How to Improve Immediately

[Fan_in_Kettering]

There is a way to make the Cincinnati Bengals immediately better but it will take a lot of ego denying from the Front Office to make it happen. Only two coaches need replaced and I have their replacements in mind.

First of all Jim Turner needs shown the door and issued a restraining order to keep him at least a kilometer away from any offensive line forever. In his place should be Willie Anderson. I’ve heard enough from Willie to know he is a stone cold expert in explaining blocking techniques. A week under Willie’s tutelage will save Joe Burrow’s career and maybe his life. If anyone can help those big hosses open up holes for Joe Mixon it’s Willie Anderson.

Lou Anarumo might be good at recognizing defensive talent but as a coach he is not adequate. He can go to the scouting department. Wade Phillips is sitting by the phone right now. He has stated for the record he would love to coach again if anybody would want his help — and the Bengals need his help badly.

[Yojimbo]

(09-28-2020, 11:37 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: There is a way to make the Cincinnati Bengals immediately better but it will take a lot of ego denying from the Front Office to make it happen. Only two coaches need replaced and I have their replacements in mind.

First of all Jim Turner needs shown the door and issued a restraining order to keep him at least a kilometer away from any offensive line forever. In his place should be Willie Anderson. I’ve heard enough from Willie to know he is a stone cold expert in explaining blocking techniques. A week under Willie’s tutelage will save Joe Burrow’s career and maybe his life. If anyone can help those big hosses open up holes for Joe Mixon it’s Willie Anderson.

Lou Anarumo might be good at recognizing defensive talent but as a coach he is not adequate. He can go to the scouting department. Wade Phillips is sitting by the phone right now. He has stated for the record he would love to coach again if anybody would want his help — and the Bengals need his help badly.

Phillips doesn’t even have to be the DC, he said he’s willing to just be a consultant. Maybe they can bring him in to mentor Lou.

[RiverRat13]

If Willie wanted to be an offensive line coach he'd already be one. My guess is that he makes similar money consulting in the offseason with the bonus of getting to set his own schedule.

[Au165]

I actually thought about Wade Phillips last week when I saw he wanted to be involved. I think bringing him makes a ton of sense considering he was in LA with Zac. Let him come in and just be "Consultant to the HC" where he will work specifically on the defensive side but can also just advise Zac with his experience being in the league for so long.

[jj22]

Hell Big Willie probably still better than any tackle we have on the roster.

[PDub80]

(09-28-2020, 11:37 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: There is a way to make the Cincinnati Bengals immediately better but it will take a lot of ego denying from the Front Office to make it happen.  Only two coaches need replaced and I have their replacements in mind.  

First of all Jim Turner needs shown the door and issued a restraining order to keep him at least a kilometer away from any offensive line forever.  In his place should be Willie Anderson.  I’ve heard enough from Willie to know he is a stone cold expert in explaining blocking techniques.  A week under Willie’s tutelage will save Joe Burrow’s career and maybe his life.  If anyone can help those big hosses open up holes for Joe Mixon it’s Willie Anderson.

Lou Anarumo might be good at recognizing defensive talent but as a coach he is not adequate.  He can go to the scouting department.  Wade Phillips is sitting by the phone right now. He has stated for the record he would love to coach again if anybody would want his help — and the Bengals need his help badly.

- I would fire Taylor and promote Simmons to HC
- Put play calling duties on Callahan's plate to let him sink or swim with the eventual plan to be allowing Burrow to go Peyton Manning and call his own plays after this year or next.
- Trade AJ Green for a starting RG (if possible, or someone's 2nd string RG who is obviously better than what is on the current roster)

Long term:

- Remove the defensive coordinator after the season. Promote LB Coach Al Golden to DC.

- I actually don't blame the OL coach for the issues, so Inwould keep him. I actually think he prefers a different blocking scheme. In a podcast over the summer he alluded to the change to his scheme late last year to a power concept (if I recall), which improved the run game immensely. Taylor wanted to run the Rams blocking scheme, so they did for most of the year - and it sucked. Turner finally convinced him to change it late in the season because they don't have the personnel to run that scheme and the results were immediate. When ZT was directly asked if they were still running what they were at the end of last year he replied "It's similar", which is a bullshit answer because it clearly isn't.

Draft OL & DL heavy along with a stretch the field WR or two.

^ That is how I'd fix the Bengals

[Au165]

(09-28-2020, 11:50 AM)PDub80 Wrote: - I would fire Taylor and promote Simmons to HC
- Put play calling duties on Callahan's plate to let him sink or swim with the eventual plan to be allowing Burrow to go Peyton Manning and call his own plays after this year or next.
- Trade AJ Green for a starting RG (if possible, or someone's 2nd string RG who is obviously better than what is on the current roster)

Long term:

- Remove the defensive coordinator after the season. Promote LB Coach Al Golden to DC.

