(12-11-2023, 09:12 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: I'm just saying they have made significant changes. I think those changes have helped the whole offense including the OL. But the biggest part of the changes that are helping us is teams have a season worth of tape we aren't implementing. 

You are both correct. Browning being comfortable playing under Center allows for those significant changes, same with the OL
playing better. In turn, Browning playing under Center more helps the OL and the running game. Joe did this against the 49ers
and we were excellent on Offense, he CAN do it. Now I think Joe understands how much being in the Shotgun all the time can 
really hurt the OL and the running game.

Browning is just accurate and has a quick release, he isn't showing many bad tendencies on film from what I am seeing that 
Defense's can implement to hurt this Offense, at least not yet, in my opinion. Burrow on the other hand, always has liked to be
in the Shotgun and there is tons of film on this and he was hurt for over half the season. 

This along with an OL gaining chemistry together...

Not really surprised everything is coming together now, hopefully not too late. The bad on Defense this year has been the vets
for the most part and the growth of the youth. The vets have played great before, they know how to play great, the youth has 
grown over the better part of the season and Chido is finally looking like his old self.

But look at the facts, Zac and Lou are 10-0 in December the last few years last I heard the count and we are still one of the 
least penalized teams in the NFL. This is good coaching and when it is needed the most.

(12-11-2023, 09:12 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: I'm just saying they have made significant changes. I think those changes have helped the whole offense including the OL. But the biggest part of the changes that are helping us is teams have a season worth of tape we aren't implementing. 

First of all it’s an enormous playbook. They’ve not added a play I was told. Now they are using stuff Joe didn’t. So yes it’s not on this years tape si to speak. If a team wants to prepare for the Bengals they should go to year 1 & 2. It’s all there. It’s the offense that caught the attention of Mike Zimmer & Jon Gruden.

(12-11-2023, 09:31 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: You are both correct. Browning being comfortable playing under Center allows for those significant changes, same with the OL
playing better. In turn, Browning playing under Center more helps the OL and the running game. Joe did this against the 49ers
and we were excellent on Offense, he CAN do it. Now I think Joe understands how much being in the Shotgun all the time can 
really hurt the OL and the running game.

Browning is just accurate and has a quick release, he isn't showing many bad tendencies on film from what I am seeing that 
Defense's can implement to hurt this Offense, at least not yet, in my opinion. Burrow on the other hand, always has liked to be
in the Shotgun and there is tons of film on this and he was hurt for over half the season. 

This along with an OL gaining chemistry together...

Not really surprised everything is coming together now, hopefully not too late. The bad on Defense this year has been the vets
for the most part and the growth of the youth. The vets have played great before, they know how to play great, the youth has 
grown over the better part of the season and Chido is finally looking like his old self.

But look at the facts, Zac and Lou are 10-0 in December the last few years last I heard the count and we are still one of the 
least penalized teams in the NFL. This is good coaching and when it is needed the most.

We need that 100 emoji on here.

(12-11-2023, 05:39 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Actually Minn has played better than years past in points per game , they 5th in league, a major stat to judge defenses

Yep, not even a point surrendered vs Vegas, and their offense played like shit. That's a pretty good defense. 

I want to see how the rest of the season plays out but it does seem like Burrow has too much input on the offense.

Clearly he is not Brady or Manning level to allow him to call the plays

(12-11-2023, 09:43 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: First of all it’s an enormous playbook. They’ve not added a play I was told. Now they are using stuff Joe didn’t. So yes it’s not on this years tape si to speak. If a team wants to prepare for the Bengals they should go to year 1 & 2. It’s all there. It’s the offense that caught the attention of Mike Zimmer & Jon Gruden.

I'm sure it's not a completely new offense. But it's tweaked in ways they have not used consistently. It's not the same offense from Taylor's 1st 2 years. That is literally insane talk. Taylor's 1st game Dalton threw the ball 51 times and Mixon ran it 6 times. That's not an exaggeration. The team ran it 15 times total in a 1 point loss to the Seahawks. I'm not saying all these plays weren't in the play book how the heck would I know but they are using them in an arrangement we haven't seen. I think we really only need to look at the Pittsburgh game to these last two games to realize how much has changed. 

