If Zac Taylor doesn't evolve, Joe Burrow and the Bengals' 2021 season is already over

[fredtoast]

(10-12-2021, 12:39 PM)Synric Wrote:  but no the Bengals went shotgun and empty and was extremely pass heavy.

Which is exactly what most of the fans here were calling for.

I saw an awful lot of posts about how the Bengals needed to "unchain" Burrow and  "open up the passing game" because the Pack had injuries in their defensive backfield.

[bengalguy71]

(10-12-2021, 01:02 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I saw Uzo running routes against the Packers.

. . .  I don't know for sure,  . . . .

No you don't GB, just like you made a point giving MB props for starting to draft and work on the OL, which still is suspect!

[GreenCornBengal]

(10-12-2021, 12:31 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Actually, the defense has been better than the offense for the most part, ranking wise.

2021:
offense - 18th in Points For, 25th in Yards
defense - 7th in Points Allowed, 11th in Yards Allowed

2020:
offense - 29th in both Points For and Yards
defense - 22nd in Points Allowed, 26th in Yards Allowed

2019:
offense - 30th in Points For, 26th in Yards
defense - 25th in Points Allowed, 29th in Yards Allowed

You’re not wrong… but 2019 was a wash IMO. I believe 2020 rankings on O were a bit more positive before Burrows injury as well.

I’m not saying the offense hasn’t been a problem, because they should be playing better, I just don’t think people would be calling for ZTs head as much if the defense held a few leads last year.

[CJD]

Quote:When the Bengals line up under center, they run the ball 80% of the time — and 60% of those runs are outside zone.

This has been among my biggest criticisms against the Bengals playcalling this year. They are supremely predictable. If they come out in shotgun, it's almost always a pass. This is further exacerbated by the empty sets, which the defense knows for sure is a pass. When they come out with Joe under center, it's almost always a run. The stat here is that 80% of the time he is under center they run. I wouldn't be surprised if at least half of that other 20% is play action.

So you are probably looking at only 10% of the time does Burrow come out under center and just throws the ball without PA.

It's gotten to the point where I bet the defense is 95% sure it is a run or a pass purely based on the formation. And that is really really bad for an offense.

Which may explain why they struggle so much on 3rd and short. One of the offense's biggest advantages on 3rd and short is the whole playbook is open. The defense has to respect, essentially, any play call is possible. But if your formation gives away whether it's a pass or a run, that immediately cuts the defenses' concerns in half.

I like what the article says about bunch formations. I hadn't really thought about the advantage it gives to players getting a free release. I really hope we implement more of them.

Of course, I really hope the ultimate solution is that we fire Zac Taylor at the end of the season or at least take away his playcalling duties. Even if we're moderately successful. We've seen all he has in his playbook. Time to get someone who knows how to create an offense around an elite, young QB, an elite set of WRs and a really good RB.

[WeezyBengal]

(10-12-2021, 01:05 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Which is exactly what most of the fans here were calling for.

I saw an awful lot of posts about how the Bengals needed to "unchain" Burrow and  "open up the passing game" because the Pack had injuries in their defensive backfield.

I was one of those. 

I have no issue with them going passing heavy, that is what I want and I think that's fundamentally what this teams offense is and should be. I do have an issue with how they are going about it and how they are running the ball when they do actually run it, though.

[WeezyBengal]

(10-12-2021, 01:26 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: This has been among my biggest criticisms against the Bengals playcalling this year. They are supremely predictable. If they come out in shotgun, it's almost always a pass. This is further exacerbated by the empty sets, which the defense knows for sure is a pass. When they come out with Joe under center, it's almost always a run. The stat here is that 80% of the time he is under center they run. I wouldn't be surprised if at least half of that other 20% is play action.

So you are probably looking at only 10% of the time does Burrow come out under center and just throws the ball without PA.

It's gotten to the point where I bet the defense is 95% sure it is a run or a pass purely based on the formation. And that is really really bad for an offense.

Which may explain why they struggle so much on 3rd and short. One of the offense's biggest advantages on 3rd and short is the whole playbook is open. The defense has to respect, essentially, any play call is possible. But if your formation gives away whether it's a pass or a run, that immediately cuts the defenses' concerns in half.

I like what the article says about bunch formations. I hadn't really thought about the advantage it gives to players getting a free release. I really hope we implement more of them.

Of course, I really hope the ultimate solution is that we fire Zac Taylor at the end of the season or at least take away his playcalling duties. Even if we're moderately successful. We've seen all he has in his playbook. Time to get someone who knows how to create an offense around an elite, young QB, an elite set of WRs and a really good RB.

