Win the Division - Win it ALL

2 weeks from Training Camp!!!  The Who Dey ALL Dey podcast is here to give us the latest Bengals news as we head into the DAWG Deys of Summer. 

Bergs, Brian, and Brant also break down each of our division opponents.   What scares them as a rival and what can we expose.   Joey B said it best in 2021..."we win the Division, we can win it ALL."

Who Dey ALL Dey!!!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:43

Gentlemen, happy July 15th, 2026, and welcome to the Who Day All Day Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Berg in Witness Protection Territory, Western Slope of Colorado, the Grand Valley, the Colorado River area, Grand Junction, Colorado. Beautiful. Haven't been out here for about seven years. Good to be out here. But we got our boys with us tonight. Brian, Utah County. How are you living?

SPEAKER_00 1:12

So good. Good to be back in Utah after a couple days in Montana, which will kind of clean the soul a little bit, uh, if you will. Uh nice drive from Missoula to Great Falls, really peaceful. It takes you on a uh I would call it a back road. It's a it's a it's a two-lane highway, but and you can you can uh bust a little tail through there, but you don't want to. Uh Slong River. Anyway, I'm getting long-winded, but great, uh, great scenic route. Like I said, it cleans the soul, allows you to think about things like Joe Burrow throwing beautiful spirals to Jamar Chase and distracting you from the road. So good to be with you guys. Excited. It's been a minute since we've talked uh Bengals football.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

So let's get into it. It's absolutely and you're so right. Uh, I was up in Helena last week, Brandt, and I went north when I got done. There's this great place called Craig, Montana that is literally where the Missouri River uh begins. Lewis and Clark, mom and I have been there. It's awesome. That the the headwaters, but the river just flows along the freeway, and you just pull over and you just dip into the water and fish. It's incredible. Yeah, it's Brian's right on that. Brant, Northern Kentucky. How's tranquility in the homeland?

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah, it's not quite Montana, but uh, but yeah, it doesn't get any better than Cincinnati, though, fellas. It's always home. So uh I'm happy I can keep you guys connected and that you can keep me filled in on the old uh you know Western frontier out there in Montana and in Utah. And so love hearing stories about all those places. Definitely a spot I got to get to in the future.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

We'll take you out here. Uh the wild west, it's absolutely especially summertime. It kind of feels like, you know, that that's that's some some good times to spend in the summer. But what is even better is to spend four downs with both of you. We do have some Bengal news. We're about two weeks away from training camp. Pumped, pumped, pumped for that. But you know, under the drill, we're gonna go first down. We're gonna go through a couple things that have stood out to each of you um this last couple weeks since the 4th of July with any Bengals news. And then we're gonna do something a little bit different. We're gonna go ahead and dig in to the division. Second down, we're gonna touch on Baltimore, third down Pittsburgh, fourth down Cleveland. I know we are a Bengals podcast, but I think it's time we dig into our rivals. Look, the key to this whole thing is winning the division, everything else, home playoff games, getting back to the Super Bowl. It all starts with the division. So really pumped to get your takes on that. So, Brian, kick us off first down. Bangle News, been a fun last couple of weeks with the 4th of July and celebrating America 250. But what stood out to you over the last couple of weeks?

