Scheme, coaching & Joe Burrow are convenient scapegoats for Bengals' deepest issue

One of the most ridiculous things we heard last week was that the Cincinnati Bengals' pass protection issues were, in part, due to Joe Burrow. That was asinine. Unfortunately, Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings showed just how foolish that narrative is. 

Additionally, this line of thinking is sensationalized by the mention of Joe Burrow, further distracting from the real, more fundamental issues with the offensive line in general and pass protection in particular. 

While we watch in horrifying awe at Bengals’ quarterbacks getting hit and sacked, the root of the problem occurs long before the team takes the field. 

Joe Burrow’s playing style isn’t the Bengals' problem

One of the things we should have learned from Sunday was that Burrow does not hold on to the ball too long. 

Last week, we listened to a cacophony of people speaking on Burrow’s style of play and holding on to the ball too long. But that is a nonsensical argument.

In 2024, the slowest times to throw were Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson, 42nd and 43rd, respectively. Burrow was the 10th fastest in time to throw, according to Next Gen Stats. He still took the fourth most sacks.

Former University of Cincinnati quarterback Tony Pike breaks down perfectly how this could happen. 

Jake Browning suffers same fate as Joe Burrow

Last week, Jake Browning led the entire NFL in the fastest time to throw. Now, he ranks 12th. He probably wanted to get rid of the ball faster, but could not because he spent much time scrambling. 

Still, the 12th-fastest time to throw among all QBs is a quick release, especially given how long he had to hold on to the ball while extending plays. Nevertheless, the Vikings sacked Browning four times and added nine more QB hits. 

Holding on to the ball too long was not the issue for Burrow, and it is not the problem for Browning. If anything, we should want Browning to hold on to the ball longer to stop throwing interceptions. However, he can’t, because he does not have any more time. 

But to put any of the blame on Burrow, or allude to him being a part of the problem, is ludicrous. And Browning must stop throwing the ball to the other team. Providing better pass protection would help. 

Former Bengals great compares Eagles to Bengals

Last week, former Cincinnati Bengals great Andrew Whitworth caused a stir. In an interview with Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, Whitworth primarily attributed the cause of the line’s problems to the scheme. 

One of the highlights of the conversation was when Whitworth compared Cincinnati’s offensive line with Philadelphia’s players and scheme. And while he brought up some salient points about the scheme differences, there was something glaringly missing.  

In the 2021 NFL draft, now Vikings offensive lineman Christian Darrisaw slid to 23rd overall. At least one of us in Bengals fandom urged the team to trade up and stop his fall. What a foolhardy thought that was. 

On Day 2, the Bengals had the 38th pick in the second round. That same imprudent fan urged the team to trade up a few spots to select center Landon Dickerson, a clear first-round prospect who was still available when the second round began. Philly took him one spot ahead of where Cincy was. 

Cincinnati made a move, but they traded back with the New England Patriots and selected Jackson Carman. They did so with Creed Humphrey still on the board. Humphrey went to Kansas City with the 63rd overall selection. 

In 2021, the Bengals drafted Carman, and the Eagles selected Dickerson. They're not in the same galaxy as NFL players, never mind before the draft as prospects, unless you wanted to dwell on Dickerson's injury concerns.

In 2022, Philadelphia drafted Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens in the second round. The Bengals used their first three selections on defensive players, Dax Hill, Cam Taylor-Britt, and Zach Carter. What happened next is unforgivable. 

In the fourth round, Cincinnati selected Cordell Volson. The most significant problem with that is Zach Tom was still, inexplicably, on the board. That same delusional fan who urged the team to trade up for Darrisaw and Dickerson put it in writing to select Tom, who fell into their laps in the fourth round, no less.

The Eagles even took one of Cincinnati’s former players, Fred Johnson, and turned him into a valuable backup. So much so that when he signed with the Jaguars this offseason, Philadelphia traded a draft pick to get him back for this season.  

While we respect Andrew Whitoworth, we must also recognize that he is part of a fraternity. It is natural for him to want to take some of the blame off his fellow linemen. And Zac Taylor’s scheme deserves some of the blame for not figuring out how to mask the real issue better. 

However, comparing an offensive line that has Cam Jurgens, Landon Dickerson, and making trades for valuable backups with what the Bengals did, or did not do, is almost not fair. The conversation around the Bengals would be different if they had, in some combination, Jurgens, Dickerson, Tom, or Humphrey. 