(12-11-2023, 10:26 PM)QueenCity Wrote: I want to see how the rest of the season plays out but it does seem like Burrow has too much input on the offense.

Clearly he is not Brady or Manning level to allow him to call the plays

None of us know the extent of how much Burrow has say. It certainly makes sense that we are gonna do what he likes and makes him comfortable. But this is why I made the joke about someone else calling plays. Why when Burrow gets hurt and we have 10 days to change something do we roll out the same offense against Pittsburgh and expect Browning to operate it? Now my point isn't that someone else has taken the reins or has more input. My point is that maybe it wasn't as much Burrow that we may be thinking. The staff apparently felt good enough about it that they thought it was good to continue with until it obviously was not. 

(12-11-2023, 10:35 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: None of us know the extent of how much Burrow has say. It certainly makes sense that we are gonna do what he likes and makes him comfortable. But this is why I made the joke about someone else calling plays. Why when Burrow gets hurt and we have 10 days to change something do we roll out the same offense against Pittsburgh and expect Browning to operate it? Now my point isn't that someone else has taken the reins or has more input. My point is that maybe it wasn't as much Burrow that we may be thinking. The staff apparently felt good enough about it that they thought it was good to continue with until it obviously was not. 

Right but your Franchise QB has a lot of pull within the organization. Maybe the coaches deferred to Burrow too often.

Browning has no such pull and will run the plays given to him I'm assuming. 

(12-11-2023, 10:28 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: I'm sure it's not a completely new offense. But it's tweaked in ways they have not used consistently. It's not the same offense from Taylor's 1st 2 years. That is literally insane talk. Taylor's 1st game Dalton threw the ball 51 times and Mixon ran it 6 times. That's not an exaggeration. The team ran it 15 times total in a 1 point loss to the Seahawks. I'm not saying all these plays weren't in the play book how the heck would I know but they are using them in an arrangement we haven't seen. I think we really only need to look at the Pittsburgh game to these last two games to realize how much has changed. 

They are running the ball more because they trusted Joe on short passes instead of the run game to get efficiency. It’s no secret they didn’t have any confidence in the run game. They did have confidence in Joe moving the offense in the short passes and his efficiency . They have changed to more man blocking than zone blocking. They are using what Jake is comfortable with and what they think his strengths are.

(12-11-2023, 01:35 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Notice when Browning went out with this thumb cramp, what did McCarron do? He came in and threw a touchdown pass to Higgins.

Ummm, WHAT?
AJ McCarron didn't have any touchdown passes.
His official stat line was... 1/1 for -1 yards.

This is what it is:

Now that Burrow no longer has to worry about playing he can call plays full-time now; as opposed to what he did while playing.

When he was playing he could only audible into the plays that worked while being saddled with Zac plays that didn't work.

But now Burrow can sit beside Jake on the bench and tell him to not listen to Zac and do everything he says.

(12-11-2023, 11:03 PM)bfine32 Wrote: This is what it is:

Now that Burrow no longer has to worry about playing he can call plays full-time now; as opposed to what he did while playing.

When he was playing he could only audible into the plays that worked while being saddled with Zac plays that didn't work.

But now Burrow can sit beside Jake on the bench and tell hi to not listen to Zac and do everything he says.

I'm sure someone will believe you and run with this...

(12-11-2023, 10:56 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: They are running the ball more because they trusted Joe on short passes instead of the run game to get efficiency. It’s no secret they didn’t have any confidence in the run game. They did have confidence in Joe moving the offense in the short passes and his efficiency . They have changed to more man blocking than zone blocking. They are using what Jake is comfortable with and what they think his strengths are.

That's all I'm saying. Is they changed things up to help Jake out. I think those same things are helping the whole team. But that was another thing that seemed to drive us all crazy. The short passes to Chase just didn't not work at all. They would only occasionally get any positive yards. I can't understand why we stuck with them so long. Any underlying positive of Joe's injury will be that hopefully those stay in the trash where they belong. No way those were more productive than the run game.