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Yeah, I'm gonna touch on Orlando Brown. Uh, so he uh recently on Locked On Locked On Bengals. So shout out to that them and their podcast. Great interview with uh Orlando Brown. And I what I really liked about it, maybe being a former offensive lineman myself, was he got into like uh and credit to the questions that were asked, he got into his technique uh and his kick, you know, talking about his kick slide and and how uh the the Bengals offensive line coach, how he's kind of um you know, kind of revamped his career, Orlando kind of felt. But what was interesting, and uh it it takes uh it takes some humility and and a man to admit these things, but Orlando touched on that uh he didn't necessarily take the off season and being a professional uh as serious as maybe he should have until about 2024. Wow. And talking about refining technique, getting into the diet. Uh, but what he really was talking about as well was getting in the weight room and taking the weight room serious. I think I I give to give to give him some grace, I get where Orlando's coming from. If if you're naturally that large of a human being, uh, you know, and and you're not in love with throwing some weight around, then I get it. You're like, dude, I I push defensive ends around just by waking up in the morning. But the fact that like someone that scare that big and scary is now taking, you know, weight training and strength training seriously. He he takes boxing classes as well. Uh, but he uh what I loved about Orlando Brown and it speaks it speaks our language, is he said, even the hands, you know, in an offensive tackle are so important. He's like, but it's still if you're for your hands to work, it starts with your feet. So um, but then Orlando Brown says something interesting, not necessarily on that podcast, but he said he said he he's out there saying that the Bengals have the best pass protection offensive line in the league. Uh, I love how he talks about his teammates, talked about uh Dalton coming back and how important it is and how well he fits in the offensive line room, in the locker room. It's so refreshing to hear somebody that's excited about not only their craft, but excited to be a Cincinnati Bengals. Uh and it gets me excited. I felt Orlando played pretty well uh at times last year. Uh and I like him protecting Joe's blind side. So it has me pumped. Um it's the vibe that we've kind of talked about all offseason is guys are excited to be in the building and they cannot wait for the season to start. Training camp is gonna, it's gonna be all sorts of emotions, I think. It's gonna be fun and exciting. I think there's gonna be days where it is an all-out battle and they may be ready to knock each other out, uh, though they're teammates. And I'll tell I'll say this when we do joint practices with the Bears, uh, sometimes you should probably be careful for what you wish for. I get that it's practice and everyone wants to be cordial, but uh Chicago Bears, you'll be ready for NFC North football because it's gonna be physical days of practice when we get together.

SPEAKER_02 7:22

So think about what you're saying. We're in the offseason and you're pumped about the offensive line. Think about that. That is fantastic. We talk about this whenever people come up to us and say, Oh, yeah, tell me, you know, the Bengals, hey, they're they're gonna be great if they can protect Joe. You don't know ball. Get out of here with that. It is a completely difference. And building off of what Brian's talking about, Scott Peters running that offensive line, our Arizona State alum absolutely has resurrected all of these guys and specifically might be the best piece to keep Joe Burrow healthy, safe, protected, and developing these young guys so that we keep this line going. But I absolutely love that with the great mojo in the locker room for the offensive line. Brant.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Yeah, I had two things that uh I was gonna mention, but building off what Brian said just real quick, I listened to the same podcast. I thought it was awesome. So if you guys have maybe time to listen to the locked on podcast about uh with Orlando on it, I I thought it was super interesting, though, to hear Orlando's take on uh it really takes time for the offensive line to gel, and they got to get the reps during the game to really just kind of feel comfortable with each other, uh, mainly because practice anymore, they they've cut practice, but specifically padded practice, so much from years past, it just makes it harder for them to take on a new concepts and really feel good about it. So I thought those are just an interesting take. I kind of suspected that, but uh it was good to hear him kind of put that out into uh into the ether so that everybody else could understand it. But my first first take I wanted to just kind of mention about uh Bengals Land. If everybody doesn't know, Willie Anderson had a birthday four days ago. I haven't heard much from Willie, but wanted to say, happy birthday, Willie. Hope you're doing well. I know he had a kidney transplant a while back. So hopefully one of our greatest ambassadors is uh is staying healthy and and still on the mend. Uh, my second take, if you guys haven't read, Jeremy Fowler's coming out with his annual lists right now, uh, where he basically ranks each position group and he takes a consensus of executives around the league, right? So uh executives as well as some scouts on who's the best players at their positions. So just wanted to highlight the wide receiver wide receiver position, uh, especially Chase or Jamar Chase came in at number one receiving uh are earning around 70% of the first place votes. Uh he played third in catches last year with 125, fourth in receiving yards with 14, 112. Jeremy said specifically, he looks different than everybody else with the ball in his hands. So the other highlight that they kind of noted in the article, uh DB actually said he's the best I've gone against. Specifically, they wanted to uh highlight uh what is it when he's in press coverage, he is the best receiver in the league in press coverage. Uh receipt he had 29 receptions against press coverage last year in 2025, which was tops in the NFL. So Jamar's just cemented himself as the top receiver in the league right now. I don't think there's any question. Uh, there's some other unbelievable receivers, but Jamar is is head head and shoulders above everybody else. And then it specifically called out T uh in the same article as getting uh also getting votes. And specifically he ranked around 18th, and if you're counting just the also getting votes. So I thought that was really good for T as well.

