Cincinnati Bengals Message Board / Forums - Home of Jungle Noise

So what are the affects, if any, of these 2 being so familiar with one another? Could we have a scenario like the 2002 Raiders vs Bucs SB, where it was obvious Gruden knew everything the Raiders were doing?

Is our offense/verbiage all that similar to what the Rams run?

Could it be an advantage for us? Or a disadvantage? This was one of the first things I thought about when I knew we might face the Rams, but I haven't seen anyone (even in media) talk about it yet.

If there’s an advantage, I think it’s ours (and I think it’s small). McVay is a known commodity to Taylor and in general, and that relationship is not bi-directional. Taylor has been a part of McVay’s game planning process, but McVay has never been a part of Taylor’s game planning process.

I’m not sure the offensive similarities go much farther than heavy emphasis on 11 personnel anyway. That connection likely goes beyond just offensive philosophy — both teams field great WR trios and will of course put them on the field frequently.

Another cool bit is that, Taylor-McVay connection aside, this is a Super Bowl matchup of two of the youngest head coaches in the league.

Experience shmexperience

There’s also another connection with Callahan having been Stafford’s QB coach for a couple years in Detroit.

Taylor was McVay's QB coach, while Mcvay was Taylor's Head Coach. I think that means Taylor has greater insight into how McVay thinks than the other way around.