(12-18-2021, 02:16 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Yes. I know he had at least a couple other interviews (Broncos & Cardinals). And both him and his brother were starting to get some buzz even before that.

(12-18-2021, 06:07 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: How long was he with the Rams? Two seasons? Just trying to think how much buzz he could've created riding on the Mcvay train. I mean he had UC dead last on offense in all of college football as OC. 

(12-18-2021, 06:22 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Yes. One season as the WR coach, and one as the QB coach. It was mostly just the McVay association, but I guess teams also took notice that Goff had his best season the year Taylor was his QB coach.

Not saying the buzz was deserved, but that’s just how the NFL works sometimes.

(12-18-2021, 04:41 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: Yep. This team should be 9-4, leading the north and no worse than the 2nd seed. 

(12-18-2021, 06:07 PM)Tony Wrote: Zac is as young as this team. We all forget , he is learning  on the fly too.

(12-18-2021, 07:40 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: Preach it man!  I hear you loud and clear!

(12-18-2021, 07:42 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: No.  Incorrect.  I seriously doubt any of us with decent vision are forgetting anything.  You willing to waste the careers of our young stars on HIS development?  Nice point.

(12-18-2021, 06:07 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: How long was he with the Rams? Two seasons? Just trying to think how much buzz he could've created riding on the Mcvay train. I mean he had UC dead last on offense in all of college football as OC. 

(12-18-2021, 01:10 AM)BengalChris Wrote: First off, the Bengals were not on life support under Marvin. In 2018 they had a winning record until losing AJ and Dalton to season ending injuries. Who exactly was going to win with Driskel I ask?

Taylor turned it into a 2 win team and the worst record in the NFL and followed that up with a 4 win season.

Mike Brown has opened up the check book like never before, but Taylor is not winning like never before, and he's laid some serious eggs on the field.

Taylor has won a few games, but no where near as many as he should be given the talent the front office has provided him with. Taylor and the coaches do help with the draft, but it is the front office that does the selections.

Taylor has also lost a lot of games to bad teams, which is a marked sign of a bad team itself. Sure a bad team can get lucky sometimes, but to lose to bad teams so often is a fatal flaw. My God, losing to the Jets, losing to the Bears [and to Andy Dalton two years in a row].

The coaches are way underachieving with the talent this team has.

Taylor needs to win A LOT more and he needs the playoffs to keep his job.

(12-18-2021, 08:20 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: This isn’t absolving ZT or anything but in all fairness, that UC team was just bad. In 2017, after he left, they still went 4-8 and had a horrific offense - only marginally better than when ZT was there.

That isn’t to say that ZT is a good play caller or anything, obviously, but he wasn’t working with much.

(12-18-2021, 12:49 AM)C0de_M0nkey Wrote: Yes , a lot of us want his head on a platter. But you have to admit that Zac Taylor has done a good job in his first three years. He took a team on life support and started 2-14. After a 1-14 start he almost lost our franchise quarterback by beating Miami, but he just fell short in overtime. As much as we wanted the Bengals to tank, it was clear that coach Taylor wanted the Bengals to win. However, it was clear that he didn’t have the talent nor the coaching experience to do so  that year. Thankfully, he failed and we got our quarterback with the 5th pick of the draft.

2020 was a tough year, but for a lot of Bengals fans it was the most fun in a long time. Despite the weekly losses, there was no denying that it was fun to watch the young, Burrow led team grow.

That is, until Joe Burrow went down with multiple knee injuries against the Washington Football Team. It was at this lint that most of us, myself included, were once again calling for Zach Taylor’s head. How dare he make his franchise QB throw 50+ times in a losing season. We waited a generation for a chance like this and Zac threw it down the drain, literally!

Well that all changed when the 11-2 Steelers came to town in prime time. They were on an 0-2 streak, and this was the game they circled on the calendar to get back in track. This was the rivalry that wasn’t really a rivalry anymore, due to the Steelers’ dominance over the last five years. Most fans forgot that the Bengals ever made the playoffs, so obviously this was an easy win for Pittsburgh, right?

“Hop in a jet like that
Like that
They was like, "Popp, why you walk like that?“

Juju heard, as he caught a pass in the endzone. Oh wait, that was the sound of Von Bell knocking  the ball and the soul out of Juju’s hands. It was at that moment, that fans across the nation asked themselves: “wait, are these the Bengals?” Fans in Cincinnati asked themselves if this was a new day indeed, as the Bengals dominated the Steelers in a 27-17 victory.

