10-28-2020, 10:36 PM
Took some notes from the previous replies to discuss.
1. Last year; 2-14 coming off a year where they finished 6-10, losing 7 of their last 8. Free agents that were signed; John Miller (G), B.W. Webb (CB), Kerry Wynn (DE), Justin Evans (OT--cut in training camp), John Jerry (G). A couple of these guys racked up some significant snaps but it's safe to say there were no world beaters here, so no real significant changes to a team that wasn't very good the year before. A lot of people, myself included, thought that simply changing the coach would improve things--a new direction, freshness, so to speak.
2. Any improvement this year?; With the overall record certainly showing there has been little to no improvement, i think you can look at the offense and see that scoring is up. Play calling in the last couple games has been vastly improved over anything we've seen so far. Earlier in the year, there was some good play from the DBs before injuries hit and there have been flashes from a couple of the young LBs.
3. Assistant coaches; It's no secret that the Bengals had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for a DC last year and overall, they have a very inexperienced staff. The ones that are experienced (Jim Turner) comes with a lot of baggage and looks to be one of Zac's cronies.
4. Injuries; the verbum diei is "excuses". Every day, honestly because the saying is supposed to be "next man up". It's more than a bit frustrating that the Bengals have to go through so many injury replacements but it is what it is. Hard to argue that there would be some better results if they could keep their starters in games. My personal opinion is, team wide, they're not physically as strong as most of the better teams in the NFL. Couple that with the softer rules on practice and injuries are inevitable.
5. Coaching philosophy (soft?); This is one i don't really agree with. I've seen plenty of physical play in pretty much any year you want to cite. Is it as physical as Pitt, Baltimore and a couple other? Nah, but i wouldn't call them "soft".
6. Drafting better?; 2015 was a disaster. Starters and contributors from '16-'18 currently on the team--WJ3, Boyd, Ross (bleh), Mixon, Lawson, Price, JB3, Hubbard, Phillips, Tate. Guys from the last two drafts--Williams, Sample, Pratt, M.Jordan, Burrow, Higgins, Wilson. That's six, normal, full time starters from the three previous years to Zac's arrival and four from the last two years.
7. Players believe in Zac; More than a couple players recently have made a point to say how much they believe in Zac and the direction the team is going. Some might call it lip service but you can show support without going into the detail that these players have.
8. Close losses; The record speaks for itself. 1-12-1. Most teams win around half of their one score games. There are a couple ways to look at this but the one question i'll ask is, would you prefer a team that has a chance to win at the end or a team that is out of it by the 4th quarter? Seven of those one score losses were against winning teams, so they're not only losing close games to bad teams.
9. Areas of need; Offensive line, offensive line, offensive line, offensive line, offensive line, defensive line, edge rusher and a linebacker or two. Trenches are a major need on this team and i think the one thing that has them where they are. Imagine this team with a little more passpro and run blocking, that can get a little pressure on the QB. They'd have to have at least 2-3 more wins.
10. New coordinators? No one likes either one. Recent trends indicate the offensive play calling is coming along. We'll see how that goes against the next two teams--Tennessee and Pittsburgh. The defense on the other hand, seems to be a long way off. In execution and theory. Being fair, they did seem to try and mix it up a bit more against Cleveland but far too many times, i've pulled out pounds and pounds of hair watching the team get shredded with no pass rush and zone defenses that leave large gaps in coverage.
11. 2020 Free agency; Spent the most on quality free agents that they ever have, with five of them being tabbed as full time starters from day one. Unfortunately, four of them are injured and out right now. Another year, or one close to it, with that mindset, could do a lot to help this team.
I'm not sure where my (somewhat) optimism is coming from--maybe it's just the new QB--but there are little signs there, if you're willing to look, that make it appear they're not that far off. Another FA period, another draft, another year of experience for inexperienced coaches... It just has the feel of being right around the corner and anyone that knows my posting history here knows...i hate the word "hope".