Bengals' core issue is missed draft evaluations

The principal issue that everyone wants to dance around is evident. The Bengals have tried, but they are not good at identifying excellent talent in the draft along the offensive line. They think they can draft anyone and plug them in. A lineman, any lineman will do in the range they deem adequate. 

They do not follow the best-player-available motto when selecting offensive linemen. Now, they have refined that thinking a bit to say an athletic lineman, any lineman. Additionally, they appear to rely on advanced statistics that tell a particular story. 

Let's give them the benefit of the doubt, which we should not, and say that they knew Landon Dickerson would be an excellent center or guard coming out of Alabama in 2021. If they genuinely believe in their scouting, they should be aggressive and secure the players they firmly believe in. That is not the case. They are not aggressive in trying to acquire their target if they truly value a good player. 

But it is even worse than that. The Bengals erroneously believe in their ability to scout the position so much that they trade down in the second round, only to take an offensive lineman that most “experts” had as a Day 3 pick in Carman. And some teams took him completely off their boards because of a horrible accusation that Cincinnati somehow ignored. 

There is something fundamentally wrong with the way this organization goes about scouting offensive linemen since the departure of Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith. In the multiverse of possibilities, there exists only one where a team looked at Jackson Carman and Creed Humphrey and said, "We should pick Carman."

What are the possibilities that the team will do their best Doctor Strange impression again and have Zach Tom fall into their laps in the fourth round, only to choose Cordell Volson?

These examples are not hindsight. The fanbase said it at the time. We do not have to give the organization the benefit of the doubt because we “hope” the team made the right decision when we know it is evident that they did not, in real time. As Jake Liscow of the Locked on Bengals podcast always reminds us, correctly, “hope is not a plan."

Hoping that the Bengals selected a player that almost everyone agrees was not the best decision at the time turns out to be the steal of the draft is not a plan. 

Other costs of Bengals' draft failures

Another issue the fan base takes exception to is the number of people in the scouting department. To be clear, the number of scouts does not matter. If you have the most extensive scouting department in the NFL with a bunch of analytical-minded staff running around, and the result is drafting Jackson Carman in the second round or Cordell Volson to start at guard in the fourth, you just wasted money on bad scouting. 

But someone should tell the front office that hitting on those picks could save the Bengals millions in dead cap money and signing bonuses for players who cost in more ways than just financial. If a larger scouting department could help with that, so be it.

Furthermore, Chase Brown is an excellent running back. You will hear about his average per rush all week long. Please do not fall for the banana in the tailpipe.

The team put this line together to protect Burrow. They could not do that. Now, what would you imagine the rushing attack would look like from an offensive line whose conception was built to pass block, but can’t? Well...

If these are the players they give Zac Taylor to work with, he should get a limited pass, too. That is, until he calls for blocking defensive ends one-on-one with tight ends. Then his pass is revoked. 

Speaking of which, if Taylor wants to use his tight ends for blocking first, he should identify and draft tight ends for that purpose. Darnell Washington was available in the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Some will say that Drew Sample fills that role. But like with many scouting reports, saying it does not make it true. 

For the Bengals to turn it around for the long haul, it starts in the draft room

If this team had done nothing else beyond drafting Ja'Marr Chase and Humphrey, or trading up for Dickerson in 2021, the Bengals would have a Super Bowl.

Cincinnati should have drafted Tom in 2022. All it would have cost was a fourth-round pick. The team should be able to identify talent that we can’t, like Cam Jurgens, and do what it takes to get him. 

Just one of those moves, and the Bengals would not be in their current position. They would have one of the league’s best offensive lines. Instead, here we are. Burrow is getting the injury-prone label. We are comparing him to Andrew Luck. Or we are blaming his injuries on him, which is beyond ridiculous. 

Today, we are looking at a capable running back in Chase Brown and wondering if there is something wrong with him. 

That horror show against the Vikings was more of the same. Browning was clearly uncomfortable in the so-called pocket. And like Burrow, Browning is not only taking sacks, but some of those hits are devastating.

All of this is to say that Burrow holding on to the ball too long is not the issue. Browning being rushed in the pocket and throwing interceptions? He might not if he had half a second longer. Zac Taylor’s scheme, while it needs improving, is not the main issue.

The real problem begins long before the players hit the field. Even before practices start. The most significant issue is whiffing on draft picks and mishandling the whole evaluation process over and over again.

As long as those Duke Tobin-led decision makers continue making the same ill-informed choices, no matter who the head coach, offensive coordinator, and o-line coach are, it won’t get better.

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