06-01-2021, 01:11 PM
(06-01-2021, 12:06 AM)sandwedge Wrote: According to teamrankings.com, the Bengals were middle of the pack, 17th in rushing attempts last season at 26 per game.
When I have time I will see where we ranked before Joe was injured. I bet is was much lower.
Zac came from a run-heavy offense with the Rams (8th in rush attempts, 14th in pass). Zac was the head coach when we gave Gio that big contract extension. I think that was because Taylor had seen Gurley break down under too big of a load in a run heavy offense. I really expected us to run the ball more than we did. The second half of '19 we ran the ball well (and it was not because of weaker competition).
But last year it looked like Taylor was all in on a Joe Burrow pass heavy offense. We threw a lot because we were behind, but even at the beginning of games when it was still close we did not even seem to try to establish a run threat.
To me how much we run the ball is the biggest question for 2021. I know Joe would love to throw it 50 times a game, but Zac should be the one making that call. A good run game makes the passing game so much better. I am a big Boomer Esiason fan. He was a great QB. But I don't know if he ever reaches league MVP level without a running game that ranked first in yards, tds, and yards per carry. Boomer only attempted 388 passes (14th in the league) and did not lead the league in either passing yards or tds. But that running game opened up everything. Boomer was the king of the empty-hand play-action fake, but play-action is not as effective if you don't have a serious running game.
I know good passing teams put up more points, but to me there is nothing more satisfying than watching your team just run over the opponent and grind them up.
NSFW