- I actually don't blame the OL coach for the issues, so Inwould keep him. I actually think he prefers a different blocking scheme. In a podcast over the summer he alluded to the change to his scheme late last year to a power concept (if I recall), which improved the run game immensely. Taylor wanted to run the Rams blocking scheme, so they did for most of the year - and it sucked. Turner finally convinced him to change it late in the season because they don't have the personnel to run that scheme and the results were immediate. When ZT was directly asked if they were still running what they were at the end of last year he replied "It's similar", which is a bullshit answer because it clearly isn't.

Draft OL & DL heavy along with a stretch the field WR or two.

^ That is how I'd fix the Bengals

OL league-wide is thin, No one is trading one worth a crap for AJ, unfortunately. As to the O line, I have serious issues with personnel and the guy who signed off on them (Turner/Tobin or Taylor). Whoever said, "yea re-signing Bobby Hart is a good plan for RT" should pay for what has been a proven disaster. 

[lone bengal]

Tobin is the issue. We’ve blamed Turner, Pollack and Turner for the offensive line. This defense sucked under Austin, Marvin and Lou.

[HarleyDog]

Good read on Bengalswire today: https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2020/09/28/bengals-need-fire-coaching-staff-starting-lineups-joe-burrow/

Quote:It might be time for those in charge of the Cincinnati Bengals organization to step in and do something about what’s happening on the field.



At some point, excuses have to fly out the window. Last year was a 2-14 season for Zac Taylor and his handpicked staff and the excuses flowed. They assembled late and were unable to change up the roster they inherited. The injury bug. Etc.


This year the Bengals are 0-2-1 and the excuses could flow again. There wasn’t a preseason. The team overhauled the roster. Etc. Yet the same problems as the year prior remain and Taylor is now 0-10-1 in one-score games.


And the most important factor of all: This mess could ruin Joe Burrow.

That’s what it’s all about now. Cincinnati was lucky enough to back into a franchise quarterback who at times already looks like a top-10 player. If the players in front of him and around him can’t help him, if the coaching staff can’t do right by him, the overarching organization needs to step in and make changes.

Doing so could be the difference between Burrow sticking around and pushing for contention or yet another franchise passer wanting to get out of town.


Taylor’s playcalling has mostly been miserable, especially in Week 3. His Lou Anarumo-directed defense still doesn’t want to tackle. His offensive line is still headed up by Jim Turner, he of an iffy pro resume to begin with but oddly defended by Taylor from Day 1, and they’re still trotting out Bobby Hart at right tackle and praying a mediocre-to-terrible cast of guards can somehow come together and make it work inside. Burrow has already been sacked 14 times with 11 hurries and 30 pressures on a pressure rate of 18.4 percent. He’s taking hits that go instantly viral and it’s clear to anyone who has watched football in the past that he might not make it through all 16 games.


Consider this:





One could dismiss this in part as a rookie holding onto the ball too long. But flick on a random play and you’ll probably see some combination of Hart getting pushed back so hard it looks like he’s a bodyguard escorting the defender to the quarterback, Jonah Williams randomly losing all sense of how to function and some tandem of Michael Jordan, Fred Johnson and Billy Price getting plopped on their rear ends like they’re getting bullied at a middle schoool’s playground. It’s bad and something has to change.


Burrow shouldn’t be putting up a 105.5 rating in a tie game. The head coach shouldn’t be openly admitting after the game they still don’t know how to fix the offensive line and spots like right guard. That same head coach shouldn’t be 0-10-1 in one-score games, almost regardless of context. That staff shouldn’t get the ball back confronted with a tie game near the end of overtime, tuck tail and run a draw to accept that tie.

Joe Mixon, on a fresh big-money extension, shouldn’t be getting just 17 carries, averaging 2.9 yards and getting just three targets through the air. The staff shouldn’t end up making a former top-10 wideout inactive because they rostered seven and just can’t figure out how to make it work.


One can pin this on execution by players too, of course. Why are defensive backs getting flagged twice on a potential game-ending drive before the Eagles force overtime? Why don’t defenders want to tackle, multiple times missing at or behind the line of scrimmage, only for the opponent to go pick up a first down? Why is there a miscommunication that lets up a touchdown before the half? Why doesn’t the offensive line…play even passable football by putting hands on someone?


The honeymoon is over. Now the Bengals are on the ruining Burrow clock. Spending big in free agency was good. Targeting guys from winning programs, pro or collegiate, was smart. But just getting those guys in the door doesn’t mean the winning starts. The Bengals shouldn’t be having tackling issues and one of the worst offensive lines ever assembled in modern times. Other teams faced a variety of challenges, including the odd summer, and aren’t playing like this. And the line problems, in particular, are extensions of self-inflicted wounds because if we’re being honest, a smart organization would still have Andrew Whitworth playing left tackle and Kevin Zeitler at right guard.


That organization can’t give another coaching staff a decade-long leash here. More like eight weeks. What’s the answer? Free agents, trades? Moving on from positional coaches? Darrin Simmons, head coach? Trying Fred Johnson at right tackle and giving Hakeem Adeniji at guard? Anything?


Point is, it never should’ve reached this point. A team backed into a generational talent at quarterback and fixed up plenty of areas on the roster…except the league-worst offensive line? And entrusted Jim Turner to magically squeak out better performances from guys who haven’t shown anything yet?


