Why is this offense so bad?

[Nicomo Cosca]

(10-10-2021, 11:00 PM)SouthernStripes Wrote: The offense had at least 5 third-and-twos or less but couldn't get the first down today.
I'm pretty sure this isn't the first game this season that we've struggled on 3rd and short.
It's hard to ignore the questionable play calling. 

Exactly.

You have Boyd, Tate, Chris Evans, etc. We should not have so much trouble on 3rd and shorts.

[*rfaulk34*]

(10-10-2021, 09:17 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: I do blame ZT this year .. his 3rd year as HC.. he needs to finish games better.. but you can;t just blame him. i feel we should be performing better but I blame Burrow also..he was consensus #1 pick.. he needs really needs to be more consistent and finish games.. today he had that chance and did not...  ZT and Burrow needs to raise both their games.. ZT has given Burrow a ton of freedom in this offense... 

The hate burns in you doesn't it? Yeah, Burrow led the team down to the tying touchdown and 2pt conversion, drove them to 2 attempts at game winning FGs, but he needs to be more consistent and finish games. 

Do you even watch the games or does your hate blind you so much? 

He did all that while being handcuffed by a HC that can't get out of his own way. 

There were more than a few places to lay blame today and Burrow was well down on the list. Almost not even worthy of mention.

[Bengals-Man12345]

Burrow has only 4 300 passing yard games so far in his career with two of them being exactly 300. With our weapons that's simply inexcusable. Part of it is scheme and part is until chase came along Burrow cannot hit anyone downfield.

[*rfaulk34*]

(10-10-2021, 09:18 PM)lone bengal Wrote: Haven’t scored over 24 points this season. Green Bay had its best CB Alexander out and we have Chase, Higgins and Boyd plus they were missing there best pass rusher Za’Darius Smith. I’m still not sold on Taylor. Big picture if we ever want Burrow to take us to the promise land we’re gonna have to put up points. The  Chargers , Chiefs and Bills all have high scoring  offenses and young QB’s that will be in AFC throughout Burrows career.

When it comes to game planning, he's an over-thinker and he doesn't know how to properly exploit a team's weakness. 

[NUGDUKWE]

(10-10-2021, 11:02 PM)impactplaya Wrote: The problem is that Zac Taylor is trying to be
A HC and OC.at the same time and instead of being
Good at one, he is below average at both.
And in effect the offense has no identity other than
It lacks one thus the lack of scoring.

Zac has no resume of being changing a culture around
Or being a innovative offensive mind when hired
Zac now   is on the level of a Division 2 college OC.

The Bengals lack that offensive mind in the coaches room
Who has been there done that accomplished that
If Zac puts puts out a gameplan for Sunday who is
There to dissect it, and maybe " eh Zac , from my experience
In.the past,its best.........."
Pollack and Walters were around HoF QBs and you wonder if
ZT ever draws ideas from their experience around Montana and Manning.probally not

Zac has no.clue how to attack the weakness in a defense
Or how.to create deception.
Today on 3rd and 1 he called QB keeper with Chase as the TB.
What the heck is that...? He didnt even bother running Chase
In.a presnap motion to get the attention of the LBers

C J Uzomah has a monster game last week and vs the Packers he is a ghost. Huh what???
No seam routes, no.stick routes, no.backside drags
What does ZT do....uses that pile of fluff Sample more than
Uzomah.

The Bengals need a established OC to get more out this offense.

Yeah I agree. We should've used Uzomah a little more. I can't really blame Sample too much because its week 5 and he's just getting his 1st targets. I will say I'd like to see some direct snap stuff on those 3rd/4th and 1's instead of QB sneak get Burrow off the field and get an extra blocker in the game. 

But I also agree on Taylor and unfortunately I don't think we're gonna go anywhere until he's gone or we bring in someone to call plays. I'd really like to let Callahan get an opportunity to see what we have in him. My fear is the organization will look at this game as a positive sign that we're competitive in all our games so far and it is no doubt. But we could be winning these games and really should be 5-0 with how our defense has played.

