12-23-2022, 03:39 PM
(12-23-2022, 02:23 PM)SuperBowlBound! Wrote: There were not a lot of people on this board that supported Zac and Lou back then.
I am proud to be one of the few that did not give up on Zac and Lou at that time. I argued with a lot of people that I was not saying they were going to be great coaches but that we need to give then 4 years to change this culture and get the right players for their system.
The problem most coaches face when taking over a team is restructuring roster quick enough to appease the fans win now mentality.
I thought Zac used his first year to evaluate the players they had and to zero in on potential free agents.
The signing of DJ Reader in 2020 was the one Free Agent that changed everything for the Cincinnati Bengals and how I viewed them.
I always judge free agent signings by the reaction of the players former teammates. JJ Watt was very disappointed and mentioned DJ reader as a big reason for his success. The next year when we signed Mike Hilton the Steelers teammate TJ Watt commented how happy he was for Mike calling him the most physical slot corner in the game. Earned not given he stated. Vonn Bell and Chidobie Awuzie were also a very important signings.
Once I was able to see Joe Burrow play before he was injured I knew we were headed in the right direction with this staff.
That is why I made my preseason bets on over win totals, AFC North Champions, AFC Champions and Super Bowl Winners.
This is why I also picked them this year for the same bet which is so far looking pretty good.
For some of the same reasons I picked the Lions to win more than 6.5 wins (winner), win NFC North (Loser), win NFC Championship and lose to the Bengals in Super Bowl!
I cannot take credit for believing in our coaches right away but do take credit in being patient to give them time to do their job before evaluating.
See everyone in Arizona for the Lions-Bengals SuperBowl!
Few think that Zac Taylor was such a genius he was going to turn this around w/o a top level QB. The mantra anybody could make it with Chase & Burrow. Well Bill Belicheck w/o Brady says hi. How’d Jimmy Johnson do w/o a Troy Aikman. How did Saban do at Miami?
The Raiders spent 45.5 million on Davante Adams and Chandler Jones. How’s that working out? The Miami Dolphins spent a fortune in FA. It has helped them.
But the bottom line is Taylor had a vision and if you don’t think he portrayed it to the Browns in his interview ( or the Cardinals or Denver that allegedly offered him as well) then I can’t help you ( not speaking to you SuperBowlBound). He’d never gotten the job with minimally OC experience. He was a QB coach. The Browns aren’t reckless by any stretch of the imagination. He had a plan and it’s working. The culture, the confidence, and the drafting and free agent bullseyes have resulted in a great time to be a Bengal. Has Zac had some growing pains? Has he had a bunch of WTH moments? If you look at Belicheck’s record he didn’t start this well and interestingly rise coincide with a guy who is the GOAT.
Besides the culture he’s picked some pretty good coaches. This was said by Tyler Boyd this week:
"This is the most well
connected, playing
together team I have
ever been a part of,"
Boyd said. "It's a
mentality. None of
these guys want to
lose. We rally up each
other. It's so
connected, we help guys make plays for each other and just keep rolling.
Romo “ so impressed with Zac ...1 of the best in the NFL… they are just fundamentally sound. Taylor the best winning % in the Playoffs of current coaches. Joe Burrow” Zac is the best head coach in the NFL & that gives me a lot of confidence." Taylor led the Bengals to their first playoff win since 1990, ending the longest active drought in the four major North American sports, en and appeared in Super Bowl LVI, the first since 1988.
