of all places, a the bat the men's bathroom in Wilmington at training camp. And I was I don't know, I think I probably was like 14 maybe, and I was bigger than this guy, um, Mr. Jim Breach. And I and I have I can see him, I can see him putting the ball through the uprights in in Super Bowl 23. He did his job that day, that night, and and was gonna take us to a Super Bowl. So uh I would put if it's if it's during the day against Jacksonville, let's put those two guys in. But what I would do if I was the Bengals, because these two men deserve it, and I think you could make for a crazy phenomenal night, is wait for New Year's Eve against Baltimore. I have a feeling that game's gonna mean something. It's a primetime game on a Thursday night, and I'm bringing in the two Bengals that do deserve it because of their playing career. One is gonna be in the Hall of Fame for sure. In my opinion, he should be. Um, they're both in the media. They get to, you know, they're involved with football, and that's Chris Collinsworth, like Brant said, and the other one would be Andrew Whitworth. Like get him in here, let's take him back. He's not a Ram, he's a Bengle. I know he won the Super Bowl with them, but he's a Bengle. Let's get him back to Cincinnati, put the jacket on him that has the stripes on the inside, and let's go.

SPEAKER_02 26:09

This is this is the tough part with this group, and I'm so glad that we do this with the Ring of Honor because the NFL was so right to say, why would we put anybody in the NFL when you don't even honor your own players? And so the fact that we're doing this, and now it is such a tough group. Everybody both of you mentioned, I agree with. Uh, Max Montoya is one that stood out to me. I I am a sucker for for that team from '88. Uh, and because he was such a part of that, um, as well as obviously 81, uh, but probably the best guard that we've ever had. Sorry, uh, Dave Lapham, love you. But I know you've done more for the organization than you know, Montoya was awesome. And when he left, that really went downhill. And then I'm back to the modern era. I'd love to go James Brooks, uh, just because, man, he was one of the most fun guys to watch. And he really was that Roger Craig, the Christian McCaffrey before, you know, that was really the uh thing. He was definitely ahead of his time. Brant talking about Chris Collinsworth, he's done so much for the game. I think you have to have some of that. But I'm sorry, Geno Atkins was the best player on this list. Anybody that is a two-time all-pro, heck, if you're a one-time all-pro, you're a two-time all-pro on a Bengals defense, that should be like you're automatically get the uh the orange and black jacket. Um, the exciting news is this conversation is gonna get more and more difficult. I like Brian's take on Bob Trumpy because as we get further away from the uh the older generation, there's gonna be a lot of good stuff. These are some wonderful days in Bangoland. You both said it. Get super excited, be positive. I know it's easy to kind of talk about the same stuff. Let's not pick this apart. Let's enjoy what's in front of us. This team, hopefully, we keep adding a couple pieces to this. Uh, and one last thing. The Reds are in New York right now, and I heard tonight that they were serving skyline egg rolls in uh New York City. I know, in honor of the Reds. I don't know. We might have to try them, and I don't know, maybe that's something we can implement for uh for Bengals games, but you both are the best. Keep it going. Let's get to June. Let's get to OTA or out of OTAs and into mandatory practices and hoodet all day.