URGENCY at Mini Camp

It is mid-June and this Team looks READY to GO!

Katie Blackburn even spoke this week.  Bergs, Brian, and Brant give their thoughts on her comments. 

Who has the MOST to prove in 2026???

The media circuit continues with Zac Taylor on with Rich Eisen and Joey B talking to the press.  The Fellas discuss. 

Finally, the NY Knicks ended a 53 year championship drought.  Who else (minus our Bengals), would the Boys like to best see end another Championship drought. 

Who Dey ALL Dey!!!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:43

Gentlemen, happy June 17th, 2026, and welcome to the Who Day All Day Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Berggs in Haboob season is back in Arizona. Did we not talk about what a haboob is?

SPEAKER_01 1:01

I don't remember this.

SPEAKER_02 1:02

It's crazy. 112 degrees yesterday, and then storms will start kind of growing up in the north. And then if a dust storm blows through, you guys got to Google that. It is like the end of the world. We get these crazy monsoon uh weather for like 15 minutes. It's like the end of the world. But it's summertime. It's quiet, it's nice, it's peaceful, it's relaxing, and even though it's hot, but you know what's not peaceful. Bengals practice, mini camp, cranken, so much good stuff. Had to bring in our boys tonight. Brian Kyle, Utah County. Brian, how you living?

SPEAKER_00 1:39

So good. Not as hot here, but the weather's fantastic. It's nice to uh get outside, touch some grass, and uh yeah, things are good. Excited to talk Bengals football. We are getting ever, ever closer.

SPEAKER_02 1:55

So you're you're so right. I we talked about it last week. I love summer. Man, this thing is gonna come quick and uh actually really, really excited for it. Brandt! How's northern Kentucky?

SPEAKER_01 2:09

It's been uh really nice, actually, guys. So we're supposed to actually get hit pretty hard tonight with some uh storms. I don't know, Marissa mentioned something about some tornadoes or something, you know, tornado uh watch, I guess, but but we'll see. We'll see. But other than that, it's been actually really nice. Like uh, you know, not too hot, not too cold. Nice little 80-degree days, a little breeze. So can't can't beat it back here in in the good old homeland. So excited to talk to you guys about some Bengals football. Totally no love that for you all.

SPEAKER_02 2:42

Uh, and that must be why the vibes are so high at practice. Loving being outside, only one more day of OTA mini camp. So let's get to it. Four downs. You all know the drill. First down. A lot of talk this week, a lot of people were talking. Katie Blackburn spoke. Uh, didn't she cancel her? Or no, she didn't talk at the owners meeting back here in Arizona, but a lot of comments specifically on Zach and Duke. Want to get your boys' takes on that. Second down, great question. 2026, we know is going to be a big year, but who has the most to prove? Third down, like we said, a lot of guys, gals have been talking. Joe Burrow met with the media today, didn't yesterday. We'll let uh Brantt tell us why. It was today instead. Zach Taylor was even on the Rich Isans show, which I thought was good. Rich didn't just put up with his coach speak. So want to get some thoughts on all of these people talking. And then fourth down, the New York Knicks won the world championship. First time in 50 freaking three years. Crazy. Congratulations to them and the city of New York City. But got us thinking, besides our Bengals, what other team do you want to see end a drought? So, Brian, kick us off. Our fearless leader, Katie Feibern speaks, especially on Zach and Duke. What'd you take away?

