Joe Burrow and Zac Taylor Were Smart Yesterday

[Fan_in_Kettering]

Oh yes, Bengaldom. What we saw from the offense yesterday — including play calling — was very encouraging and here’s why:

Zac Taylor didn’t call for many long passes because the Broncos’ secondary was playing “plaster” coverage which is hard to throw deep against.

The fundamental idea of plastering is when a quarterback decides to leave the pocket and run, defensive players in the secondary scream "Plaster!" and try to find the closest receiver and stick to that man for as long as they can. The concept is utilized in both zone and man coverages.

In Denver’s case they ran plaster coverage even when Joe Burrow stayed in the pocket. During the game thread many posters kept wondering where the deep ball was and I tried to explain why the coverage was not amenable to this.

It’s a miracle Tyler Boyd got open when he did and scored; he was truly the only wide open receiver Joe Burrow saw all day.

Vic Fangio basically made the Bengals beat him on the ground and fortunately the offensive line blocked “just good enough” to spring Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine for critical first downs.

It is good to see Zac Taylor recognize the pass was not going to be there and call plays accordingly.