SPEAKER_02 11:23

The videos, too, that have serviced to those two work it out together, they don't look like they're playing patty cake. You want to know why they're beating press coverage? Man, those those are those are boys, those are men working out. Uh, definitely gets me excited for pair that with the offensive line. We're gonna be talking about the AFC North. Those guys are ready. Just two things I'll build on Joe Burrow being the fourth best quarterback in the NFL, and then people questioning it. Can't wait for these receipts to be cashed in uh later this year. It's gonna be great on that. And then, as well, we talked a little bit before the podcast, only about an episode and a half in, but really enjoying quarterbacks for those of you that haven't had a chance to watch on Netflix. The material with Flacco is so good. Maybe it's because we resonate because we're close to his age and uh and some of his his storylines and concerns and comments and the way he carries himself, but really enjoying that. Cannot wait for camp. Absolutely agree. There's so much good mojo. Let's keep this going. But I think we've talked about this over and over again. Second down, Brant, I want you to give me something that you're concerned about going up against Baltimore, and that's something you feel like we can expose with Baltimore this year for 2026. It begins and ends with the division, so let's start with the Ravens.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

All right, so something I'm I'm concerned about. I actually think their defense is going to take a step in the right direction. I think they've been kind of waffling over the past couple years. I actually like the addition of Jesse Miner as their head coach. Uh Miner, uh, so former UC head football coach. So Jesse climbed the ladder. Uh, I greatly respect kind of how he uh developed himself into just the coach that he is. I think he's one of the greatest defensive minds in the NFL right now. Uh, you know, he learned under Seattle's coach, so he's taken a lot of what McDonald has brought to that team. So I think the defense is actually going to be a lot better. Uh so that would be my concern, uh, especially with also uh I hate to say it, but them acquiring Trey. And then Matabikwe is supposed to be healthy this year. We'll see. But he got hurt second game last year, had the neck injury, had offseason. So we'll we'll see what happens, but I think their defense is gonna be much improved. I actually think their offense, however, is gonna take a step back, uh, most likely because of their offensive line. I think losing uh Tyler Linderbaum is gonna be a bigger hit than they expected. Uh, and they're trying to replace him with uh the backup from Indy, specifically named Danny Pinter. He's a five-year backup, so he's got 10 starts under his belt. Uh, this is a this is a place where this is why you bring in sexy Dexie. You just let him eat up the interior of that offensive line and let them know they made a mistake by letting Linderbaum go. Uh, they also brought John Simpson back to right guard um and replaced the the big boy I'm blanking on his name right now that they had at right guard. But I I think defensive line against their uh you know makeshift offensive line that they're really trying to just kind of piece together. I think that's where we can really take some steps forward and really uh you know disrupt a lot of what Lamar Jackson wants to do.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

That is the piece, especially with the offensive line. We talk about it all the time. Not that he can't be a threat throwing the ball, but you keep that guy in the pocket, you get him on the ground, he starts turning that ball over. Absolutely agree, Brian.