SPEAKER_00 4:15

Yeah, kind of two things. I think the message you've been hearing not only from from Katie, but from others this week is I think Zach Taylor even mentioned it a little bit uh in his conversation with Richon is they wanted to they wanted to give these core guys another shot to do it all to do it again with each other. Uh those core guys, I think, you know, we've talked at and the main three, uh Joe, T, and uh Jamar. But there's other guys involved with that. I think Terry Ted Karris is a guy in that conversation. Uh BJ Hill is a guy in that conversation as well. And so um they they felt at the core that they had the right group to their credit. They went out and got, you know, some great pieces to help the defense. But the biggest thing that Katie to me that Katie said is, you know, she didn't go as far as saying that anybody's on the hot seat or has been, but she she did allude heavily to um I don't want to give St. Louis any credit, but I I I love it that Missouri's the show me state, and that's that's where Katie Blackburn is living right now. She is in a show, you gotta show me. I'm gonna give you the chance. Now you gotta show it. Um I also think though she she or anybody in the bagels organization would never come out with an ultimatum like, yeah, if we don't make the playoffs, heads are rolling. But uh if we don't make the playoffs, uh Zach will help you pack, bud. So there you go. A lot of urgency. I think the good thing is I still feel to her credit, it's still built on excitement because they know the talent they have in the building. They know that that's that is the expectation, and you can't fall short of that. Expectation at the very least is to be a playoff team. And if we can't be a playoff team with this roster, then something something else is wrong.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

Love that and totally agree. I love the perspective on the core. We haven't ever had a core like this, led with Burrow, Jamar, and T. And so continuing to give them another shot. We saw what we did. Honestly, I don't think they gave that past core as good as this core. So I'm very excited to see, like you said, what comes together from that. But I do think warning shots were fired to Zach and Duke. Brandt.

