10-25-2022, 08:46 PM
Joe Burrow is a great quarterback throwing to great receivers. It’s great fun to watch and it makes the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense extremely dangerous and potent. The offensive line is doing a much better job in pass protection and Burrow is making better decisions when nobody is open like running the ball himself, throwing the ball out of bounds, throwing it in bounds for a purposeful incompletion, or even taking a sack to preserve possession. I love the Bengals’ passing game...
...but the air attack will become even more deadly when the run game becomes more effective. Right now the Bengals are winning games with largely a one-dimensional offense but when it gets cold, windy, and rainy later in the season running the football will be not just necessary but essential. Controlling the clock to protect a lead means relying on the run.
If the offensive line can learn to protect Joe Burrow they can learn to block for Joe Mixon. I’ve watched all year and the issue I see is first contact; Mixon is often hit at the line of scrimmage and sometimes behind it. Mixon is a good open field runner but he’s ineffective if he’s hit early. Many of the tackles made against Mixon are made by linebackers shooting gaps — usually the left side A-gap between Ted Karras and Cordell Volson. The right side A-gap integrity is slightly better which makes sense with veteran Alex Cappa at right guard.
Running Mixon to the far outside isn’t much better. It seems to me the best lanes for him either are off tackle with a tight end to that side or with Burrow handing off very late on a delayed draw.
Teams will cover the pass this season to varying degrees; count on it. Not every team will play a soft zone like New Orleans or be beat up in the secondary like Atlanta. It’s time to do whatever it takes to activate the run game.
...but the air attack will become even more deadly when the run game becomes more effective. Right now the Bengals are winning games with largely a one-dimensional offense but when it gets cold, windy, and rainy later in the season running the football will be not just necessary but essential. Controlling the clock to protect a lead means relying on the run.
If the offensive line can learn to protect Joe Burrow they can learn to block for Joe Mixon. I’ve watched all year and the issue I see is first contact; Mixon is often hit at the line of scrimmage and sometimes behind it. Mixon is a good open field runner but he’s ineffective if he’s hit early. Many of the tackles made against Mixon are made by linebackers shooting gaps — usually the left side A-gap between Ted Karras and Cordell Volson. The right side A-gap integrity is slightly better which makes sense with veteran Alex Cappa at right guard.
Running Mixon to the far outside isn’t much better. It seems to me the best lanes for him either are off tackle with a tight end to that side or with Burrow handing off very late on a delayed draw.
Teams will cover the pass this season to varying degrees; count on it. Not every team will play a soft zone like New Orleans or be beat up in the secondary like Atlanta. It’s time to do whatever it takes to activate the run game.
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
