12-02-2020, 10:19 AM
(12-02-2020, 01:30 AM)OUatown Wrote: Please explain what he has done that makes you think he will be a great coach? Riding the Mcvey train? His impressive year as OC at UC?
I look at how things have gone since he has been here, outside the win/loss record. His first draft was not that great:
Williams- hit
Sample-meh ( I say meh because while I think he is a good blocking TE, his draft position was too high)
Pratt- may still turn into something
Finley- sucks
Wren- opted out his second season, so who knows
Jordan- sucks
T. Williams- sucks cause he's always hurt
D. Davis- sucks
R. Anderson- sucks
J. Brown- who even it this.
So really, we got Williams, who was hurt his whole rookie season
Seemed like we could barely put points on the board that season. Defense was historically bad. Andy is benched to look at Finley, who sucks, so back to Dalton. Even with that, 10 of those losses were within 7 points.
Taylor's second draft :
Joe Burrow- Hit
Tee Higgins-Hit
Logan Wilson- Hit
AD Gaither- still developing
Khalid Kareem- yet to be determined
Hakeem Adeniji- Hit
Markus Bailey-question mark
So his 2nd draft was much better than his first. Then we have Covid issues with Training Camp, and players opting out. Glasgow's knee did not heal, Topou opts out, Wren opts out, Atkins injures his shoulder in the last scrimmage- the DT position is decimated, AJ shows he's no longer AJ, Ross continues to be Ross. Of course we lose Burrow.( If that hadn't happened, I think we get some more wins at the end of the season, albeit they may have been against teams with losing records.) Mike Brown signs an unprecedented (that I can remember) number of high end free agents to help the horrible defense from 2019:
DJ Reader
Trae Waynes
Mackenzie Alexander
Vonn Bell
Mike Daniels
Josh Bynes
Of course, Waynes never saw the field with a torn pec, Reader was injured early in the season and is out for the remainder. Daniels misses games with a groin injury Alexander gets concussed. But the fact that these FA's have been injured doesn't mean they weren't signed to address the problems. You can say Taylor had nothing to do with it, but it hardly ever happened before he got here.
He also signs help for the Offensive Line in XFS and claimed Isaiah Prince. Prince opted out for Covid, and XFS was hurt in the first game, although he was rated our best lineman that game. Again, XFS being hurt does not negate the fact he was brought in, along with Prince, to try to address the guard position.
So then we sign Spain, who has been a Godsend and has played RG, LG, RT so far and has played them all at a high level. How the freak did Buffalo let this guy go? He's been a Pro's Pro and is reportedly trying to help guys like Jordan get better.
Bengals tie the Eagles, beat the Jaguars (meh) but also beat the Titans, who are a playoff team.
Taylor also sends a message that lack of effort will not go unnoticed and that no one's starting position is guaranteed by seniority or draft position. If you dog it out there, you will be benched.
So yes, I see improvement enough to give him his 3rd year. You can say his getting hired late his first year, and Covid cancelling many pre-season activities his 2nd year, the rash of injuries to our FA's brought in to address positions of need, etc., are excuses, but that doesn't mean they didn't happen. Does anyone really think the defense would be as bad as it's been had a healthy Geno lined up next to a healthy Reader and the backfield consisted of Waynes, Alexander and Jackson III? Does anyone really think our offensive line would have been so offensive had XFS remained healthy enough to fill a guard position and it would have been Williams, Spain, Hopkins, XFS and Hart?
These are all factors that included a lot of bad luck. People want Anarumo gone. I think he should go as well. People want Turner gone. I could really give 2 craps about him, replace him, although I'm not sure any line coach could have done a better job with the constant injury rotation that has taken place on the line this year. But bring someone else in.
And, I've said all along I think ZT should give up on play calling and give that over to the OC. While many people complain about Taylor's play calling, we have seen that when the line holds up long enough for a play to actually develop, it's actually not that bad. But, I think he should give it up and focus on being a HC. He has a chance for another Home Run draft, and if he can get Katie to sign a couple more Free Agents (Thuney) I think this will be a totally different team in year 3. If not, then I'm out on him.
