https://www.cincyjungle.com/platform/amp/2022/4/5/23009472/how-the-bengals-managed-to-stay-healthy-leading-up-to-super-bowl

How the Bengals managed to stay healthy leading up to Super Bowl

It all started in the offseason.

Replicating a Super Bowl run is extremely difficult. Winning is hard, but staying healthy is hard and unpredictable. Or is it?


For the Cincinnati Bengals, they seem to have a grasp on managing it. They suffered their bruises here and there last year, but they ended up in Los Angeles with the vast majority of their initial starting lineup intact.
Maintaining that health in order to uphold their AFC Champion status will be tough, but expect head coach Zac Taylor and strength and conditioning coach Joey Boese to utilize the same tactics they’ve been using since arriving in Cincinnati.


•••The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. expanded on Taylor and Boese playing off data that recommends light offseason work for prolonged regular season health in his latest Q&A article •••

Did the training staff do anything different this past year to stay as healthy as they did? Or is it truly just regression after the last couple of awful years? — DM
The type of health the Bengals enjoyed this past year does go back to luck. Injuries always do. However, the Bengals are ultra-reliant on the technology that tells them when guys are fatigued, overextended or just need days off at practice. Taylor focused his offseason routines, camp practices and season schedules on keeping players fresh for Sundays. It’s tough to pull back on practice reps, but when trainer Joey Boese says his eyes and the numbers say to back off, he’s done it.
We also heard him talk multiple times about being cognizant of not sending receivers down the field often during the early stages of camp to avoid soft tissue injuries and overextending players. Research presented at the league meetings showed a vast majority of major soft-tissue injuries were occurring early in camp and then had high instances of reaggravation as the season progresses. Taking it easy in the summer tends to lead to availability in the winter.
But you could see the same process turn out an injured reserve list with 25 guys on it next year. You never truly know, but Taylor, Boese and the staff come from a modern school of thought of focusing more on fresh Sundays than grinding practices during the season.

One of the lasting impacts of the previous Collective Bargaining Agreement was a decrease in overall offseason workouts and practices. This has received criticism due to the fact that players are experiencing less contact leading up to season and are more susceptible to injuries when the pads come on for real.
But when it comes to soft-tissue injuries such as hamstrings, data shows most of them occur before the season even begins and they persist as the year goes on. Taylor’s staff has leveraged this knowledge and made avoiding these kinds of injuries a priority.
Research presented at the league meetings showed a vast majority of major soft-tissue injuries were occurring early in camp and then had high instances of reaggravation as the season progresses. Taking it easy in the summer tends to lead to availability in the winter.
Avoiding the injury bug altogether is impossible, the game is too violent to come out squeaky clean. But Taylor and Boese seem to have found their footing when it comes to managing their players and keeping them healthy as much as they can. We’ll see if it translates for a second-straight year.

You have the same paragraph in there twice.

(04-05-2022, 10:43 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: You have the same paragraph in there twice.

Paragraph police


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Considering that the same exact crew had one of the worst seasons ever for injuries in 2020 I'd guess that our success in avoiding them in 2021 was mostly luck.

The health was a big part of our Super Bowl run and is where much of the luck comes in. A healthy roster plus a fairly easy schedule was incredibly beneficial for the Bengals. Injuries are just a roll of the dice, I'm hoping Cincinnati can replicate it this coming season because they will need it.

(04-05-2022, 11:39 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Considering that the same exact crew had one of the worst seasons ever for injuries in 2020 I'd guess that our success in avoiding them in 2021 was mostly luck.

LMAO
“The type of health the Bengals enjoyed this past year does go back to luck. Injuries always do. However, the Bengals are ultra-reliant on the technology that tells them when guys are fatigued, overextended or just need days off at practice. Taylor focused his offseason routines, camp practices and season schedules on keeping players fresh for Sundays. It’s tough to pull back on practice reps, but when trainer Joey Boese says his eyes and the numbers say to back off, he’s done it.
We also heard him talk multiple times about being cognizant of not sending receivers down the field often during the early stages of camp to avoid soft tissue injuries and overextending players. Research presented at the league meetings showed a vast majority of major soft-tissue injuries were occurring early in camp and then had high instances of reaggravation as the season progresses. Taking it easy in the summer tends to lead to availability in the winter.”