Despite the dumpster fire of the 2020 season, Zac Taylor won the biggest game of his career in convincing fashion. And this was the start of a trend against the Steelers. Most of us still wanted him fired, but there was no denying that he may have saved his ass with that whooping of the Steelers.

The lesson to be learned is that we all gave up on Zach Taylor. I personally wanted him to be fired until he beat the Vikings in 2021. I then made a 180 and declared the Bengals a playoff threat. But there was never a doubt about Zac Taylor in the locker room. Even the most ardent in the “fire Zac” camp had to admit that the  team stuck with him at through 2020. We still wanted him fired but there was no denying that he was a good player’s coach.

What was the point of this post? Well, most of us have seen his poor play calling over the course of the season. But few of us have seen his improved play calling  compared to last  year. It’s easy to call Zac out for taking the ball out of Burrow’s hands against the 49ers. But how many of us wanted him to be fired for putting the ball in Burrow’s hands too much last year?

Joe Burrow is a young quarterback, Zac Taylor is a young coach. There is no denying that the culture has changed after three straight blowout wins against the Steelers.

The question is will part 2 of this post be how Zac Taylor changed the franchise for better or for worse? At this point, my bet is for better. None of us expected this team to do anything, yet we’re in the thick of it in the AFC. Zac Taylor has done a good job. Especially due to Ja’marr Chase, possibly the best pick in franchise history.

(12-18-2021, 07:43 PM)Wyche Wrote: I agree....but Chicago is 100% on Burrow, there's 8-5, and the turnovers last week beat us. There's 9-4, and I don't put that on coaches. 

(12-18-2021, 08:30 PM)higgy100 Wrote: He may have actually just rechanged the culture of this organization for the worst by running the ball twice in a row in overtime when he completely had San Fran. on their heels.

They were down cornerbacks, playing a cover 2 to pinch more coverage on the corners and the Bengals offense was hot. There's no question in my mind if they throw the ball they win that game in overtime instead of allowing San Fran. to do what they do best which is rush the passer against the a very avert offensive line. 

Now as far as the ramifications are concerned, they went from leading the division to a team that is now out of the playoffs if it were today. Now think about the dichotomy and the variance there. Every game the Bengals play including last week through the rest of the season is probably the most important game in the last 20 years of this franchise. Everything is written right in front of them and they can't take advantage of it because of a head coach that in my opinion doesn't have this team ready.

(12-18-2021, 07:47 PM)Tony Wrote: I Meant, more in a way that he is isn't set in a certain way. He is gonna try and get the best out of his players best attributes,  rather than forcing something that doesn't work..

(12-18-2021, 06:02 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: The way this defense has been playing we are underachieving. 

(12-18-2021, 09:38 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: I'm not complaining about losing when the players don't execute brother.  I'm talking about things like, well, his play calls, and think back to when we went into Baltimore and destroyed the Ratbirds.  Went on to NY, and they came out and made us look Bush League.  Opening drive right down the field like crap thru a goose.  I told my wife right then, we're gonna lose.  He didn't keep them hungry.

I just think he's not either HC material, or, he needs a LOT of time moving slowly through the ranks.  This new trend of hiring hot young coaches is fine.  But we don't have time.  Our window is now.  Our talent is here.  I'm done settling, let's get someone in here that has experience winning.  More than a couple of seasons.

You know I love you man.  I hope this didn't come of as personal towards you.  But this is emotional for me.  I'm getting old.  Now excuse me, I've depressed myself, and must head out to the garage.  
:ninja:

(12-18-2021, 09:38 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: I'm not complaining about losing when the players don't execute brother.  I'm talking about things like, well, his play calls, and think back to when we went into Baltimore and destroyed the Ratbirds.  Went on to NY, and they came out and made us look Bush League.  Opening drive right down the field like crap thru a goose.  I told my wife right then, we're gonna lose.  He didn't keep them hungry.

I just think he's not either HC material, or, he needs a LOT of time moving slowly through the ranks.  This new trend of hiring hot young coaches is fine.  But we don't have time.  Our window is now.  Our talent is here.  I'm done settling, let's get someone in here that has experience winning.  More than a couple of seasons.

You know I love you man.  I hope this didn't come of as personal towards you.  But this is emotional for me.  I'm getting old.  Now excuse me, I've depressed myself, and must head out to the garage.