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Yeah, kind of similar to Brand. That uh that roster is still very talented. They still have you know Pro Bowl level players on the roster. Uh starts with Lamar Jackson, still dangerous, uh, has improved as a passer. And then, you know, on the defense, Kyle Hamilton comes to mind. Trey Hendrickson is a is a great addition for for the Ravens. You have to account for him when he's on the field. And and Roquan Smith is still, you know, a solid, solid more than solid linebacker. Um, so they're deep there's talent across the board. Um while I think Mark Andrews is starting to get up there in age and show his age a little bit, he still seems to be a bangle killer. Uh it's it's good that uh Isaiah likely is no longer in Baltimore. I'd be I'd be a little bit concerned about their tight end room. Um, so they still have the names. Um, and they're gonna be they're gonna be juiced whenever there's a new coach, uh, unless it just goes sour from the beginning. There's some new juice, juice, and life in the uh in the room. I think they probably got as great of a coach as he as he is. I think they probably got tired of hearing from old Coach Harbaugh a little bit. Uh maybe his message got a little older, a little stale. Um, as far as weakness, I'm I'm 100% where Brant. Uh it's their it's their offensive line, and particularly the interior of their offensive line, is it's gonna be key, is uh shutting down the run game and getting them in the third and long. I think that's where Lamar can break your heart with his legs on third and long, but he can also, if like you said, uh keeping him in the pocket, he'll he'll make a mistake or two. We did it on Thanksgiving last year by keeping him in the pocket. He turned the ball over plenty of times for us. Uh, we got to do the same thing. But they're uh they're probably the second best team in the division. Um and uh I think y'all know where I stand with who who the first best team or who the number one team is in the division. So but they're scary, they're challenge. Uh and uh yeah, so that's kind of where I stand with the Ravens.

SPEAKER_02 17:14

What while I think Jesse Minter will be a very good head coach and he is a great defensive mind, there still is a learning curve to being a new head coach and being and taking over a franchise. This will be a common theme with all three teams, as the Bengals are the only ones that are consistent with the coaching staff this year. So third down, Brian. The hated Stellars. What do you like? And what don't go?

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah, so they're uh kind of similar to to Baltimore. They've they've got some I don't think they're as talented as Baltimore across the roster. I don't think they have depth, but they still have they still have household names that are uh that are dangerous. And you know, TJ Watt is still uh more than average, better than average defensive end. He's he can be a headache. What makes him scary is his ability to cause cause turnovers and make plays on the ball. Uh DK Metcalf's kind of an interesting guy for me. Uh he's he's obviously very talented, but there's games where he kind of disappears, but he's still he can still mess you up. I I think DJ Turner's kind of a thorn in his side, though. So and they still have as as old as he may be, and uh they still have a Hall of Fame quarterback, playing quarterback for them. Um and so, but I'm I'm not overly scared of the Steelers. Maybe I should be. Um, I think they've got inexperience on their interior offensive line. So again, relying on sexy dexie to to wreak some havoc. And uh their their run defense. Um we saw it in the first game last year against Pittsburgh. We if you commit to it and you have a solid game plan, you can run on them. Uh Patrick Queen is not, uh I'm gonna say it, he's not what he used to be. Um I think Wilson is starting to be the better linebacker. I think we I think you can move them. I think you can move them in the run game, and and Chase Brown seems to be able to get to the second level against them. So uh I think I think that's where their weaknesses is on the interior, interior of both uh lines.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Well that I Aaron Rodgers, look, I love him. He cracks me up, definitely a hall of famer. I think it's great for them and their culture, but they still don't have a quarterback. And so these pieces that you're talking about, again, we have the consistency at the head coach. As each quarterback on all these teams keep moving around with Cleveland and Pittsburgh, the Bengals still have Joe Burrow. I know Lamar Jackson's been in the building for a couple years the same. So I think I appreciate that consistency.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

One last thing, real quick, is I think there's a lot of people that are excited about the youth that is in the wide receiver room for Pittsburgh. And maybe in the long run it pays off for them. But here's the thing about Aaron Rodgers is if you are not ready and you whether you drop passes or run the wrong route, that guy is probably to a fault, is gonna let you know and embarrass you a little bit. And that's and I'm all I'm here for it. It's not a good, it's usually not a good thing. And so I hope it's Henry Aaron, and I hope these rookies make a lot of mistakes, and he hates them when we when we play them.

