Shotgun vs. Under Center and our effectiveness

[*bengalfan74*]

(12-11-2023, 01:37 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: Both depths allow for different looks. Going under center provides more flexibility in your run game. You can attack both sides of the line as well as the edges more effectively. In shotgun, you tend to be more limited. However, shotgun runs are typically more efficient. Mixon averages more yards per carry from shotgun than under center, converts more short yardage situations than under center etc. I chalk this up to personnel. It isn't often you see a QB in shotgun with one WR and three tight ends, for example.

Cincinnati needs to incorporate both into their offense and historically, they do. In 2021, Cincinnati went shotgun 62% of the time. In 2022, they went shotgun 78% of the time. This year is a bit of an outlier due to Burrow's injury. Also, just to note but you can run playaction from shotgun and it works just as well. The Bengals are also RPO heavy in the shotgun. They are generating conflict, it isn't missing. However, mixing up the looks can help be more effective.

All I know is there have been many times in many games and I'm not talking about the games early this season with JB's calf issue, leave them out. Anyways our offense looks lost. The running game has been mostly ineffective out of the mostly shotgun O. It's either feast of famine !! We're either lighting the scoreboard up 350 yards passing. Or we look like it's the first day of training camp.

We abandon the run game way to early because it's getting nowhere. We're facing a Dline that could care less about the run. They're pinning their ears back, kill Burrow on two, ready break. They've got nothing to worry about because nothing but the bomb works.

I just strongly feel that if ZT and JB would incorporate something other than all shotgun all the time our offense would benefit. Less three and outs, less wear and tear on JB. And so on.