We all said ZT couldn't coach...

[*SHRacerX*]

(12-06-2022, 03:03 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I'll be the first to eat crow.

I always liked ZT as a head coach, but always thought his offense was lacking. It was set up on go balls to Chase and his offense wasn't sustainable.

After the first half of the season, a lot of us complained about the offense and how we couldn't beat cover two.

Well, this offense has evolved remarkably since then. They are using the entire field, throwing intermediate, and running with consistency.

I think we need to give ZT and his offensive staff a TON of credit for adjusting on the fly and turning this offense around from one dimensional to completely fluent.

Bengals EPA vs Cover 2
First 6 weeks: -.07 (28th in league)
After week 6: .36 (1st)

That is incredible.

I was ready to kill him again when they ran that jet sweep on 4th and inches, but then I heard Burrow audibled to it.  My bad.


He did deserve a lot of criticism early on for the lack of creative schematics and wasn't adapting to the lack of time for Burrow.  It took a few weeks, but wow are they looking good right now.  It actually looks so easy right now.  If teams want to play cover 2 deep, they just die a slow death with high % passes and they even have a balanced attack with the run game.  This is BETTER (though not as exciting, I get it) than the deep shots, quick score offenses.  Why?  It keeps the other team off the field and keeps the defense fresh.  

I have never been more confident in the offense.  They are truly able to beat teams in so many ways.  The fact that they won three straight without Chase was amazing.  Guys stepped up.  The line isn't gelling, it has gelled.  They played absolutely fantastic against KC and that only sack was Burrow going down on his own.  

The coaches deserve a lot of credit for adapting to the team and for finding ways to attack defenses.  Burrow gets a lot of credit, too, for burying the ego a bit and just taking what is given.  It may not make as many highlight reels, but they are going to be VERY tough to defend.  

ZT and Callahan deserve our praise now.  Lou has deserved it all season.  Simmons deserves it now after making the tough choice to replace Huber.