https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/allbengals-insiders-plus/former-bengals-receiver-tim-mcgee-questions-zac-taylor

In this article, I think Tim McGee hits on everything correctly, and I love this quote from him:

“You’re as good as your leader or as bad as your leader. Give me something positive. I beg, please,” McGee said. “I want to talk positively. The Bengals organization has helped my family immensely, but I can’t dummy your eyes up and sell you on something that’s not there. What’s not there is the fact that they have an unproven coach and in two years... I mean it’s pathetic. It’s absolutely pathetic. That doesn’t mean he is not working extremely hard, or the staff is not working extremely hard, they want it. From what I understand he’s down there, he’s dedicated, he puts the time in, the effort in, but there’s one thing you can’t teach. You can’t teach leadership skills, it has to be something that is inside of you.”

You cant teach leadership.

I'm really hoping that Zac turns it around this year, but I'm a realist and I want to talk positively about everythign with this franchise, but what are they giving me to talk positive about? Uniforms? Social Media? Burrow?

Anyone who's seen my post know I've said as of right now, Zac is our modern day Dave Shula and Tim McGee pretty much says so in this statement:

“I heard he’s a super nice guy, and remember, I played under Dave Shula," McGee said. "I know what type of man he was. He was a phenomenal man, great dad, and great person to go to dinner with, but going into a football battle? That wasn’t the best person to go into that situation with. Just to be fair, I don’t think Zac has proven that he is that guy.”

You can be a hell of a guy, who knows a lot about football, but suck at coaching in the NFL.

The one thing we consistently hear from the players is that they love the coaches and Zac in particular (there have been mixed reviews on Lou) so that is definitely part of leadership. Zac seems to be incredibly likeable and that's usually required to lead (the alternative method of leading if you aren't likeable is to be intimidating, which Zac is not).

(04-23-2021, 10:36 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: The one thing we consistently hear from the players is that they love the coaches and Zac in particular (there have been mixed reviews on Lou) so that is definitely part of leadership. Zac seems to be incredibly likeable and that's usually required to lead (the alternative method of leading if you aren't likeable is to be intimidating, which Zac is not).

As Tim McGee said Dave Shula was a remarkably likable guy.  A guy they'd have dinner with and enjoy being around.  However, he wouldn't go into battle with him on the field.   

A guy can be a great man, great dad, great at everything in life but he can be great at those things and suck at being a head football coach. 

I gave Zac a pass on his first season. Losing Green, Boling, Cordy Glenn, and Jonah Williams before the season even started ruined any chance he had at a decent record in 2019.

But before last season we added the #1 overall pick in the draft at QB, the #1 offensive lineman taken in the 2019 draft, one of the best rookie WRs in the league, plus $145 million in free agent spending and we still just won 4 games.

I am not saying a new HC has to completely turn a team around in just two season, but he has to at least show major improvement. And we have not seen that with Taylor. We still have a worse record than we did in Marvin's last season.

(04-23-2021, 10:40 AM)fredtoast Wrote: I gave Zac a pass on his first season.  Losing Green, Boling, Cordy Glenn, and Jonah Williams before the season even started ruined any chance he had at a decent record in 2019.

But before last season we added the #1 overall pick in the draft at QB, the #1 offensive lineman taken in the 2019 draft, one of the best rookie WRs in the league, plus $145 million in free agent spending and we still just won 4 games.

I am not saying a new HC has to completely turn a team around in just two season, but he has to at least show major improvement.  And we have not seen that with Taylor.  We still have a worse record than we did in Marvin's last season.

I have 0 problems with Zac getting another year to straighten things out and make this team a winner, which i REALLY hope he does because i dont want another coaching change.  

I mean we talk about injuries last year but McGee says it perfectly here in regards to our injuries last year: 

“Remember something, this is super important to understand: when they had a healthy Joe Burrow, they weren’t winning,” McGee said. “When they had a healthy Joe Burrow and Joe Mixon, they weren’t winning. If you want to be real about the situation, you still have a quarterback that everyone is making an assumption about, that he’s going to be healthy.” 

ZT was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 as a QB. He has an idea of what kind of leadership wins football games.

(04-23-2021, 10:36 AM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: The one thing we consistently hear from the players is that they love the coaches and Zac in particular (there have been mixed reviews on Lou) so that is definitely part of leadership. Zac seems to be incredibly likeable and that's usually required to lead (the alternative method of leading if you aren't likeable is to be intimidating, which Zac is not).

I don't think you have to be either "likable" or "intimidating" to be a great coach.

What you have to be able to do is show the team that you are competent and know what you are doing.  Respect is earned through competence instead of personality.

Look at guys like Tom Landry and Bill Belichick.  Neither one of those guys is a crazy screamer and they are not known for being chummy with their players either.  But they both were brilliant coaches so their players respected them and played hard.