SPEAKER_02 20:45

So that's why I think they brought in Michael Pittman Jr. from Indianapolis, really good receiver. I think that'll help help versus some of those young receivers. Brandt.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

Yeah, I think Pittsburgh's actually taking some steps to have a more balanced offense this year. Like you guys are saying, bringing in Michael Pittman. I think they he really is a true number two for them uh next to DK. And I actually like the pick a lot of Jeremy Bernard as their uh slot guy. Uh, I thought he was a guy we could definitely target as well if he would have been available in the draft uh for us. So, but beyond that, I think they still lack some depth to their wide receiver room. So it'll be interesting to see if those guys stay healthy. But I think they are going to be a little bit more uh you know balanced, like I said, be able to throw the ball because last year it was basically, you know, just check DK. Probably more than likely running the ball, and they're pulling two of those tight ends and maybe a tackle at you. So I just don't think we're gonna see as much of that this year. I think they're still gonna be who they are, though, and want to establish the run. Uh just not as much though. So uh so offensively, I think they'll actually take a little bit of a step. Forward. I'm I'm really interested. I wonder if Father Time is gonna start to finally catch up though with their defense and specifically their defensive line. Cam Hayward's 37 years old. TJ Watts 31. TJ's been getting banged up the last couple of years. I just wonder how many more years can they can they really be operating at you know the peak level that they were. I just think they're gonna take a uh a step back. I actually do do like the additions though they had in the defensive backfield. I think it does make them a little bit better with Jamel Dean and Jaquan Brisker. Uh Brisker at safety and Jamel Dean coming over from Tampa Bay at corner. So uh and then they also drafted Dalen Everett, who I thought was a was a you know enticing option for us as well at corner. So uh but yeah, I I expect their defense to take a step back. I just don't think they're gonna be what they have been. And then offense, I think they're gonna be a little bit more balanced, but still third in the division.

SPEAKER_02 23:00

Mike McCarthy, though a Super Bowl-winning coach and comfortable with Aaron Rodgers, there's gonna be a ton of pressure in that town. And as soon as things go sideway, you know how those fans are gonna be. And the Yenzers are gonna start going crazy when hey, we didn't have this with Tomlin. They'll start griping, even though McCarthy's one of their own. So I do think it'll be an up and down type year for them, but same. I think they're third in the division, I think they're about a 500 team.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

Who do you guys who do you guys think they start if uh Rogers goes down? I think that's the question. Will Howard. Will Howard, not Mason Rudolph.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

You know what you got in Mason Rudolph. They've gotta if if they're thinking about Drew Aller or Will Howard, which both I don't think are solutions for them. And I again don't fear them, either one of them. You gotta find out what you got. You're not gonna progress with Mason Rudolph. Yeah, completely agree. Fourth down. Let's finish up with the Cleveland Browns. Brandt, anything scary about the Browns?

