12-21-2023, 01:02 PM
Quick Hits: Why Bengals Are December Dominators; Geoff Hobson
There are a few good reasons why the Bengals' Zac Taylor should be in discussion for NFL Coach of the Year.
Here's one.
Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) is the only Bengal who didn't practice full Wednesday, the biggest workout of the week in prepping for Saturday's game (4:30 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 5) in Pittsburgh.
With Chase yet to practice and Thursday's final practice of the week coming, it's a big hole to fill, as is the season-ending quad injury to Pro Bowl-worthy nose tackle DJ Reader.
But the remaining roster that healthy this late in the season continues to validate the player-friendly regimen sketched out by Taylor and implemented by his strength and conditioning staff headed by Joey Boese and assistants Todd Hunt and Garrett Swanson.
It's the structure of how we do things. Zac talks about this with the team. Everything we do is structured around playing our best football in December, January," said captain and left end Sam Hubbard. "We've definitely tried to lighten the workload early in the year. You don't need to be winning the Super Bowl in May and June. OTA practices are more about technique."
If Wednesday's injury report doesn't validate pushing back the off-season workouts by a couple of weeks or the alternating days in training camp (two days on the field, one day off), the wins do. The Bengals are riding a nine-game winning streak in December dating back to 2021 and since that season they're 16-4 in December and January, not counting the 2021 regular-season finale where the starters sat.
"There's also the training room staff and the front office and scouts," Boese said Wednesday after another shorter practice. "It's a connected team. In the end, it comes down to players. We've got a lot of good players. They've found us players and given us players who think football is important and they're passionate about it."
The Bengals put together this three-game winning streak in a 12 scant days. "Hard to do," Boese said. Taylor shaved about 15 to 20 minutes off the last two practices after giving them two days off following Saturday's overtime victory over the Vikings.
It's a glimpse of how Taylor manipulates schedules with the help of the daily GPS data culled from each practice and charted into a narrative by Hunt and Swanson. You might say Taylor has that Marvin Lewis gift of "I see better than I hear."
Zac has a great feel. He knows when to pull them back and amp it up," said Boese as the Bengals come off that punishing stretch. "It's life in the NFL. We've changed up some things with the tempo of practice. Whether it's walk-through, or jog through, or full speed. We've backed some guys off the last couple of weeks, backed off some workouts in here. It gets back to Zac and how he manipulates what we do on and off the field."
Boese also has a good enough relationship with the players that he can sense after a game if there's a position group that's beat up or how a player might feel after getting tweaked. And he knows he can communicate with Taylor because Taylor relies on him.
"That's what I mean about being a connected team," Boese said. "Communication with all areas."
Bengals defensive line coach Marion Hobby, who played in the NFL for three seasons in the early '90s before becoming one of the top assistants in the college and pro game, is charged with rotating his guys during the games so they stay fresh and he'll be adjusting without Reader.
"(Taylor) does a good job all year. He does a great job making sure players are fresh and coaches are fresh," Hobby said after Wednesday's practice. "And he sticks to his schedule. If things aren't going good, he stays with his schedule. You see some guys, things aren't going good and it's, 'We have to change this, have to do that.' But he's very consistent. And our players respect that."
There are a few good reasons why the Bengals' Zac Taylor should be in discussion for NFL Coach of the Year.
Here's one.
Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (shoulder) is the only Bengal who didn't practice full Wednesday, the biggest workout of the week in prepping for Saturday's game (4:30 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 5) in Pittsburgh.
With Chase yet to practice and Thursday's final practice of the week coming, it's a big hole to fill, as is the season-ending quad injury to Pro Bowl-worthy nose tackle DJ Reader.
But the remaining roster that healthy this late in the season continues to validate the player-friendly regimen sketched out by Taylor and implemented by his strength and conditioning staff headed by Joey Boese and assistants Todd Hunt and Garrett Swanson.
It's the structure of how we do things. Zac talks about this with the team. Everything we do is structured around playing our best football in December, January," said captain and left end Sam Hubbard. "We've definitely tried to lighten the workload early in the year. You don't need to be winning the Super Bowl in May and June. OTA practices are more about technique."
If Wednesday's injury report doesn't validate pushing back the off-season workouts by a couple of weeks or the alternating days in training camp (two days on the field, one day off), the wins do. The Bengals are riding a nine-game winning streak in December dating back to 2021 and since that season they're 16-4 in December and January, not counting the 2021 regular-season finale where the starters sat.
"There's also the training room staff and the front office and scouts," Boese said Wednesday after another shorter practice. "It's a connected team. In the end, it comes down to players. We've got a lot of good players. They've found us players and given us players who think football is important and they're passionate about it."
The Bengals put together this three-game winning streak in a 12 scant days. "Hard to do," Boese said. Taylor shaved about 15 to 20 minutes off the last two practices after giving them two days off following Saturday's overtime victory over the Vikings.
It's a glimpse of how Taylor manipulates schedules with the help of the daily GPS data culled from each practice and charted into a narrative by Hunt and Swanson. You might say Taylor has that Marvin Lewis gift of "I see better than I hear."
Zac has a great feel. He knows when to pull them back and amp it up," said Boese as the Bengals come off that punishing stretch. "It's life in the NFL. We've changed up some things with the tempo of practice. Whether it's walk-through, or jog through, or full speed. We've backed some guys off the last couple of weeks, backed off some workouts in here. It gets back to Zac and how he manipulates what we do on and off the field."
Boese also has a good enough relationship with the players that he can sense after a game if there's a position group that's beat up or how a player might feel after getting tweaked. And he knows he can communicate with Taylor because Taylor relies on him.
"That's what I mean about being a connected team," Boese said. "Communication with all areas."
Bengals defensive line coach Marion Hobby, who played in the NFL for three seasons in the early '90s before becoming one of the top assistants in the college and pro game, is charged with rotating his guys during the games so they stay fresh and he'll be adjusting without Reader.
"(Taylor) does a good job all year. He does a great job making sure players are fresh and coaches are fresh," Hobby said after Wednesday's practice. "And he sticks to his schedule. If things aren't going good, he stays with his schedule. You see some guys, things aren't going good and it's, 'We have to change this, have to do that.' But he's very consistent. And our players respect that."
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.
