05-22-2020, 11:29 AM
Maybe I'm I stating the obvious here in saying that there is a tremendous amount of pressure on Zac Taylor this season. But I think it's worthy of some discussion, just to see how others feel and to see what expectations they have for him in 2020.
We all know last year was an asbolute disaster of a season. And IMHO it's probably the worst season in franchise history. The 2-14 win total was only matched once, in 2002. But I think what might make 2019 even worse than 2002 is that in 2002 expectations were much lower, and didn't feature a new coach either.
In 2002 the team was coming off this stretch of 4 years prior: 3-13, 4-12, 4-12, 6-10. Gus Ferotte was actually brought in to start that season, with Kitna brought in as well as competition. Heading into the season no one knew Chad would one day be a star, and no one knew who TJ Houshmandzadeh was. The star power on that team was basically Corey Dillon of offense, and Takeo Spikes on defense. You had Justin Smith, but he was somewhat a disappointment and far from being a great player.
Comparitively in 2019, you had a much more capable and proven vet in Andy Dalton at the helm, and the team still featured a ton of well known and proven players. (AJ, Geno, Dunlap, Mixon, Boyd, etc.) The 4 year stretch prior to 2019, while far from great, was still much better: 12-4, 6-9-1, 7-9, 6-10.
I think most people considered our chances heading into 2019 much better than when we went in 2002. One was preceeded by a decade of losing, while the other was preceeded by a decade of relative success. And as I said, on paper one team looked much more capable.
Then, on top of all that, 2019 had a shiny new coach to go along with it. Zach Taylor. A regime change after failure always brings some level of hope or optimism for improvement. By comparison, in 2002 you had a lame duck in Dick Lebeau.
So for all these reasons, I consider 2019 to be such a disaster of a season, and probably the most disappointing of them all. I think quite a few of you will agree with that. And if you don't, that's ok too. But my point thus far is really just to illustrate just how bad of a start to a head coaching tenure this was.
Personally, I cannot blame Taylor for all, or even most of this. At least not yet. He was given a team that had been steadily declining, and suffered a few bad breaks (AJ, Jonah Willams). He inherited the 32nd ranked defense, and was given no help in FA. This thread is not being made to bash Taylor for 2019 or assign blame.
The point I'm really getting at is just how urgent it is for him to get this headed in the right direction. Like immediately. The reason I set the stage with so much info on just how disappointing 2019 is so that we can have a discussion about exactly how he fixes this. Because had last season been even a smidge better I think he might have a little more leeway. But now? I think it's a little more desperate. They need a substantial win increase.
What does Taylor (and his team) need to do in 2020 to restore confidence in him being the right hire, and for the organization to be able to sell the fanbase on him deserving a 3rd year?
I honestly think he needs a pretty specific win total to sell the fanbase. I guess that number is up to the individual fan, but I don't know how you sell this with player development and encouraging signs alone. 4 wins isn't moving the needle.
For me, I think he needs to win at least 7 games. I think that's the bare minimum to regain support and trust. And while that may be unfair, because he's not solely to blame for 2019, I think that's what it's going to take to silence the critics that would certainly follow after a 4, 5, 6 win season.
If he goes 2-14, and then, say, 5-11, that's not a good look. That's not going to help sell tickets, and that's not going to stop all sorts of people calling for his head.
To their credit, the team has done just about everything they can to help him this year. We've seen dollars spent in FA like nothing ever before. They've added a lot of immediate help. You also have the return of AJ and Jonah, and the arrival of His Holiness Joe Burrow. You can't say they didn't try to get better.
I'll be curious to hear what others expect from Taylor and the team this year. Like I said, I almost think it's unfair to put a win total on him in the midst of a rebuild and roster overhaul. But unfortantely, just because of how disappointing his career here started, I think that's what it's going to take. I think a lot of fans out there have a minimum amount of games they expect to win. And if they're not met then I think they're going to jump all over this guy.
