Time to cut our losses

[THE PISTONS]

Q - Hey Geoff. Bengals fan since 1974. First time writer because I can’t hold it in any longer. My ? Is Doesn't this coaching staff resemble the same debacle when Shuler was hired? Same Miami roots and same old Bengals now. 2nd part. How can HC say he wants to win now when he doesn’t play the best players? Andy only lost by one score to Balt. So glad my 2nd favorite team is the Pats. Erik Whitaker, Lexington, NC

A - ERIK: Thank you for writing in. I hope you do it again and thanks for being here for 45 years. Couldn’t disagree more with you, though, and respectfully. First, and it’s a minor point because it’s three decades apart and irrelevant, but, yes, Shula had Miami roots through his father. But even though Taylor worked in Miami, his coaching roots are with the Rams and Sean McVay and not Joe Philbin’s Dolphins.

And, let’s be fair about the thing. David Shula had 71 games. You need to be in it a few years before you declare a coaching staff a dynasty or debacle. Plus, there’s a big structural difference in that long-ago staff and this one. Taylor is building his own offense and is hands-on in every way. His structure, his scheme, his play calls. (Shula, it will be recalled, basically inherited Sam Wyche’s offensive staff and gutted the defense.)

That was a big factor in going with an offensive play-caller as head coach. The move to Taylor came in the wake of the offense struggling with inconsistencies associated with four coordinators in six years. Jay Gruden, Hue Jackson, Ken Zampese, and Bill Lazor. Call it the Andy Reid model. The Bengals are looking to build winning offense on consistency from the top no matter the changes underneath. (Time for another Kyle Shanahan look-in.)

In terms of “best players”, that’s a good question. Like Zac says, all teams have to have a balance between now and the future. For the most part, he is playing the best players. Yes, he sat down Andy Dalton, but given the lack of scoring and the effort to trade up to acquire Finley, it seems like not working with Finley would be negligent. And it’s not like the Bengals were 2-6 with Dalton. I would imagine that’s the only one you’re talking about. Pratt over Preston Brown is certainly going with not only the better player, but one with a higher upside.