(12-11-2023, 10:39 PM)QueenCity Wrote: Right but your Franchise QB has a lot of pull within the organization. Maybe the coaches deferred to Burrow too often.

Browning has no such pull and will run the plays given to him I'm assuming. 

Yes I'm sure that he is and it's working out wonderfully.  But my point is now that those aren't the same plays. They've adjusted things which is good we needed to with Browning. Probably should've already been done with Burrow.

(12-11-2023, 05:36 PM)Nepa Wrote: Yes, the Steelers have the better scoring defense, 7th in the league versus 14th for the Browns.

If one goes by yards allowed per game, the Browns are best in the entire NFL, followed by Baltimore. In that Pittsburgh is 21st.

Do we really want to go there because guess who is ranked dead last in yards allowed per game? Hint: Black/Orange. 

(12-11-2023, 11:02 PM)Tomkat Wrote: Ummm, WHAT?
AJ McCarron didn't have any touchdown passes.
His official stat line was... 1/1 for -1 yards.

Ummmm... did you watch the game?
McCarron hit Tee in the end zone for a TD. The score was nullified by a penalty, but that doesn't negate the fact it happened. They just didn't get the points.

(12-12-2023, 09:18 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Ummmm... did you watch the game?
McCarron hit Tee in the end zone for a TD. The score was nullified by a penalty, but that doesn't negate the fact it happened. They just didn't get the points.

Hmm, sounds mighty close to 'the dog ate my homework'.. 

In the first five weeks of the regular season, we had the highest rate of offensive drives that were three-and-outs (32.1%). With Brawning running the offense, our three-and-out rate is 15.2%, by far the best of our season so far. Also in the last two weeks, Browning is the first in the league in completion percentage (82 percent), second in passing yards (629) and third in yards per attempt (10.3) and passer rating (119.2).

Something is going on in Cincy.

(12-12-2023, 09:53 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Hmm, sounds mighty close to 'the dog ate my homework'.. 

Quote:Higgins brought in two of four targets for 72 yards in the Bengals' 34-14 win over the Colts on Sunday.

Higgins actually finished second on the Bengals in receiving yards and tied for first in targets despite his modest number of catches. The talented fourth-year pro is still developing his chemistry with fill-in quarterback Jake Browning, but Higgins' day would have been a bit better had he not wiped out his own touchdown grab -- on a pass from AJ McCarron, who'd come in for a handful of plays when Browning was experiencing cramps -- by pushing off his defender. Higgins next sets his sights on the Vikings in a key Week 15 home matchup on Saturday afternoon.

It happened. The fact Higgins messed it up does not negate the fact McCarron dropped him a dime. Argue about anything....

(12-11-2023, 01:35 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Burrow went down and Browning came in, and the team has put up over 30 points in each of the last two weeks. The running game is now seemingly working, although neither Jax nor Indy are particularly good against the run. Some people are saying they changed the scheme (they didn't). Browning is definitely not better, or even in the same category, with Burrow. So, what is it?

Notice when Browning went out with this thumb cramp, what did McCarron do? He came in and threw a touchdown pass to Higgins.

The simple fact of the matter is really just that Zac and Duke have put together a really good football team from the top of the roster to the bottom. Vets are out there hustling and not mailing it in, rookies are playing their asses off and shining. The team supports each other and no personality clashes, no divas, no drama. Heck, DJ Turner was wearing neon green cleats that supported Mike Thomas' charity during the "My cleats, my cause" game. This is just a really good football team that is really well coached. They are going to be good for a long time with as young as they are.

Which is all fine and dandy except: they did

We ran the ball (RB) carries 28 X vs. Jacksonville and 29 X vs. Colts. I'm not going thru the whole season but there were many games this season the RB's didn't even reach 15 carries.

We were under center A LOT more, running more play action and just on and on. I'm not saying they rewrote the entire playbook. But to say there's not a different cadence to play calling, not a different scheme and so on just isn't true. 

In the Pittsburgh game they basically stuck with the Burrow offense, it didn't work. So they realized they had to change to fit Browning. And they've done a good job.