The Bengals are indeed in the forefront in reliance on technology. I know the director of rehabilitation for the Saints and the Bengals are respected here.

(04-05-2022, 11:39 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Considering that the same exact crew had one of the worst seasons ever for injuries in 2020 I'd guess that our success in avoiding them in 2021 was mostly luck.

Speculation on my part, but I don't think we did things the same way in 2020 that we did last year.

Zac made it a point to back off things last year, whereas in 2020 (and 2019), it was par for the course.

(04-05-2022, 12:11 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: Speculation on my part, but I don't think we did things the same way in 2020 that we did last year.

Zac made it a point to back off things last year, whereas in 2020 (and 2019), it was par for the course.

Fred is going to try to minimize anything Zac does. Someday Fred’s age will negate his ability to post on here and Zac will still be the head coach lol

any team that manages to stay healthy is lucky. That's it

There is only so much you can do to avoid injuries in a contact sport. But, it is nice to see them utilizing the data to maximize injury prevention which could pay dividends at the end of the season.

(04-05-2022, 11:39 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Considering that the same exact crew had one of the worst seasons ever for injuries in 2020 I'd guess that our success in avoiding them in 2021 was mostly luck.

With all of the Covid protocol stuff that teams had to deal with in the 2020 season, I'm not sure that 2020 is a good model for comparison.

(04-05-2022, 11:39 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Considering that the same exact crew had one of the worst seasons ever for injuries in 2020 I'd guess that our success in avoiding them in 2021 was mostly luck.

Haha. I was going to post similar.

Also, the light offseason appeared to have them not ready Zac's 1st 2 years.

Oh I'd bet the data, the technology played a big part. But good old luck is a part as well.

(04-05-2022, 02:16 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: Haha. I was going to post similar.

Also, the light offseason appeared to have them not ready Zac's 1st 2 years.

Still waiting for someone to correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember them NOT doing light practices their first two years, which makes that snark completely moot and incorrect.

(04-05-2022, 12:38 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Fred is going to try to minimize anything Zac does. 

You guys are ridiculous sometimes.

If I had tried to claim that better coaching would prevent injuries at any time over the last two years you would have been squealing at me for blaming Zac for our high injury numbers.

I never did that. I have consistently said that coaching made no difference.

You, on the other hand, are now claiming that inferior coaching by Zac in '19 and '20 was partly responsible for all those injuries.

I don't think much of anything in that article is credible until the sample size increases. One years worth of data isn't enough to prove a programs effectiveness.

(04-05-2022, 02:36 PM)fredtoast Wrote: You guys are ridiculous sometimes.

If I had tried to claim that better coaching would prevent injuries at any time over the last two years you would have been squealing at me for blaming Zac for our high injury numbers.

I never did that. I have consistently said that coaching made no difference.

You, on the other hand, are now claiming that inferior coaching by Zac in '19 and '20 was partly responsible for all those injuries.

It's almost like Zac is growing in experience as a Headcoach. Now there are those that slammed everything negative and mitigated everything positive he did in his first 2 years as a HC (hell some even sided with a petulant player or 2) and some us felt he was learning and growing. I KNOW I've been consistent in my POV.

(04-05-2022, 02:45 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I don't think much of anything in that article is credible until the sample size increases. One years worth of data isn't enough to prove a programs effectiveness.

It is when you're analyzing 1 year

(04-05-2022, 02:36 PM)fredtoast Wrote: You guys are ridiculous sometimes.

If I had tried to claim that better coaching would prevent injuries at any time over the last two years you would have been squealing at me for blaming Zac for our high injury numbers.

I never did that. I have consistently said that coaching made no difference.

You, on the other hand, are now claiming that inferior coaching by Zac in '19 and '20 was partly responsible for all those injuries.

Ha ha no I’m not. You’ve never given Taylor any credit for anything. Constantly minimize any impact he’s had on the team or organization. We know you loved Marvin.

(04-05-2022, 12:40 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: any team that manages to stay healthy is lucky. That's it

Bingo.