We play in the afc north

[Tlawsonmariat82]

I freaking hate this exclusive empty set nonsense,we ran for 13 yards one play then went empty for 3 consecutive plays makes absolutely no sense..This is not LSU this is the afc north and we need to act like it..

Defensively we need another pass rusher but we also need a better coordinator..This guy kept calling zones when it was obvious that zones wasn't effective today he has no clue from what i see..

Going forward we need to build this team to compete in the division we play in-zac Taylor and this coaching don't have a successful track record to go off,they zero credibility it's time to make adjustments or go..

[Fan_in_Kettering]

The OP is absolutely correct.  Zac Taylor built a team using the NFC West template and that doesn't work in the AFC North.  The LSU playbook doesn't work in the AFC North either.  There are reasons the Ravens and Steelers rule the North:  They run the ball, they don't allow big plays, they rush the passer, they play aggressively in the secondary, and they stop the run.  The Bengals do none of those things and go to the air far too often. 

[Rubekahn29]

(11-16-2020, 09:01 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: The OP is absolutely correct.  Zac Taylor built a team using the NFC West template and that doesn't work in the AFC North.  The LSU playbook doesn't work in the AFC North either.  There are reasons the Ravens and Steelers rule the North:  They run the ball, they don't allow big plays, they rush the passer, they play aggressively in the secondary, and they stop the run.  The Bengals do none of those things and go to the air far too often. 

This is true. However Steelers only ran for 44 yards and still put up 36.

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(11-16-2020, 09:07 AM)Rubekahn29 Wrote: This is true. However Steelers only ran for 44 yards and still put up 36.

Thank you.  You mentioned the one criterion for solid play in the AFC North I completely forgot: Flexibility.  The Bengals defended against the run fairly well yesterday so what did the Steelers' offensive coordinator do?  He called lots of play action passes because he knew the Cincinnati linebackers would bite hard.  Germaine Pratt and Josh Bynes were looking for the run yesterday and, combined with loose secondary play, the Bengals got gashed with short to medium length passes.

Zac was the opposite.  The Bengals were running better than usual so he had Joe Burrow throw deep.  Stupid.  Absolutely freaking stupid.

[Big_Ern]

(11-16-2020, 09:01 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: The OP is absolutely correct.  Zac Taylor built a team using the NFC West template and that doesn't work in the AFC North.  The LSU playbook doesn't work in the AFC North either.  There are reasons the Ravens and Steelers rule the North:  They run the ball, they don't allow big plays, they rush the passer, they play aggressively in the secondary, and they stop the run.  The Bengals do none of those things and go to the air far too often. 

I don't have the stats, but it didn't seem like Pittsburgh was having success running against us yesterday and we know our run D is nothing to write home about.  The other things you mentioned they did well.  

[Rubekahn29]

(11-16-2020, 09:13 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Thank you.  You mentioned the one criterion for solid play in the AFC North I completely forgot: Flexibility.  The Bengals defended against the run fairly well yesterday so what did the Steelers' offensive coordinator do?  He called lots of play action passes because he knew the Cincinnati linebackers would bite hard.  Germaine Pratt and Josh Bynes were looking for the run yesterday and, combined with loose secondary play, the Bengals got gashed with short to medium length passes.

Zac was the opposite.  The Bengals were running better than usual so he had Joe Burrow throw deep.  Stupid.  Absolutely freaking stupid.

Yeah Zac is an atrocious playcaller. I had hope for him, but he's quickly wearing out his welcome. Also, its not like we COULDN'T run the ball. We ran for 100 yards on 20 carries excluding the fake punt. We absolutely should have worn out the run this game. 

[*SHRacerX*]

(11-16-2020, 09:13 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Thank you.  You mentioned the one criterion for solid play in the AFC North I completely forgot: Flexibility.  The Bengals defended against the run fairly well yesterday so what did the Steelers' offensive coordinator do?  He called lots of play action passes because he knew the Cincinnati linebackers would bite hard.  Germaine Pratt and Josh Bynes were looking for the run yesterday and, combined with loose secondary play, the Bengals got gashed with short to medium length passes.

Zac was the opposite.  The Bengals were running better than usual so he had Joe Burrow throw deep.  Stupid.  Absolutely freaking stupid.

I swear there are times I think they are intentionally trying to lose.  And I have thought this in more than one game.  Some of their decisions are so puzzling that the only thing I can think to do other than accuse them of tanking is that they are out-thinking themselves and doing incredible dumb things thinking "they NEVER will think we will do this".  I don't know.  I saw some poor execution and flat play many times under Marvin, but I never looked and thought they were trying to lose games.  