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Yeah, I uh quite honestly, I don't know that there was anything real earth-shattering in terms of what Katie was saying, uh, that you know really caught me off guard. Uh specifically when it came to like Duke and Zach. I would say Duke more than anybody. Uh, you know, guys, I don't I don't think Duke's going anywhere anytime soon. I think from I mean he's about as close to, I mean, you might as well call him a stepson to my at this point. Like, I think he is part of the family. Uh, this is a family-run business. Duke's Duke's not going anywhere in the future. So uh anybody saying anything otherwise, I I just I don't think they really understand how the Bengals operate. Uh, I think Zach, it's a little different. Uh, however, I I'd be really interested to know, like, you know, you're never gonna ha hear them say this, but from a Duke or Katie's perspective, I wonder how much they really kind of blame themselves, maybe to a certain extent, uh, regarding last year and all the distractions. And maybe they felt like they really owed it to Zach to give him another shot because of just all the turmoil that was going on and really the lack of addressing a lot of the holes that were there, specifically on the defense, uh, in free agency. So maybe they just felt like you know, they they really wanted to do more, but they just got hamstrung, you know, got bogged down on a lot of issues, and it just never materialized the way they did, or they wanted it to. So that would be my quick thoughts on that. Last thought, uh, I'm super excited about Elizabeth Blackburn getting elevated to VP. I believe her sister did too. So uh congratulations to them. But specifically wanted to highlight things that Elizabeth said in that same article. She said, we are trying to take a very measured, measured steps to maximize our chances with known commodities. We think we've made changes in certain processes on the roster, behind the scenes, certain things that can lead to different outcomes. That's hard sometimes to totally see, but certain change comes with big risk, and we think we're in a good spot. So I love what she's saying because she's saying, even though we have Zach and we have a lot of the same continuity of coaches, maybe some players, not everything is the same still. We've changed some things, and we're taking our shot, we're taking the big risk, and I think that this offseason you know proves that.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Love both of those takes. Love bringing up Elizabeth as the VP, uh, agree strongly on this. We've all worked for companies where we wanted, well, I don't have any hair left, but wanted to pull out our hair because we can see, look, we just want this company to succeed, we want our customers to be happy, we just need a little bit of this, and that's what we've all said as Bengal fans. We finally have somebody Drew Garrison. I heard a great uh take from him in where he said, we've got somebody on the inside, and that's Elizabeth that represents us. She combines the the business thought process of building and growing a team with the fanhood and the emotions and relationships and memories that we all have. So I'm very excited for that. When Katie Blackburn spoke, and everybody is pointing to Duke and to Zach, I really believe, like Brant said, they owed it to both of them. Look, the Blackburns held the purse strings. You don't think Duke didn't want to go sign more people last year? He was told, which drug out way too long. We all know the drama. T and Jamar should have been paid so much sooner, which would have been freed up more money to go get free agents. So instead, we had to rely on the rookies, which then leans onto the coach, and you're like, okay. But we hear all the media interviews, and Zach took the bullets over and over and over again, knowing that the formula was not right. He's a way better man than me because I would have lost it, thrown everything, and said, You all know why this wasn't working, but he's a better man for doing so. I do think, though, one last thing on Katie's quote when it's she says, We obviously are hoping to have a successful season this year. I know Duke and Zach want to do as much as I want to do that. I want that as much as uh we want that. I can't predict anything into the future, but we're certainly counting on right now having a good season and going from there. They're not talking to Duke, they're talking to Zach. Duke got them the all the things that you need. Zach, it's now up to you. For those of you I said it months ago, that kicked and screamed and said, fire Zach, your energy and anger was in the wrong place. Zach has every opportunity to prove it this year, and I'm very excited to see that come to fruition. So, second down, Brandt, speaking of stuff to prove, who has the most to prove for this team in 2026?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Ooh, I'm so interested to hear what you guys say because I think this can go in so many different directions. And I'm not gonna lie, I'm up against the clock and I'm struggling to pick which way I'm gonna go because I'm down to two different, two different uh, we'll say one position group and one player. So uh I think I'm gonna go position group. How about how about that? Uh so I'm calling out the wide receiver room, and let's to an extent, let's to make this very clear, let's exclude T and Jamar. But beyond that, I'm calling out Yoshi, Tinsley, our boy, you know, Charlie Jones, Chuck Sizzle, who made a nice catch, supposedly. I saw the clip. He's saying he caught it. The ref said he caught it yesterday. It looked good, so uh made a really nice catch in practice yesterday. Uh, but Keyshawn Williams, uh, you know, we got Kobe Jones, we got all kinds of guys that have a huge opportunity, I think, in front of them. You are playing for the Cincinnati Bengals. One thing you know is that we're gonna throw the ball. The second thing I know is that everybody else knows we're gonna throw the ball, and they're gonna if we're trying to target T and Jamar. So we need somebody to step up as our third receiver, and I'm not talking about Mike Kisicki. So one of these guys, I you know, I think Yoshi's still sitting in the driver's seat, but Yoshi, I think, has kind of shown what he really is in terms of a great scramble drill guy, get open late, maybe get you a score down inside the uh, you know, the red zone when you really need it. Uh, but I need more still from Yoshi. I'm excited to see what Keyshawn Williams is going to maybe add to this team. I think that the roster battle between Keyshawn Williams and Chuck Sizzle is gonna be something to watch this year because they both can return, but I need somebody to to step it up in the slot. Or I know uh you know Chuck kind of plays outside too. And I want to see if Tinsley can really kind of build on what he did last year and become more of a consistent force. So wide receiver room, you play for the Cincinnati Bengals. If you want to catch passes, you got to show it.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

