Happy for the win.

I get it. Sometimes just being a game manager is fine.

I get it. He can’t kill it every game.

Yes. A win is a win.

These things said ….

Doesn’t he seem a little off lately? Maybe the horrible hits he has been taking are getting to him. He has been pancaked AND badly way too often.

As a side note, some of this may also be related to our 3 WR’s and CJ not getting open as much as they are able to especially w teams favoring coverage on Chase.

Bottom line - the Bengals at their best can get to the playoffs and do damage. This version - doubtful.

(11-22-2021, 01:00 PM)Whacked Wrote: Happy for the win.

I get it. Sometimes just being a game manager is fine.

I get it. He can’t kill it every game.

Yes. A win is a win.

These things said ….

Doesn’t he seem a little off lately? Maybe the horrible hits he has been taking are getting to him. He has been pancaked AND badly way too often.

As a side note, some of this may also be related to our 3 WR’s and CJ not getting open as much as they are able to especially w teams favoring coverage on Chase.

Bottom line - the Bengals at their best can get to the playoffs and do damage. This version - doubtful.

Much has been made about the field conditions and I can't help but wonder if the field made it very difficult for the receivers to get separation. That and Burrow probably making a concerted effort to not throw into tight coverage so as to cut down on INTs led to the game he had yesterday.

I liked the addition of more motion yesterday, the final piece I feel like we are missing from our offense are more compressed sets. Compressing the sets give you more room to throw guys open towards the boundary. It like to see us compress the field more than always just spreading it. We do occasionally go to a bunch but we rarely get tight in shotgun and there is, I think, some opportunity using bench concepts out of compressed sets to free up Chase. I also think going to more mesh concepts out of these compressed sets could give us more RAC opportunities as we run very few drag routes in general.

I don't think the receivers were getting open yesterday. Burrow's throws generally seemed to be in places where they could be caught, but to targets with minimal separation. He had the one deep duck to Chase, though I thought that was influenced by pressure.

One increasingly apparent trend that Burrow will have to sort out is that he has been much more effective against man than against zone. Obviously the longer that goes on, the more opposing defenses will adapt. I am not really worried about this, because Burrow's skill set is tailor-made for picking apart zones with timing, accuracy, and quick decisions. I think at the moment he finds himself caught in an awkward purgatory where Ja'Marr Chase was shredding the league, has slowed down, and he (Burrow) is still sorting out the transition as Chase inevitably regresses to more sane production. We're getting there. It was nice to see Tyler Boyd serve as the primary target.

Burrow IS off a bit. His accuracy is not where it should be and he is back to holding the ball and not moving in or climbing the pocket. He was pedestrian against the Raiders and on most of his drop backs had plenty of time to find targets. Fortunately the rest of the offensive effort was adequate to the task.

The WR issue is mostly schematic. Good OCs scheme their receivers open by using formations and routes and pull the defense in desired directions and create gaps for receivers to get into. The Patriots made a science out of this while winning five Super Bowls.

He needs to throw the ball away more and not try to be Superman.

That will cut down on the sacks

He got hit a lot in that 1st half. Almost seems like he is cautious to follow thru with people around him, so he scrambles instead. With that brace, I can imagine there is at least some thought to protect himself.

(11-22-2021, 01:18 PM)Gdale_Bengal Wrote: He needs to throw the ball away more and not try to be Superman.

That will cut down on the sacks

Yep, or just tuck it and run more. He had a few missed opportunities yesterday.

(11-22-2021, 01:18 PM)Gdale_Bengal Wrote: He needs to throw the ball away more and not try to be Superman.

That will cut down on the sacks

Yep

(11-22-2021, 01:46 PM)Wyche Wrote: Yep, or just tuck it and run more. He had a few missed opportunities yesterday.

Agree, Herbert was killing the steelers running every time they went man to man on his WR's.

(11-22-2021, 01:46 PM)Wyche Wrote: Yep, or just tuck it and run more. He had a few missed opportunities yesterday.