This isn’t how you win back fans and it’s not how you function around a special quarterback. There shouldn’t be whispers around the fanbase of “maybe Marvin Lewis was right.” It’s only three games into a season, but the stakes are higher now. If the last year has been a turning point for the organization, that needs to include better response times to obvious issues, especially when it’s a talent like Burrow at stake.


Anything less than immediate changes won’t sit well with fans — and rightfully so.

[Hammerstripes]

There is no "immediate improvement" in the NFL. All this stuff needed to happen in the offseason.

That being said, the line could be fixed pretty quickly with some aggressive moves.

1. You draft Sewell. Until the line changes or the defense gets much better, we are headed for a top 5 pick. Take him and either move Jonah to LG or RT.

2. Bring in a veteran interior lineman to anchor this line.

[Nati#1]

Wade Phillips wants to coach and here we are sitting with Lou Anarumo lol.. And we dont have a THING going with him he sucks... Jim Turner needs fired immediately. Joe is.getting killed back there.

[Murdock2420]

(09-28-2020, 01:26 PM)Nati#1 Wrote: Wade Phillips wants to coach and here we are sitting with Lou Anarumo lol.. And we dont have a THING going with him he sucks... Jim Turner needs fired immediately. Joe is.getting killed back there.

Yes, he certainly looks like he is ineffective.

However, Pollack struggled here as others have said, and if you fire Turner and bring in a new coach and still have Fred Johnson, Billy Price and Bobby Hart as the 3 options for the right side of the line, it is going to suck.

The team has a chance to pull two good offensive lineman off the current stockpile of bodies, maybe three if the guy they drafted this year develops. Hard to see anyone coming in here as a coach and having any success with Bobby Hart locked in by the front office as a right tackle.

Stop blaming coaches, and start blaming the right people.

The front office has 3 scouts I think it is, and has Duke Tobin running the draft day show.

If you want actually long term real change... the issue is above the guys on the sideline, it sits where it always has since August 6th 1991 and that is Mike and the rest of his family and friends front office.

[bengaloo]

I agree that the OL has been struggling for years now. Really ever since we lost Whitworth. Im not happy with the coaching on the line, but at the same time we need upgraded players as well and have for a while. A coach can only do so much with weak players. The issue I'm having with the coaches is I just dont see a sense of urgency from many, especially on the OL.

We had a great offseason by Bengal standards. But there were too many issues to fix to address them all. I think most fans agreed with that long before the season started. They were hoping that the addition of Jonah, more experience from Jordan, the new G we signed and Johnson would help but they all look terrible so far. And them signing Hart to all that money looks ridiculous at this point.

On D I would love to bring in Wade, but a part of me worries that ZT is gun shy on hiring coaches with more experience than him. Del Rio wanted the job and ZT didnt even consider him from what I remember. He hired Lou because they worked together before. I'm not liking that philosophy. We got a bunch of former Dolphins coaches because that is who ZT knew the best, not because they were the most qualified.

I think what will happen is the Brown family is going to force ZT to make some moves after this season, and it wont surprise me if hiring a proven OC and DC are two of them. Mike and Katie arent going to accept a bad season after they spent so much money in FA. They showed a commitment to win by opening up the wallet, and I dont think they will sit back and watch ZT and his staff squander it. I dont think Mike Brown wants his prized QB to get hit so much and dont think he will tolerate it if it keep up this way.

[Joelist]

If your linemen are constantly having communication and coordination issues (like they are) and constantly backpedaling then the odds are the blocking scheme is defective. The problem has been the weird infatuation of the Bengals with reactive zone blocking schemes the past roughly three seasons. Linemen need to be aggressive to succeed, and this scheme forces them into playing tentatively.

Right now they need to junk the blocking scheme and go to a much simplified drive blocking scheme up front. Get the line flying off the snap and engaging the defense instead of waiting for defenders. Stop using toss plays for Mixon and instead run him power style inside, with Sample or an extra lineman in FB mode. Yes they will get atuffed some but the key is to get the line on the same page and get them attacking.

[bengaloo]

(09-28-2020, 02:44 PM)Joelist Wrote: If your linemen are constantly having communication and coordination issues (like they are) and constantly backpedaling then the odds are the blocking scheme is defective. The problem has been the weird infatuation of the Bengals with reactive zone blocking schemes the past roughly three seasons. Linemen need to be aggressive to succeed, and this scheme forces them into playing tentatively.

Right now they need to junk the blocking scheme and go to a much simplified drive blocking scheme up front. Get the line flying off the snap and engaging the defense instead of waiting for defenders. Stop using toss plays for Mixon and instead run him power style inside, with Sample or an extra lineman in FB mode. Yes they will get atuffed some but the key is to get the line on the same page and get them attacking.

I agree with this too. In fact I thought that was what Pollack was supposed to do but had had zero talent to work with as well and was probably overrated as a coach by fans, myself included. I would like to see Turner either move on or change blocking schemes entirely. We literally miss blocks completely. Big fat DT's get into the backfield untouched way more often than that should happen, in fact in the NFL that should rarely happen. It happens to us on every drive, sometimes every play. Its horrible to watch.