1. Last year; 2-14 coming off a year where they finished 6-10, losing 7 of their last 8. Free agents that were signed; John Miller (G), B.W. Webb (CB), Kerry Wynn (DE), Justin Evans (OT--cut in training camp), John Jerry (G). A couple of these guys racked up some significant snaps but it's safe to say there were no world beaters here, so no real significant changes to a team that wasn't very good the year before. A lot of people, myself included, thought that simply changing the coach would improve things--a new direction, freshness, so to speak.
2. Any improvement this year?; With the overall record certainly showing there has been little to no improvement, i think you can look at the offense and see that scoring is up. Play calling in the last couple games has been vastly improved over anything we've seen so far. Earlier in the year, there was some good play from the DBs before injuries hit and there have been flashes from a couple of the young LBs.
3. Assistant coaches; It's no secret that the Bengals had to scrape the bottom of the barrel for a DC last year and overall, they have a very inexperienced staff. The ones that are experienced (Jim Turner) comes with a lot of baggage and looks to be one of Zac's cronies.
4. Injuries; the verbum diei is "excuses". Every day, honestly because the saying is supposed to be "next man up". It's more than a bit frustrating that the Bengals have to go through so many injury replacements but it is what it is. Hard to argue that there would be some better results if they could keep their starters in games. My personal opinion is, team wide, they're not physically as strong as most of the better teams in the NFL. Couple that with the softer rules on practice and injuries are inevitable.
5. Coaching philosophy (soft?); This is one i don't really agree with. I've seen plenty of physical play in pretty much any year you want to cite. Is it as physical as Pitt, Baltimore and a couple other? Nah, but i wouldn't call them "soft".
6. Drafting better?; 2015 was a disaster. Starters and contributors from '16-'18 currently on the team--WJ3, Boyd, Ross (bleh), Mixon, Lawson, Price, JB3, Hubbard, Phillips, Tate. Guys from the last two drafts--Williams, Sample, Pratt, M.Jordan, Burrow, Higgins, Wilson. That's six, normal, full time starters from the three previous years to Zac's arrival and four from the last two years.
7. Players believe in Zac; More than a couple players recently have made a point to say how much they believe in Zac and the direction the team is going. Some might call it lip service but you can show support without going into the detail that these players have.
8. Close losses; The record speaks for itself. 1-12-1. Most teams win around half of their one score games. There are a couple ways to look at this but the one question i'll ask is, would you prefer a team that has a chance to win at the end or a team that is out of it by the 4th quarter? Seven of those one score losses were against winning teams, so they're not only losing close games to bad teams.
9. Areas of need; Offensive line, offensive line, offensive line, offensive line, offensive line, defensive line, edge rusher and a linebacker or two. Trenches are a major need on this team and i think the one thing that has them where they are. Imagine this team with a little more passpro and run blocking, that can get a little pressure on the QB. They'd have to have at least 2-3 more wins.
10. New coordinators? No one likes either one. Recent trends indicate the offensive play calling is coming along. We'll see how that goes against the next two teams--Tennessee and Pittsburgh. The defense on the other hand, seems to be a long way off. In execution and theory. Being fair, they did seem to try and mix it up a bit more against Cleveland but far too many times, i've pulled out pounds and pounds of hair watching the team get shredded with no pass rush and zone defenses that leave large gaps in coverage.
11. 2020 Free agency; Spent the most on quality free agents that they ever have, with five of them being tabbed as full time starters from day one. Unfortunately, four of them are injured and out right now. Another year, or one close to it, with that mindset, could do a lot to help this team.
I'm not sure where my (somewhat) optimism is coming from--maybe it's just the new QB--but there are little signs there, if you're willing to look, that make it appear they're not that far off. Another FA period, another draft, another year of experience for inexperienced coaches... It just has the feel of being right around the corner and anyone that knows my posting history here knows...i hate the word "hope".
![[Image: 4CV0TeR.png]](https://i.imgur.com/4CV0TeR.png)
"The measure of a man's intelligence can be seen in the length of his argument."