So let's see it. Absolutely love that. You're playing off one of our biggest strengths on the team, but there is such a gap, like you said, for that third receiver minus Gasecki. And so very excited to see who comes up and grabs that. Personally, I'm cheering for Tinsley. I think he's got some crazy skill set. I think there was some distraction, a little bit of nerves last year, and some opportunities. I hope he earns Burroughs' trust back so he can prove that, Brian.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Which way Yeah, I'm kind of kind of like Brant. I've been uh since you posed this question, I've been kind of all over the place. You know, the first thought was was the front office, and I was like, wait a minute, they've they've proved it so far. So check that check that box. Uh, I thought I even thought, you know, maybe I'm gonna go say Joe Burrow. It's like we keep hearing this guy, he's an MVP caliber super bowl caliber quarterback, and well, let me let's see it. Let's see it, Joe. Um but uh but I decided to go with the first person that popped into my head when you when you brought this question up, and that is Jordan Battle. He has been a starter on the defense for the last few years. Uh that he replaced he played, you know, Von's play fell off, but he replaced Von Bell. Um and the thing with Jordan Battle is every once in a while he flirts with that level of play. It's like, oh, he he is von Bell. He made he made a play when we needed it, an interception, or came up and forced a fumble. But at the opposite end, there has been too many, too many times where he is in the wrong spot, takes a terrible angle, and is not in on a tackle. He's missed his fair share of tackles. If for his sake, it's lucky that he played next to Gino Stone, who made him look a little bit better than because Gino was um but the good the good news is Jordan Batter. I think he has the talent. I was super excited when we drafted him because I think he has the talent to be an above-average starting safety in the league. Um, unfortunately, he hasn't shown that consistently yet, and therefore he is in the prove it column when it comes to Cincinnati Bengals. He's got a lot to prove. Uh, I love that he's had some fun and got to go up in the air with the blue angels and experience in that. So, hey, Jordan, you you were up in the clouds. Let's play, let's play that way. You know, sky's sky's the limit with that guy. He he's got plenty of talent, he's vocal. The one thing he does do well, he I feel he's one of the guys that brings energy to the defense. He plays with a lot of energy and he's has a good time because football should be fun. Um, we know Brian Cook's gonna bring it. If Jordan Battle can play to the level that he's flirted with at a consistent basis, that's gonna have as much of an impact on this defense as Dexter Lawrence is. Uh, and so I'm I'm wishing the best for number 27, but you got to prove it to us.

SPEAKER_02 17:35

Love that. I think Brian Cook will be the best thing that happens to him, or it will even expose even more that he is not an NFO player. But I think, like you said, I think this is going to give him every opportunity. Very excited for that. Of course, the first thing I thought about was Zach since I have been vocal and saying keeping Zach was the right move, but we talked about that. I'm actually gonna go kind of sim, like maybe a little bit opposite of Brian's way and more into maybe Brandt's way. Uh, we gave up the 10th overall pick. I'm gonna combine both of this for Dexter Lawrence. And I love sexy Dexie. I know what he has done, I know what we gave up. And Brian, we probably gave up that safety from Ohio State that we would have drafted that probably would have been playing next to Brian Cook, saying, you know what, this is a bigger upgrade. Dexter, I believe that he's gonna be great. I don't think he needs to be the greatest defensive tackle ever. I think he needs to take up blockers, do his job, get to the quarterback, uh, and let everybody else do what they're supposed to do. But when I say he's got the most to prove, the reason I'm picking Dexter Lawrence because we gave up so much, and this was such a mindset change for the Bengals and way of doing business, because if Dexter takes off and this thing works, we will look again to be almost like the Rams. I don't want to say F them picks, but we may look to move those first round picks a little more often to keep Burrow in this type of a position. Love both of your takes. Those were good stuff. Third down, more talking. Zach on Rich Eisen, Joe Burrow, the media today. Brian, any thoughts from either of these or anything else you've been hearing, especially out of minicamp?

