Blocking for the OTHER Joe

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-03-2021, 08:25 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: In online sports blogs and especially on YouTube I see lots of articles about the Bengals’ potential for having a potent offense in 2021 and most of the commentary is positive. That’s good.  However, all the talk is about Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.  That’s bad.

Unless Zac Taylor plans to have Joe Burrow throw the ball at least fifty times per game which is an abominably horrible idea, the newly designed offensive line is going to have to perform their run blocking duties far better.  A potent offense, after all, is a balanced offense.  If the Bengals can’t gash a defense on the ground then going to the air all the time will make the offense one dimensional and therefore predictable.

It has been many years since Cincinnati has had a run game which moves the chains, controls the clock, and punches it in successfully on the goal line.  All the best playoff teams in history have this!  

Like the commentators on the blogs, I want to see a breakout year from Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, and Ja’Marr Chase but don’t forget the “other” Joe: Joe Mixon.

Better balance on offense will absolutely be a key element to this team being successful in 2021.  There is a lot of chatter about Mixon "staying on the field" on 3rd down, and I hope he has more receptions than he did even have targets in 2020.  I think Pollack's arrival, having three solid TEs, and the improvements on the line will absolutely help the rushing attack accomplish this.


There were only a few games where they did run the ball successfully, so I understood that pass-heavy offense, but it needs to be better balanced.  Create misdirection screens to Mixon should also be an "extension of the run game" to get high % passes and keep defenses off balance.  That is one thing I saw a lot of from McVeigh and not so much from ZT.