On criticizing NFL coaches

[*SHRacerX*]

(10-12-2021, 11:16 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I get a kick out of a lot of people here who are constantly criticizing NFL coaches play calling and schemes.  95% of these fans could not tell you what type of scheme the opponent was running or how many different ways the Bengals have to block a running play or how many different route combinations the Bengals have in their playbook.

However, at the same time I may not be an engineer, but when I see a bridge falling apart I know something is wrong.

And that is kind of the way I feel about our offense right now.  I am not going to list the things I think the Bengals should change because I don't feel I am qualified.  But we have too much talent and things just never seem to run smoothly.  Our O-line is not great, but it is good enough to get better production than we are.

In another thread I started a while back I discussed how difficult it is to decide how much blame goes to the players and how much to the coaches.  One of the things I mentioned was third-down and red-zone possessions.  So far the Bengals have great in the red zone. Scoring a TD 80% of the time is third best in the league, but a very small sample size (8 of 10).  They are 23rd in third down conversion percentage (37.3), and 31st in third and short (1-2 yds)

Our offense is 28th in "drive success rate" (drive with at least one first down or td).  Way too many "three-and-outs".

Our O-line has not been real good, but pass protection has been decent. If we can't get push on third-and-short then we should just start passing on all those situations.  You don't need pass blocking to complete a 3-4 yard pass.  So far the Bengals have thrown on 43% of their third-and-short plays which is about exactly the same as the league average (41%).  The Steelers currently lead the league by throwing on 75% of their third-and-short plays and they have the league's third highest conversion percentage (83.3).  The Falcons throw on 64% of their third-and-short plays and have the 9th best conversion percentage (71.4).

I may not be able to see the fine details that need fixing, but our offense is underperforming for the talent we have.

Tony Pike has been railing on this on Monday and Tuesday's "Cincy 360".  

He is dead on also.  He adds very clearly that he believes, for now, ZT is the right man for the head coaching position.   Good culture.  Good effort out of the team.  He even said that his scheme is good, but the execution of the actual situational play calling is terrible.  He called for Callahan to get the play-calling duties.  

One stat Tony added was that ZT has scored 24 or more points in just 8 games during his 37 game NFL career (non-overtime games).  Sure, you can throw out some of the year 1 games as Ryan Finley was starting.  You might give him a pass for some of the Brandon Allen games as well, but that number is pathetic given the talent on the roster.

I realize that on the offensive side of the ball, the Bengals are very young.  Maybe they just haven't "gelled" yet.  I'm not sure.  But for me, anyways, a lot of it is this lack of aggressiveness. That doesn't mean going for it on 4th down in certain situations, but having a more attacking nature.  They seem to go back and forth on what they want to be.  Empty sets.  Then they are under center and using play-action with wide-zone.  They they use the unbalanced line.  They are below average at just about everything and really good at NOTHING.  Maybe red zone efficiency, but they don't get there enough.

My idea:  Hurry up.  Give Burrow the command to run the offense from the LOS with no subs in drives.  When it is two-minute drill, Joe attacks and teams don't have time to communicate, line up, or substitute.  It seems to be out most lethal attack.  

One other addition:  screen their asses.  Last year in the 2nd Cleveland game, the Browns blitzed a lot, and Burrow just threw screen after screen to Drew Sample, who caught a lot of balls and moved the chains.  It was demoralizing for the Browns, high % for Burrow, and also avoided him getting hit.  

The bottom line is:  this team is wasting a top 10 defense.  They need to be better on offense, and right now.