Zac Taylor Changed the Culture of Cincinnati Football

[Daddy-O]

(12-18-2021, 12:49 AM)C0de_M0nkey Wrote: Yes , a lot of us want his head on a platter. But you have to admit that Zac Taylor has done a good job in his first three years. He took a team on life support and started 2-14. After a 1-14 start he almost lost our franchise quarterback by beating Miami, but he just fell short in overtime. As much as we wanted the Bengals to tank, it was clear that coach Taylor wanted the Bengals to win. However, it was clear that he didn’t have the talent nor the coaching experience to do so  that year. Thankfully, he failed and we got our quarterback with the 5th pick of the draft.

2020 was a tough year, but for a lot of Bengals fans it was the most fun in a long time. Despite the weekly losses, there was no denying that it was fun to watch the young, Burrow led team grow.

That is, until Joe Burrow went down with multiple knee injuries against the Washington Football Team. It was at this lint that most of us, myself included, were once again calling for Zach Taylor’s head. How dare he make his franchise QB throw 50+ times in a losing season. We waited a generation for a chance like this and Zac threw it down the drain, literally!

Well that all changed when the 11-2 Steelers came to town in prime time. They were on an 0-2 streak, and this was the game they circled on the calendar to get back in track. This was the rivalry that wasn’t really a rivalry anymore, due to the Steelers’ dominance over the last five years. Most fans forgot that the Bengals ever made the playoffs, so obviously this was an easy win for Pittsburgh, right?

“Hop in a jet like that
Like that
They was like, "Popp, why you walk like that?“

Juju heard, as he caught a pass in the endzone. Oh wait, that was the sound of Von Bell knocking  the ball and the soul out of Juju’s hands. It was at that moment, that fans across the nation asked themselves: “wait, are these the Bengals?” Fans in Cincinnati asked themselves if this was a new day indeed, as the Bengals dominated the Steelers in a 27-17 victory.

Despite the dumpster fire of the 2020 season, Zac Taylor won the biggest game of his career in convincing fashion. And this was the start of a trend against the Steelers. Most of us still wanted him fired, but there was no denying that he may have saved his ass with that whooping of the Steelers.

The lesson to be learned is that we all gave up on Zach Taylor. I personally wanted him to be fired until he beat the Vikings in 2021. I then made a 180 and declared the Bengals a playoff threat. But there was never a doubt about Zac Taylor in the locker room. Even the most ardent in the “fire Zac” camp had to admit that the  team stuck with him at through 2020. We still wanted him fired but there was no denying that he was a good player’s coach.

What was the point of this post? Well, most of us have seen his poor play calling over the course of the season. But few of us have seen his improved play calling  compared to last  year. It’s easy to call Zac out for taking the ball out of Burrow’s hands against the 49ers. But how many of us wanted him to be fired for putting the ball in Burrow’s hands too much last year?

Joe Burrow is a young quarterback, Zac Taylor is a young coach. There is no denying that the culture has changed after three straight blowout wins against the Steelers.

The question is will part 2 of this post be how Zac Taylor changed the franchise for better or for worse? At this point, my bet is for better. None of us expected this team to do anything, yet we’re in the thick of it in the AFC. Zac Taylor has done a good job. Especially due to Ja’marr Chase, possibly the best pick in franchise history.

Either he is going to be the head coach or the play caller.  It's obvious he can't do both well.

I have no problem with him as the HC but if he is unwilling to let go of his ego and delegate the play calling responsibilities he can be shown the door.  

I am totally against meddling owners, but this might be the case where upper management needs to tell him "we hired you as the head coach and that's what we expect you to be.  Oversee the entire football team during the game and use your assistants.  If you don't want to do that we'll find someone who will".