(04-23-2021, 10:48 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: ZT was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 as a QB. He has an idea of what kind of leadership wins football games.

Well I mean Dave Shula was a WR at Dartmouth so I'd say he probably has just as much knowledge and intelligence as ZT when it comes to football lol  Just sayin!

Show me you can win.  Dave Shula couldn't do that and so far neither has ZT. 

Winning record this season or he needs to go. You don't get excuses in Year Three.

(04-23-2021, 10:32 AM)TJ528 Wrote: https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/allbengals-insiders-plus/former-bengals-receiver-tim-mcgee-questions-zac-taylor

In this article, I think Tim McGee hits on everything correctly, and I love this quote from him:

“You’re as good as your leader or as bad as your leader. Give me something positive. I beg, please,” McGee said. “I want to talk positively. The Bengals organization has helped my family immensely, but I can’t dummy your eyes up and sell you on something that’s not there. What’s not there is the fact that they have an unproven coach and in two years... I mean it’s pathetic. It’s absolutely pathetic. That doesn’t mean he is not working extremely hard, or the staff is not working extremely hard, they want it. From what I understand he’s down there, he’s dedicated, he puts the time in, the effort in, but there’s one thing you can’t teach. You can’t teach leadership skills, it has to be something that is inside of you.”

You cant teach leadership.  

I'm really hoping that Zac turns it around this year, but I'm a realist and I want to talk positively about everythign with this franchise, but what are they giving me to talk positive about?  Uniforms? Social Media?  Burrow?  

Anyone who's seen my post know I've said as of right now, Zac is our modern day Dave Shula and Tim McGee pretty much says so in this statement:

“I heard he’s a super nice guy, and remember, I played under Dave Shula," McGee said. "I know what type of man he was. He was a phenomenal man, great dad, and great person to go to dinner with, but going into a football battle? That wasn’t the best person to go into that situation with. Just to be fair, I don’t think Zac has proven that he is that guy.”

You can be a hell of a guy, who knows a lot about football, but suck at coaching in the NFL.

That's pretty harsh criticism, but the results speak for themselves.
I still stand by that Taylor should have not tried to be both a first-time HC and also be the offensive playcaller. He should have delegated offensive playcalling to an actual, proven OC.
And it's on him that they kept Anarumo instead of going with a more experienced, proven DC.

If we're going to give some positives for Taylor, I'd say it's these:
- Taylor has gotten a shift in how the FO approaches FA
- Willing to swap out underperforming starters for depth players to try to get more production (even if the depth players are bad)
- His early draft picks have overall been solid. Jonah Williams was the best OL on the team last year (when on the field). Burrow looks good. Higgins looks good. Pratt, Wilson, and ADG look decent. Sample has been as advertised as a blocker.

If Taylor's crew can get 3 draft picks this year to be significant contributors, this team might be able to have a winning season.
If Chase is the pick, I think Chase will be a significant contributor, and I think an OL will be a starter if drafted in Rd 2 or 3. My other expectation is a rotational pass rusher that can have an impact, similar to Lawson or Hubbard their rookie seasons.

Same restaurant chain different location, different managers, one with good leadership and one bad one, and you'll swear they are not the same restaurant chain.

(04-23-2021, 11:01 AM)ochocincos Wrote: That's pretty harsh criticism, but the results speak for themselves.
I still stand by that Taylor should have not tried to be both a first-time HC and also be the offensive playcaller. He should have delegated offensive playcalling to an actual, proven OC.
And it's on him that they kept Anarumo instead of going with a more experienced, proven DC.

If we're going to give some positives for Taylor, I'd say it's these:
- Taylor has gotten a shift in how the FO approaches FA
- Willing to swap out underperforming starters for depth players to try to get more production (even if the depth players are bad)
- His early draft picks have overall been solid. Jonah Williams was the best OL on the team last year (when on the field). Burrow looks good. Higgins looks good. Pratt, Wilson, and ADG look decent. Sample has been as advertised as a blocker.

If Taylor's crew can get 3 draft picks this year to be significant contributors, this team might be able to have a winning season.
If Chase is the pick, I think Chase will be a significant contributor, and I think an OL will be a starter if drafted in Rd 2 or 3. My other expectation is a rotational pass rusher that can have an impact, similar to Lawson or Hubbard their rookie seasons.

Ocho you expect a lot of out of this draft lol If we can find 2 instant starters in this draft we'll do good.  

Last years draft was good, but really you have Burrow and Higgins.  2 instant starters period.   Pratt, Wilson and ADG might look good but we've also heard of sophomore slumps.   

Personally, I dont care if they draft Chase or Sewell.  Honestly, I'd prefer they trade back with NE and get a ton of draft picks becasue this organization needs talent.  There are still holes every where on this team.  