Herbert was making fools out of the steelers running whenever they went man to man on his WR's 

I know I'm old school and go to this a bit much but the running game getting stuffed for next to no yards the 1st qtr. and a half yesterday hurt a good bit I believe.

You get behind the chains as they say and it throws everything else off.

(11-22-2021, 01:49 PM)Go Cards Wrote: Agree, Herbert was killing the steelers running every time they went man to man on his WR's.

There was a play, later in the game, where he was scrambling and he could've cut up field and maybe gained a couple of yards, or at worst lost one or two to the LB headed to the gap. Instead, he looped back around and headed outside for a several yard loss on the sack.  

I’m not concerned about Joe Burrow; not even a little. He doesn’t have to be Superman every week. In fact, it’s good to let the other Joe — Joe Mixon — do his thing when the situation allows.

I’m more worried about the pass protection not improving fast enough. It’s BETTER but its still not GOOD. There were brief episodes of GOOD ENOUGH against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Detroit but for the Bengals to make a run for the playoffs the pass protection MUST significantly improve. I give major props to Zac Taylor for sticking to the run against Las Vegas yesterday. If the passing game isn’t there then don’t force it; pound the rock!

(11-22-2021, 02:04 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: I’m not concerned about Joe Burrow; not even a little.  He doesn’t have to be Superman every week.  In fact, it’s good to let the other Joe — Joe Mixon — do his thing when the situation allows.

I’m more worried about the pass protection not improving fast enough.  It’s BETTER but its still not GOOD.  There were brief episodes of GOOD ENOUGH against Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Detroit but for the Bengals to make a run for the playoffs the pass protection MUST significantly improve.  I give major props to Zac Taylor for sticking to the run against Las Vegas yesterday.  If the passing game isn’t there then don’t force it; pound the rock!

Agree 100%

(11-22-2021, 01:53 PM)Wyche Wrote: There was a play, later in the game, where he was scrambling and he could've cut up field and maybe gained a couple of yards, or at worst lost one or two to the LB headed to the gap. Instead, he looped back around and headed outside for a several yard loss on the sack.  

Don't think its the reason, but maybe just a little hesitant with the knee still. Listened on radio and only seen the highlights so far, but Burrow looked a little wobbly after some of those sacks as well. 

(11-22-2021, 01:07 PM)Au165 Wrote: I liked the addition of more motion yesterday, the final piece I feel like we are missing from our offense are more compressed sets. Compressing the sets give you more room to throw guys open towards the boundary. It like to see us compress the field more than always just spreading it. We do occasionally go to a bunch but we rarely get tight in shotgun and there is, I think, some opportunity using bench concepts out of compressed sets to free up Chase. I also think going to more mesh concepts out of these compressed sets could give us more RAC opportunities as we run very few drag routes in general.

I'm not sure I have seen us go tight shotgun all season. I would like to see some more bunch formations and yesterday would've been a good opportunity to showcase them against a heavy cover 3 team. You can get creative with flood concepts, even getting Mixon involved on flare routes after you have overloaded the flat. Mixon/Evans would have room to run. 

(11-22-2021, 01:04 PM)PhilHos Wrote: Much has been made about the field conditions and I can't help but wonder if the field made it very difficult for the receivers to get separation. That and Burrow probably making a concerted effort to not throw into tight coverage so as to cut down on INTs led to the game he had yesterday.

I liked the way he played yesterday and agree with everything you say here PhilHos. He was making an effort to not throw INTs
and that field was trash. My only problem with Burrow this year has been his untimely interceptions. He did what he had to to 
get us the win, same with the Defense, McPherson and Mixon. I think it is coming together and Taylor shown me that he can get
this team ready after a bye to go on a run. Something I didn't see much of our last coach.

Yea I'll admit the Burrow I've seen the last few games seems off. The issue is teams are taking away the long bomb and we are being forced into our weakness of moving the ball down field. Nothing is wrong with hitting a short pass for a 3-4 yard gain.

I also don't believe we are a "physical offensive" football team. We should NEVER run the ball on 3rd and short... short passes should be our "run game"