I hope this wasn't too long winded. And if you fell asleep then my apologies. But I would love to hear any and all expectations for the 2020 Bengals and Zac Taylor. Do you think it's fair to have immediate expectations? What does he need to do to convince you we made the right hire?
We all know last year was an asbolute disaster of a season. And IMHO it's probably the worst season in franchise history. The 2-14 win total was only matched once, in 2002. But I think what might make 2019 even worse than 2002 is that in 2002 expectations were much lower, and didn't feature a new coach either.
In 2002 the team was coming off this stretch of 4 years prior: 3-13, 4-12, 4-12, 6-10. Gus Ferotte was actually brought in to start that season, with Kitna brought in as well as competition. Heading into the season no one knew Chad would one day be a star, and no one knew who TJ Houshmandzadeh was. The star power on that team was basically Corey Dillon of offense, and Takeo Spikes on defense. You had Justin Smith, but he was somewhat a disappointment and far from being a great player.
Comparitively in 2019, you had a much more capable and proven vet in Andy Dalton at the helm, and the team still featured a ton of well known and proven players. (AJ, Geno, Dunlap, Mixon, Boyd, etc.) The 4 year stretch prior to 2019, while far from great, was still much better: 12-4, 6-9-1, 7-9, 6-10.
I think most people considered our chances heading into 2019 much better than when we went in 2002. One was preceeded by a decade of losing, while the other was preceeded by a decade of relative success. And as I said, on paper one team looked much more capable.
Then, on top of all that, 2019 had a shiny new coach to go along with it. Zach Taylor. A regime change after failure always brings some level of hope or optimism for improvement. By comparison, in 2002 you had a lame duck in Dick Lebeau.
So for all these reasons, I consider 2019 to be such a disaster of a season, and probably the most disappointing of them all. I think quite a few of you will agree with that. And if you don't, that's ok too. But my point thus far is really just to illustrate just how bad of a start to a head coaching tenure this was.
Personally, I cannot blame Taylor for all, or even most of this. At least not yet. He was given a team that had been steadily declining, and suffered a few bad breaks (AJ, Jonah Willams). He inherited the 32nd ranked defense, and was given no help in FA. This thread is not being made to bash Taylor for 2019 or assign blame.
The point I'm really getting at is just how urgent it is for him to get this headed in the right direction. Like immediately. The reason I set the stage with so much info on just how disappointing 2019 is so that we can have a discussion about exactly how he fixes this. Because had last season been even a smidge better I think he might have a little more leeway. But now? I think it's a little more desperate. They need a substantial win increase.
What does Taylor (and his team) need to do in 2020 to restore confidence in him being the right hire, and for the organization to be able to sell the fanbase on him deserving a 3rd year?
I honestly think he needs a pretty specific win total to sell the fanbase. I guess that number is up to the individual fan, but I don't know how you sell this with player development and encouraging signs alone. 4 wins isn't moving the needle.
For me, I think he needs to win at least 7 games. I think that's the bare minimum to regain support and trust. And while that may be unfair, because he's not solely to blame for 2019, I think that's what it's going to take to silence the critics that would certainly follow after a 4, 5, 6 win season.
If he goes 2-14, and then, say, 5-11, that's not a good look. That's not going to help sell tickets, and that's not going to stop all sorts of people calling for his head.
To their credit, the team has done just about everything they can to help him this year. We've seen dollars spent in FA like nothing ever before. They've added a lot of immediate help. You also have the return of AJ and Jonah, and the arrival of His Holiness Joe Burrow. You can't say they didn't try to get better.
I'll be curious to hear what others expect from Taylor and the team this year. Like I said, I almost think it's unfair to put a win total on him in the midst of a rebuild and roster overhaul. But unfortantely, just because of how disappointing his career here started, I think that's what it's going to take. I think a lot of fans out there have a minimum amount of games they expect to win. And if they're not met then I think they're going to jump all over this guy.
I hope this wasn't too long winded. And if you fell asleep then my apologies. But I would love to hear any and all expectations for the 2020 Bengals and Zac Taylor. Do you think it's fair to have immediate expectations? What does he need to do to convince you we made the right hire?