I dont rely on rookie offensive lineman.  I know Pollack is an upgrade for the OL but who's to say it doesnt take Burrow 3/4 of the season to get over the mental side of his knee being destroyed by his OL.  

(04-23-2021, 11:04 AM)Bengalitis Wrote: Same restaurant chain different location, different managers, one with good leadership and one bad one, and you'll swear they are not the same restaurant chain.

well I'm sure Dave Shula knows a thing or 2 about that too, considering that's what he did for like 20 years after being a failure at football lol 

Lets just hope Zac's psyche isn't rocked as much as Shula's was by this organization. 

(04-23-2021, 11:10 AM)TJ528 Wrote: Ocho you expect a lot of out of this draft lol If we can find 2 instant starters in this draft we'll do good.  

Last years draft was good, but really you have Burrow and Higgins.  2 instant starters period.   Pratt, Wilson and ADG might look good but we've also heard of sophomore slumps.   

Personally, I dont care if they draft Chase or Sewell.  Honestly, I'd prefer they trade back with NE and get a ton of draft picks becasue this organization needs talent.  There are still holes every where on this team.  


I dont rely on rookie offensive lineman.  I know Pollack is an upgrade for the OL but who's to say it doesnt take Burrow 3/4 of the season to get over the mental side of his knee being destroyed by his OL.  

I expect two starters and 1 rotational contributor.
That's not an unrealistic expectation, that's expected for a team picking in the Top 5.

At the end of the day, Taylor needs to get this team to a winning record. If he doesn't this year, he needs replaced. If he can get there without needing that much contribution from his draft picks, fine.

(04-23-2021, 11:13 AM)ochocincos Wrote: I expect two starters and 1 rotational contributor.
That's not an unrealistic expectation, that's expected for a team picking in the Top 5.

At the end of the day, Taylor needs to get this team to a winning record. If he doesn't this year, he needs replaced. If he can get there without needing that much contribution from his draft picks, fine.

Completely agree with you on the 2 starters and 1 rotational contributor.  You should've be able to get that picking in the Top 5. 

Like last year, you knew Burrow was starting and whoever was drafted #2 was starting.  Those were no doubts.  

3rd round gets tricky because we've missed a lot recently on 3rd round picks. 

The article reminds us we have Zac Taylor as the coach. We're excited about Chase/Pitts/Sewell joining the team, Burrow's knee recovery and hopeful rise to stardom, new uniforms, the ring of honor, and outreach to fans; however, we should probably temper our fandom since Zac, one of the worst coaches from a W/L perspective in the history of the NFL, remains the head coach.

If he doesn't have a winning record this season, I hope the Bengals move on from him.

Hey MCGee, f**k off. Who cares what you think

Zac simply is a loser coach. In 24 of 32 games
The Bengals have had a lead and he cant close
The deal. Good coaches figure out ways to win.
He cant. He gets out coached in every game.
Oh yeah he beat Adam Gase and Freddie Kitchens
Who are no longer HCs.

He hired that buffoon Jim Turner which further
Tells me he doesnt know coaching talent.

If he starts out 0 and 2 0 and 3...its time to replace him.
He has been given alot of free agency money to
Infuse talent.

Like I said his resume did not equate to turning
A franchise around and did not spell out
Successful head coach

(04-23-2021, 11:17 AM)TJ528 Wrote: Completely agree with you on the 2 starters and 1 rotational contributor.  You should've be able to get that picking in the Top 5. 

Like last year, you knew Burrow was starting and whoever was drafted #2 was starting.  Those were no doubts.  

3rd round gets tricky because we've missed a lot recently on 3rd round picks. 

They've had good luck getting rotational contributors on the DL in Rds 3-4.

My most recent mock posted in the Mock Drafts section has Chase in Rd 1 (immediate significant contributor), Leatherwood in Rd 2 (starting RG), Payton Turner in Rd 3 (rotational DE). The Day 3 picks are all backups groomed to hopefully eventually become starters, as well as a new starting K in Evan McPherson.

(04-23-2021, 11:48 AM)impactplaya Wrote: Zac simply is a loser coach. In 24 of 32 games
The Bengals have had a lead and he cant close
The deal. Good coaches figure out ways to win.
He cant. He gets out coached in every game.
Oh yeah he beat Adam Gase and Freddie Kitchens
Who are no longer HCs.

He hired that buffoon Jim Turner which further
Tells me he doesnt know coaching talent.

If he starts out 0 and 2 0 and 3...its time to replace him.
He has been given alot of free agency money to
Infuse talent.

Like I said his resume did not equate to turning
A franchise around and did not spell out
Successful head coach

The bolded falls more on Lou Anarumo, no?
Anarumo definitely shouldn't have been kept.
Perfect opportunity to go get Wade Phillips, but they didn't.