[*rfaulk34*]

(10-10-2021, 11:00 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: In my opinion, blaming the scheme is just some way to try to blame some nebulous concept that the vast majority of NFL fans don’t have the first clue about. It’s kind of like saying ‘the other team just had more grit’. It’s an easy of saying something that sounds decent enough but doesn’t explain anything.

Today, I thought the Bengals passed a little much. They passed about 61% of the time and I want to see them closer to 55%, though 60% is okay if we get more screens as an extension of the run game. Basically, I think the playcalling from a ratio standpoint was a little off.

Another reason, and people won’t like this one, but it’s turnovers. Burrow has one of the highest INT % in the league. In five games this season, he has already thrown more interceptions than he did last season. He is currently on pace to throw 20 interceptions. His efficiency otherwise has been incredible but the turnovers are killer.

On those two points; It's not the scheme, it's implimenting the plays that will be effective against a particular opponent. The scheme has shown to be good when executed, but way too often, when and what is called is a real head-scratcher. There seemed to be almost no effort to establish any kind of run game in the 1st half. It's like watching a first time play caller, call plays. 

I agree with the ints 100%.

[thompson19osu]

(10-10-2021, 09:39 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Actually it is a combo of offense and defense that takes you to promise land.. we don;t need to score 30 plus a game.. actually look at our two losses , we score 26 points a game we are 5-0.. we just need to finish better.. Burrow is just as much to blame as ZT.. they go hand and hand.. 

The problem and question is why aren’t we scoring 26 points a game? Personally I think its 3 things:

1- poor play calling. For example why settle for 3 straight runs to set up such a long field goal? Zac even said he wasn’t being as aggressive as he normally would in his presser. Just horrible thinking. He should have been thinking first downs to where it would have been a chip shot foe McPherson.

2- poor scheme and inability to create open guys consistently

3- interior o-line. How many 3rd and 2’s do we gain 1 yard or no gain, not to mention couldnt event get a push for a QB sneak today.

The team has way too many 3 and outs.

[*rfaulk34*]

(10-10-2021, 11:13 PM)Bengals-Man12345 Wrote: Burrow has only 4 300 passing yard games so far in his career with two of them being exactly 300. With our weapons that's simply inexcusable. Part of it is scheme and part is until chase came along Burrow cannot hit anyone downfield.

He has 6 with exactly 1 of them being 300 and 1 of them being 400+.

Six, in 15 starts with one of those starts being only the 1st half. 

[WhodeyRay]

I hear a lot of Burrow bashing and Herbert is great and so on. But be realistic for a minute and watch a Chargers game and a Bengals game. It is more than evident that the Chargers have a great offensive game plan and scheme to move the ball and routes that open up their receivers. We just don't have that period. I think Burrow is playing well in spite of our coaches on offense. The game plan will make or break the qb just look at Tannehill and Darnold. I think Joe is in the exact same situation Tannehill was in at Miami and Darnold was in at NY. Bottom line is we need an OC with proven ability and Taylor is just the HC or move on from Zak and his High School offense all together. He is ruining a good qb and also wasting time while we have a qb on the rookie wage scale.

[*rfaulk34*]

(10-10-2021, 11:19 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: Yeah I agree. We should've used Uzomah a little more. I can't really blame Sample too much because its week 5 and he's just getting his 1st targets. I will say I'd like to see some direct snap stuff on those 3rd/4th and 1's instead of QB sneak get Burrow off the field and get an extra blocker in the game. 

But I also agree on Taylor and unfortunately I don't think we're gonna go anywhere until he's gone or we bring in someone to call plays. I'd really like to let Callahan get an opportunity to see what we have in him. My fear is the organization will look at this game as a positive sign that we're competitive in all our games so far and it is no doubt. But we could be winning these games and really should be 5-0 with how our defense has played.

Sample is like a drunk bull in a china shop and he needs to get even less pass targets. 

[Tony]

The answer is Zac....

[Fan_in_Kettering]

The Cincinnati offense is sputtering because the offensive line is still not playing at the level they should be playing. Are they better? Yes. Have they improved significantly? Absolutely. Are they good enough yet? No way.

