03-31-2022, 01:58 PM
(03-31-2022, 12:36 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: I just think there's miscommunication between the two arguing sides here. Improving the roster is undoubtedly the biggest contribution, which I think is the main point Fred is making. This isn't debatable, to be honest - the team brought in better players, so the team was better. However, ZT did a great job of bringing in high-quality guys. This likely improved team chemistry, morale and all of that fun stuff.
Being a "leader" doesn't win games if the player isn't good, though. That's the whole point. The college football landscape is littered with high quality teammates who are strong leaders. A lot of them aren't very good, though. Burrow is a great leader, but he is also a fantastic QB. Hilton is a great lockerroom guy, but he is also a good corner. Hendrickson is a great teammate, but he is also a fantastic DE. The same goes for Logan Wilson, and a lot of other players on the team. Good players win games. The lockerroom stuff helps in an unknown capacity, but the biggest change was that Cincinnati became inundated with quality players (aside from OL).
I don't think Cincinnati's roster is really that much worse than any of the other past Super Bowl teams. There have been better, sure, but the Bengals have a strong roster. Especially going into this season. They had some luck throughout the season, were fortunate with an easier schedule and got hot at the right time.
There’s no doubt that as I pointed out adding C J Uzomah isn’t going to resurrect the Jets. But the roster improved after Zac arrived. Coincidence? I don’t think so. He’s the one who adamantly wanted Chase. Duke Tobin was running things when Zac took over. Okay everybody seems to think he’s excellent. Well I do know Zac respects him. I think Zac has helped him look at adding different types of players. He convinced him to look at their mannerisms with their teammates. Look at their leadership more. So I’m a believer he’s impacted the roster. The culture well I don’t know if there’s room to chronicle all the comments by players validating that.
But I don’t know where the percentages reside on responsibility for the turnaround as far as talent and culture. We know it’s both and you need both. But a losing teams mindset is not something that is like a light switch just because your talent is better it goes away. This team had confidence that continued to flourish after the bye week and never really stopped.