SPEAKER_00 19:27

You know, I again the biggest thing we've been talking about this for the last few weeks. Um, we as fans are super excited for the season. We because it's a good time, right? You get invested in the team, that's fun. Seeing your team win when they do is fun. Game days are fun, the food, who you get to watch with, all that's fun. Um if we're being real, this this is this is a job for these guys. It's it and yes, they love if you don't love football, you're probably not gonna last very long in the NFL. Um, but at the same time, it's a it's a business and it's their job. But the thing that I keep hearing is and and you love the days when you experience it in in our normal everyday lives, is these guys are excited to come to work this summer. Yes, they are excited to be in the building, to be around each other because they feel like what we just talked about. Uh, they don't need us to say so-and-so needs to prove it. I think they all feel they've got something to prove, including your superstars on this on this team. And it's not proving that they can be a Hall of Fame level player. Jamar's already proven that. Joe's proven that, you know, T's proven he's probably a number one in this league. It's you've got to prove yourself that you can take that talent and become a winner and beat these top-level franchises and push them out of the way. So that's what I'm excited about. I love it. The one thing that Zach is usually great about it, and so when he he's not there, you you see it and you feel it. Um, he he wears his emotions on his sleeve, and so I love seeing the high energy from Zach. I love when he smiled a little bit to Rich when Rich was like, Hey, everybody's worried about Joe Burrow and his mental health, and does he want to be in Cincinnati? And Zach kind of smiled, like, we and he with facts, like we get to see Joe every day. Joe's just fine, and I felt like there was a little bit of like, and he's ready to give everybody a double metal finger this year. That's Joe for you, and he does it, he does it. Yeah, he knows, and everybody knows the biggest question for him is staying on the football field. Um, but I love that how excited this team is. There's a lot of buzz. There's a lot of usually I don't like the hype, and I'm like, no, I want to be the quiet folks lurking in the shadows, ready to strike, but they're embracing the hype, they want the smoke, they want all of it, and I'm Here for it, and I cannot wait for the Chapel Bay Buccaneers to come into Paul Brown and get a little taste. So let's get there.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

Absolutely. Love that. Love the the whole perspective of excited to come to work. I I I listened to the Reds today. That seemed like a baseball team that did not want to show up to work today. I'm getting the complete opposite vibe with this Bengals team, and it's freaking middle of June. Super excited. Brandt?

SPEAKER_01 22:29

Yeah, after listening to Joe today, uh, I'll build on what Brian said. I think the excitement definitely kind of stands out that he has. Uh, two other points though, I'd like to make. Uh, I love what Joe's saying, and he talked about pressure. And he said, you know, the pressure that comes with the moves that they've made this off season. He's like, if you don't want that pressure, he it basically was saying, I don't want you on this team. He said, I love it, I thrive in it. I mean, what more could you want out of your quarterback? Like, he's basically saying, Give me all the pressure, put it all on my back. And this guy has gone out and proven it. Like, he he knows what the pressure is all about when you have to almost score every single drive. He's seeing this defense and saying, I think that pressure might be a little off me now. I don't have as much pressure. We just got to go out and and win games now. So I think that's that's pretty exciting. Uh the second thing I would highlight to what you know, paraphrasing kind of what Joe said today was really about his leadership and how he's trying to be more vocal. And and it made me laugh a little bit when he said, Hey, maybe he's coming off a little mean, or maybe he has to be a little mean now. Uh and I love that about Joe. Like, I think he's he's done some reflection on himself and realized, like, you know, to get where they need to be, he can't he can't be kind of you know really thoughtful, uh nice, caring Joe anymore. He's gotta he's gotta just lay it out. When guys don't do what he expects, he needs to tell them and let them know. And it doesn't necessarily have to be mean, but put that put that emphasis in his voice. Like, don't do that again. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 24:23

Loved that. And the word he used was urgency. They asked Dalton Risner about it, and I loved Dalton's take. He smiled just like you guys were saying, and said, We love it. He's holding others accountable. We know who Burrow is. You know, he missed media. The reason he talked today and not yesterday is because he stayed late to toss with his wide receivers. The priority is football, exactly like you're talking about. That is the accountability that Brant's speaking of. I love what Burrow said. He brought up 2019. He sees and smells the exact same formula. I know it was college, but in the professional setting and saying this is right here for us if we want to take this. So very excited. One last thing I forgot to mention about Elizabeth Blackburn when uh it was brought up, and I think that this is what's leading into some of these uh attitudes with Joe and the way he's carrying himself as a leader. I didn't know this, but Elizabeth Blackburn reaches out to longtime seasoned ticket holders and takes them to lunch. And I guarantee you they're not going to a five-star. I guarantee you they're going to a quiet diner in a corner, no cameras, so they can talk and she can understand. And that's what I think, as she's taking accountability in the leadership and ownership. I think Burrow is doing the exact same thing, having burritos with the boys in the middle of the day instead of hiding in the shadows. I'm out going to lead and we're gonna get this thing done. Fourth down, quickly, let's get out of here. Knicks 53-year drought over. They are NBA champions. Congrats to them. Got us thinking, minus the Bengals. That's a layup, that's a given. Let's get this over with, let's get Lombardi home to Cincinnati. But besides that, Brandt, what team would you want to see break their own drought curse, whatever you'd like to call it?