[jj22]

Hence, we won't be winning much in the division and thus in the NFL for decades to come.

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(11-16-2020, 10:52 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: I swear there are times I think they are intentionally trying to lose.  And I have thought this in more than one game.  Some of their decisions are so puzzling that the only thing I can think to do other than accuse them of tanking is that they are out-thinking themselves and doing incredible dumb things thinking "they NEVER will think we will do this".  I don't know.  I saw some poor execution and flat play many times under Marvin, but I never looked and thought they were trying to lose games.  

While Marvin Lewis was not the right answer either, his 0.518 winning percentage absolutely blows Zac Taylor's 0.180 winning percentage out of the water.  Only two Cincinnati head coaches had lifetime winning records:  Forrest Gregg and Marvin Lewis. 

[KillerGoose]

(11-16-2020, 09:01 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: The OP is absolutely correct.  Zac Taylor built a team using the NFC West template and that doesn't work in the AFC North.  The LSU playbook doesn't work in the AFC North either.  There are reasons the Ravens and Steelers rule the North:  They run the ball, they don't allow big plays, they rush the passer, they play aggressively in the secondary, and they stop the run.  The Bengals do none of those things and go to the air far too often. 

Pittsburgh doesn’t run the ball, though. At least, not well. Cincinnati has averaged more rush yards per game for the last three seasons now (including this season). That isn’t singing the praises of Cincinnati, moreso saying that the Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL over the past three years.

[thompson19osu]

I still just don’t understand Zac Taylor’s playcalling. Bernard and Perine were having good gashes and Taylor would immediately follow up with empty sets, which were highly ineffective and showed in our third down conversion rate of 0%. I love how even the announcer on TV called out his playcalling on third down when he basically said Taylor was just protecting Burrow and conceding the game. Interestingly though following that later in the game Taylor decides to go for a fake punt and leave Burrow on the field. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what ZT decides to do.

[thillan]

I think what matters most is having an identity, and a good team to match that identity. If the Chiefs, Packers, Cardinals etc came over here, they'd still be playing very well.

[jj22]

(11-16-2020, 11:46 AM)thillan Wrote:  If the Chiefs, Packers, Cardinals etc came over here, they'd still be playing very well.

Well yea, if they brought their ownership. 

[thillan]

(11-16-2020, 11:48 AM)jj22 Wrote: Well yea, if they brought their ownership. 

Not sure how that disputes my point. The trend I was seeing in this thread is that to win in the North, you can't be an air it out team.

[Frank Booth]

A lot of you are just parroting what Vilma was lazily spouting last night.

Thing is, the Steelers are an air it out team. Historically? No. But definitely from 2014 onward.

You can win by being a pass first team in the afc north. You just need a defense

[*bengalfan74*]

(11-16-2020, 11:41 AM)thompson19osu Wrote: I still just don’t understand Zac Taylor’s playcalling. Bernard and Perine were having good gashes and Taylor would immediately follow up with empty sets, which were highly ineffective and showed in our third down conversion rate of 0%. I love how even the announcer on TV called out his playcalling on third down when he basically said Taylor was just protecting Burrow and conceding the game. Interestingly though following that later in the game Taylor decides to go for a fake punt and leave Burrow on the field. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what ZT decides to do.

Spot on

ZT is just all over the map in playcalling and it rarely works.

[bengaloo]

I'm not taking up for any coaches and their play calling, but I will say this. Ren Boethlesberger and the Stealers WR's made Tony Brown their b**th yesterday and we had zero answer for that. Notta. That was the worst CBing I've seen in a very long time in any game I've watched on the pro and college levels. That wasnt coaching.

But yeah we averaged 5 yard per carry rushing and still never stuck with it. Thats on ZT and was stupid. Thats not AFCN football for sure.

[RiverRat13]

(11-16-2020, 01:31 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: A lot of you are just parroting what Vilma was lazily spouting last night.

Thing is, the Steelers are an air it out team. Historically? No. But definitely from 2014 onward.

You can win by being a pass first team in the afc north. You just need a defense

Yep.  And it's not even close.

Since 2014, the Steelers have ranked higher in the league rushing than passing once - 2019 when Ben was hurt.

2014 - 16th rushing, 2nd passing
2015 - 16th, 3rd
2016 - 14th, 6th
2017 - 20th, 3rd
2018 - 31st, 2nd
2019 - 29th, 31st
2020 - 24th, 18th

And for the record, Jonathan Vilma is an awful commentator.