Neither pass protection nor run blocking are good enough yet. Joe Burrow is being sacked too often and he’s getting passes batted down. Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon are better than this too but if there’s no hole they’ll get stuffed every time. If you don’t believe me watch Dallas, Arizona, or Buffalo. Those hogs up front are opening holes and protecting the quarterback.

[*rfaulk34*]

(10-10-2021, 11:27 PM)WhodeyRay Wrote: I hear a lot of Burrow bashing and Herbert is great and so on. But be realistic for a minute and watch a Chargers game and a Bengals game. It is more than evident that the Chargers have a great offensive game plan and scheme to move the ball and routes that open up their receivers. We just don't have that period. I think Burrow is playing well in spite of our coaches on offense. The game plan will make or break the qb just look at Tannehill and Darnold. I think Joe is in the exact same situation Tannehill was in at Miami and Darnold was in at NY. Bottom line is we need an OC with proven ability and Taylor is just the HC or move on from Zak and his High School offense all together. He is ruining a good qb and also wasting time while we have a qb on the rookie wage scale.

I didn't watch the whole game and i saw two times where he had a WR running wide open behind the defense for a long touchdown. Saw that more than a few times last year too. 

[KillerGoose]

(10-10-2021, 11:07 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Ofc they were going to throw more; Mixon wasn’t 100%. And Perine is JAG. You also don’t need to be a master of X’s and O’s to question Taylor’s situational decisions. Like running right up the middle with Perine on 3 & 5 in OT instead of trying pick up the first down. You have Tyler Boyd who’s as good as it gets on those types of plays. Taylor is weird to me, sometimes he’s super aggressive (mostly on 4th downs), but a lot of the time he seems too conservative. Especially with Burrow and those WR’s out there.

I’m fine with them throwing more; I don’t want them running a 50/50 split. I just think they threw a little too often, but maybe a better complaint is situational calls. I 100% agree with you that the 3rd and 5 run call was dubious at best. Taylor is strange, I love his 4th down calls but some of his situational calls don’t sit well with me.

[Frank Booth]

(10-11-2021, 12:03 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: I’m fine with them throwing more; I don’t want them running a 50/50 split. I just think they threw a little too often

it's all about the opposing teams pressure

if they're bullying cincy's o-line, you run it

if not, sling it.

I wanted them to run it more in the first half today. Joe Burrow has now been sacked 14 times through 5 games

[ah5]

The empty sets and shotguns are really starting to piss me off.

Sent from my BE2026 using Tapatalk

[KillerGoose]

(10-11-2021, 12:08 AM)Frank Booth Wrote: it's all about the opposing teams pressure

if they're bullying cincy's o-line, you run it

if not, sling it.

I wanted them to run it more in the first half today. Joe Burrow has now been sacked 14 times through 5 games

You’re last point might be a good summary of how I feel. There was a long stretch where they abandoned the run. I think at one point it was 17 attempts to three runs sometime in the first half. I’m not a fan of that kind of imbalance.

[Frank Booth]

(10-11-2021, 12:10 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: You’re last point might be a good summary of how I feel. There was a long stretch where they abandoned the run. I think at one point it was 17 attempts to three runs sometime in the first half. I’m not a fan of that kind of imbalance.

and when you're one dimensional, and the pass rush is getting to the qb, it doesnt matter who the weapons are(unless it's a deep threat like Chase)

the short passing game was completely shut down in the first half because Green bay knew that Burrow was gonna release it quickly

[*michaelsean*]

If you think you have good players and bad production, then look at the coaches. Somewhere one or more is failing at their job.

I will say I have no idea where Zac gets the idea that he should call plays. What’s that based on? Why wouldn’t you want to find the best OC you can and let him design the offense and call the plays? Way too much ego for someone with basically no notable accomplishment.

[Daddy-O]

(10-10-2021, 09:11 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: Mix of play calling and bad o-line

This team isn't going anywhere with Zac Taylor calling plays and possibly even as the head coach.  

Watch teams like the Browns, SD, GB and Arizona with other young head coaches.  No way we can consistently compete with them.

I realize the players like ZT but c'mon.  I'd hate to see us to continue wasting years of young talent with him.