The honeymoon is over if you’re a Cincinnati Bengals fan.
Fans of the Cincinnati Bengals are well aware of the fact that Zac Taylor is fresh off of his third draft as the team’s head coach. With just six total wins in his first two years on the sidelines, there can be no more excuses. He has to have a big jump in wins and losses to keep his job.
There has been plenty of chatter at the end of Taylor’s first two seasons about Cincinnati moving on from him, but that has come mostly from fans. Fortunately, if you’re Taylor, the Bengals have a long history of giving too much time to underperforming coaches.
That’s right. This isn’t baseball. Rebuilds don’t take eight years in the NFL. Keep in mind the fact that the San Francisco 49ers went from 4-12 to the Super Bowl in one year. That’s one reason the honeymoon should be over. Here are three others that support the theory that Taylor’s seat should be warming slightly.
The Cincinnati Bengals have reunited Burrow with his go-to guy.
No one has absolute power in any NFL team’s decision-making process. Even so, three drafts and free agency periods is plenty of time for Taylor to get the players he needs and shape the roster the way he wants. It is time to stop living off talking about building a culture and start winning.
It was common knowledge that Cincinnati was going to address the wide receiver position and the offensive line. Taylor was on the staff behind the high-powered Los Angeles Rams offense that reached the Super Bowl a few years ago.
Beginning the Bengals’ draft class with Ja’Marr Chase should come as no surprise to anyone. It’s a move that has Taylor’s fingerprints all over it.
Adding a receiver like Chase to an offense that already has Joe Burrow, Joe Mixon, Tyler Boyd, and Tee Higgins gives the Bengals offense similar potential to that Rams unit that averaged over 32 points per game with Taylor on its coaching staff. That’s the good news. Here’s the potentially bad news (but it still shouldn’t serve as an excuse for the coach).
The Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive line should look better in 2020.
Cincinnati Bengals signal-caller Joe Burrow was fantastic in 2020, but he’s still rehabbing a knee injury that cut his season short. Every quarterback hit won’t fall on the offensive line, but it was no secret that the unit needed some work this offseason. Cincinnati did not sit on their hands.
Still, the question of if adding 32-year-old Riley Reiff on a short term free agency contract and waiting until night two to address the offensive trenches in the draft is enough to keep the franchise quarterback upright in 2021 is a fair one, especially when a top offensive line prospect like Penai Sewell was there for Cincinnati to take.
Taylor has essentially bet his job on the three offensive linemen Cincinnati drafted panning out. Second-round pick Jackson Carman is more likely to make an immediate impact than the offensive linemen drafted on day three.
Carman had back surgery in the offseason and there is some debate over whether he will end up at tackle or guard. Taylor reportedly likes him as a guard for now. Can he have a good career in stripes? Yes, he can. Based on the offseason surgery and position debate though, he is far from a safe bet.
The new faces, getting more out of the linemen already on the roster, and the return of offensive line coach Frank Pollock are the keys to keeping Burrow upright and leaving the franchise with at least some degree of hope this season and beyond.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ play-calling must improve if he won’t delegate.
Taylor has been adamant about being the play-caller since he became head coach. He must understand his personnel better and assume that the offensive line is still a bit of a weak spot, at least in the early part of 2021.
By the time the Washington game rolled around, the game in which Burrow was injured, it had been established that Washington could really get after the quarterback and Cincinnati could not protect theirs.
Yet, Taylor had Burrow make 34 pass attempts in what was a close game before he got injured. That is simply inexcusable when you consider that the former Heisman Trophy winner had been hit more than 70 times during his rookie season before the Washington game.
This is what Taylor must learn from. Cincinnati now has plenty of weapons on offense. The offensive line is still a big question mark, despite the infusion of new talent. Taylor must protect Burrow with more quick screens to receivers and handoffs to Joe Mixon. This is especially true until we have a better idea of how much the offense of line will improve in 2021.
The guys that Burrow will be getting the ball to on those little plays can turn them into big ones. The offensive line protecting Burrow must get better. However, it may only improve as much as Taylor does as a play-caller.