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Yeah, this one's pretty easy for me. Uh, because I think the the first team I really fell in love with as a kid was, and you guys know this, uh, but UC basketball. The the 1992, you know, Final Four season, and you had Nick Van Axel, Corey Blunt, Terry Nelson going up against the Fab Five. Uh I I was I was hooked. I was hooked from there after that, just just injected straight into my veins. So uh I think that's when I became a huge Bearcat fan. Uh, it then grew into football, going to games with my dad. Uh as he being a high school coach, he got free tickets, so we would be able to go to every game. And at that point, you know, walking around Nippert Stadium, you basically could sit anywhere because there wasn't a lot of people at the games. So when it comes to UC sports, UC football, UC basketball, you know, give me it all that I can get. But I'd have to choose UC basketball, taking the NCAA championship again and putting us back on the map completely with the uh was it the 61 and 62 seasons when they did it? Back to back. So I'd love to love to see it again.

SPEAKER_02 27:42

Great memories. Thank you for sharing that, and would absolutely love that one as well.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

Brian. Yeah, I'm not not gonna go another NFL team, uh, though I have empathy for for you Lions, Bills, and maybe even a little bit of you Browns fans. Uh, maybe a little bit. So I was looking, and you know what? Uh there's one, there's one close to home for me as well. Uh, I am not a huge NBA guy, and I'm not a huge Utah Jazz fan. But these Utah Jazz fans, the fans that here in the state are extremely passionate about their fans. Take them or leave them. Leave them you fans, and BYU fans are extremely passionate about their teams, and most of those folks are jazz fans as well. Uh, they are clamoring for it until just a couple years, two years now, uh, they were the only professional show in town. Now we have the mammoth. Mammoth, you've only got two years here, so we're not like dying for a championship. This also, a lot of these fans still remember the 90s, like Brant was mentioning, and felt that they were extremely close to tasting a championship. I hate to tell you, jazz fans, when number 23 is in the building, you you weren't close. It might have gone six games, but you weren't close. Uh, that guy was just too dang good. But they've been there, they've experienced it, they know what it sounds like and feels like to have an opportunity to play for championship. So for my fellow, I'm not a Utah, but for those that are in the state that I live in, uh, my wife's a Utah. So I hope hope that the uh Jazz can find a championship. If OKC can do it, it could be done in Salt Lake City. And the the night that they if they taste that championship would be a lot of fun in Salt Lake City, and I'd be I'd be all in. So that's a great one.

SPEAKER_02 29:33

Brent, I loved Carl Malone growing up in the 90s when they had the last dance in 2020, when they introduced before the last episode, uh, that it ended with Michael Jordan about to start playing, and they introduced you to the Utah Jazz and how good they were. Like that got me. It absolutely set me back and hurt. That would be so amazing for this great state of Utah. I will echo Brant both your sentiments combined and say Utah State basketball. Brian and I went there, it is a special place for basketball. Look, we loved Cincinnati basketball growing up, loved Kentucky basketball growing up. College was such a great, great atmosphere in the Cincinnati region, and they have that kind of a great experience on the college level, would absolutely see, and Logan would forever be changed if they made a final four run. That place would not know what to do with themselves for Yaggy ice cream for life for that coach. You both are the best. This is why I people ask us, you guys do a podcast every week on the Bengals in June. Yes. Looking at your faces, the excitement, the text. This is great. This is what we've been waiting for our whole lives. It's here. Let's enjoy it. Enjoy the last day of minicamp and then get ready for a little break because training camps around the corner.