SPEAKER_01 24:11

I think if you're saying this is 2027 or 2028, I actually am a little concerned about the talent the Browns are acquiring. I think they're getting uh super young and super talented in a hurry. However, if you trade the best defensive player in the league, how can you not take a step back? Uh so losing Miles Garrett, uh, you know, thank you, Cleveland. Uh as much as I do respect Jared Verse, I think Garrett being out of out of the division, Joe is just licking his chops because he was a thorn in Joe's side. And it'll it'll be really interesting to see how good that defense really is without Garrett. Like how much did he, you know, how much uh did he really impact just what they could do on that side of the ball? I think it was pretty significant. Um so we're gonna see what happens. Like life after Miles Garrett, they're gonna have to learn how to play a little bit on that side of the ball. And I I think they think it's gonna be easier than than what it really is. And so offensively, I I think uh, guys, if you don't have a quarterback, I mean this is kind of the same thing we were talking about with Pittsburgh, if especially if Rodgers goes down, but if you don't have a quarterback, I don't care what you you know what that defensive side of the ball can do, you're not doing much in this league. And so it everything I'm kind of hearing is Deshaun Watson is is might get the start over Shador. I think Gabriel's basically on the way out, so it's it's really interesting to what to see what's going on in that quarterback room. I think they they really like those young receivers they drafted in Boston, Concepcion, but let's face it, I know Concepcion's got this, like, you know, they're trying to promote him as the the the real Uno. There's only one and so they need to they need to watch themselves with that and stay in their lane. But uh this isn't the year they're in rebuild mode, they're trying to acquire picks for a quarterback next year. So I'll be let's talk more about Cleveland when it's 2027 or 2028.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

I agree with that, and I think that's a great analysis, and that's why you got to jump on these guys early. Uh looking at their schedule, I think it's pretty tough opening two on the road against pretty tough physical teams, then coming home for two tough physical teams. They could be looking at themselves at 0-4 and that helping steamroll the negative energy because they do have a lot of good pieces, and I agree. I think they've drafted very, very well, uh, especially last year, the last two years. Brian?

SPEAKER_00 26:49

Yeah, if I'm if I'm gonna give uh Cleveland's Cleveland a strength or or something that concerns me, is their secondary is pretty strong, pretty solid. Uh Denzel Ward had a bounce back year last year, so to speak. Uh they've got some talent in the backfield, but it will be interesting, like like Brand said, how much did Miles Garrett help that secondary? Um, Jared Verse is a very talented player, but and nobody is, to be fair to Jared Verse, nobody is Miles Garrett. Uh I mean, the guy just last year at at you know an older age set the all-time sack record, and it wasn't by accident. He's he's a he's a phenomenon. Um but I think Cleveland, uh, the other good thing is that uh both uh Deshaun Watson and Shador Sanders uh can run fast and they're gonna need it because their offensive line is terrible. Uh it is in flux, and those quarterbacks better be so they're not gonna be able to run the ball, and those quarterbacks better have the jets ready or get the ball out quick. So, and like you said, uh new coach, young team. Uh, and so that's a team that you want to jump on early when you play them and just keep hammering in nails into the coffin all day long, so and not let them off the mat uh and then and destroy their will uh to live. So Cleveland's Cleveland's it's a rebuilding year, uh somewhere between three and six wins for them. But the Bengals got to it's the NFL though at the same time, got to take take care of business when you when you play a team like that. And like I said, not even let them off the mat.

SPEAKER_02 28:23

Love that. Agreed in their offensive line. That is the piece that we have to take advantage of and get after them early and not let them run the ball. I feel like they've got some decent weapons as well. Todd Munkin, I think, will help bring that confidence, that veteran coach, to them from a winning program in Baltimore. He's hungry to prove that he should have been Baltimore's head coach. So you know he's gonna give everything he's got, but the pieces all aren't there in the critical right spots, quarterback, offensive line to agree with that. I go back to 2021 when we're killing Baltimore on the sideline, and Burrow's got all the receivers together. And he says, if we win the division, we can win the whole thing. And that is the focus of this conversation is look, I know again, we want to get to all these things. We want to get to the playoffs, we want to have home playoff games, we want to get back to AFC Championship games. We've got to keep Burrow healthy. We know what happens when Burrow stays healthy, but it starts and ends with winning these division games. Got to get these things taken care of. There's so many opportunities, but we know even Cleveland will be tough. Guys, pumped two weeks from tomorrow, training camp opens up. Let's get this thing going. You both are the best. Keep enjoying that summer. And who day? Hold on.