A lot of people don't realize that this is the last year of ZTs contract, no need to fire him...just don't extend him. If he doesn't make the playoffs this year he's most likely out. 

[jj22]

(10-12-2021, 01:44 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: A lot of people don't realize that this is the last year of ZTs contract, no need to fire him...just don't extend him. If he doesn't make the playoffs this year he's most likely out. 

Is it? I thought he and the coordinators were on a 5 year deal.

[WeezyBengal]

(10-12-2021, 01:45 PM)jj22 Wrote: Is it? I thought he and the coordinators were on a 5 year deal.

Zac Taylor Contract Breakdowns, Salary Cap Figures, Salaries, Bonuses | Spotrac

Is this incorrect? 

[kalibengal]

(10-12-2021, 12:27 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: And this time, it’s personal.

But seriously, we have 3 studs at wr and Joe Mixon at RB, and you’re STILL complaining? The weapons are fine

The rams run their offense without a stud at TE. It’s not necessary. Anyone who starts clamoring for a first round TE should be taken to a day care.

The o-line still stinks

Ill take Higby on the Rams over any of what we have ...he might not be Kelce Caliber but way way better then aything we have. 

[Joelist]

The article basically agrees with those of us who have been calling out the design (scheming) of the offense for years now. It even notes that we do absolutely nothing to burn the pass rush or to make a defense even hesitate a little. We literally just line up and expect everyone to win their 1-1 battles - this is STUPID offensive football.

They do need to junk the shotgun largely and also cut empty set WAY back. We need to both run and pass out of the same sets and we need a larger variety of both run plays and pass plays (and route trees). Where are the traps, the draws? The main reason we suck at screens is we telegraph them. If we would do the stuff designed to burn DLs that are pinning their ears back it would cut that issue down a lot. Instead the defense can tell by our formation what is coming and play accordingly.

[Bengalitis]

Bu..bu..but Burrow thinks highly of Zac.

[Nicomo Cosca]

(10-12-2021, 01:44 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: A lot of people don't realize that this is the last year of ZTs contract, no need to fire him...just don't extend him. If he doesn't make the playoffs this year he's most likely out. 

I’ve never seen the details of his contract, do you have a source for this?

[The D.O.Z.]

I think they’ve ran so much shotgun this year trying to protect Burrow. Which was fine, but he seems to be all systems go at this point. A “still getting mentally past the injury” Burrow doesn’t pull that ball and dive head first, almost getting himself killed trying for a first down in my opinion.

[Joelist]

(10-12-2021, 02:06 PM)The D.O.Z. Wrote: I think they’ve ran so much shotgun this year trying to protect Burrow. Which was fine, but he seems to be all systems go at this point. A “still getting mentally past the injury” Burrow doesn’t pull that ball and dive head first, almost getting himself killed trying for a first down in my opinion.

Actually we run a lot of shotgun because Burrow liked it in college. 

[Bengalfan4life27c]

cherry picking data to fit a narrative is wrong. 2018 and 2019 are irrelevant to evaluating burrow. first 5 this year compared to first 5 last year i see improvement.

[GodFather]

What happened to this offensive minded guru head coach we were supposed to get?

[GodFather]

(10-12-2021, 01:44 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: A lot of people don't realize that this is the last year of ZTs contract, no need to fire him...just don't extend him. If he doesn't make the playoffs this year he's most likely out. 

Cmon buddy you know the Bengals front office. You think they get off their asses and hire another head coach next year?

"They will remain bullish on Zac Taylor" as Mike Brown so famously said this past offseason..

[Bengalfan4life27c]

Burrow's passing efficiency numbers are elite this season until that declines Taylor must be doing something right.

[fredtoast]

(10-12-2021, 02:40 PM)GodFather Wrote: Cmon buddy you know the Bengals front office. You think they get off their asses and hire another head coach next year?

"They will remain bullish on Zac Taylor" as Mike Brown so famously said this past offseason..

Actually I do know the Bengals front office.  I know it well enough to tell you that it has been 30 years since a Bengal coach was not replaced after 3 straight losing seasons.

[GodFather]

(10-12-2021, 03:02 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Actually I do know the Bengals front office.  I know it well enough to tell you that it has been 30 years since a Bengal coach was not replaced after 3 straight losing seasons.

You went down this rodeo last season with Zac and went dark with all your talk about replacing head coaches and the past when it did not come to fruition. Zac is still here...