Offense

[Cincyfan78]

Well, based on the way Browning and Siemein were playing in preseason, no one was thinking about starting them. No one knew how bad Burrow was until he started against Cleveland. Once he started against Cleveland, we all realized, the dude is hurt. He needs to sit out. He plays week 2 and looks so much more like himself, but once again aggravates it. So Browning wouldn't have been playing until week 3, but how bad had Burrow aggravated it? Too hard to tell. He didn't look great against LA, but he looked decent, so you are thinking, he didn't aggravate it that bad. Then we play Tennessee and we got the crap kicked out of us because Burrow was a statue. He looked like himself mostly again in week 5. So what do you do?

Question begs...would either guy have looked better playing with a starting OL, RB, WR...etc ...

Even if for only a few series...

But, I digress....it is what it is at this point. Just need to hope you don't win a bunch of games to end up 1 game out of the playoffs, and ending up in the back half of the draft because you won too many games...lol

 

[cincygrad]

What's really frustrating is that we'll do all of this same shit again next year. Zac will run the summer country club, we won't play any rookies we draft, any FA additions will get no gametime in preseason and we won't start running our real offense until the leaves have fallen from the trees. That's just the way we roll.

Now, if we win enough games to make the postseaon this year with our remaining schedule, Zac can point to the way we closed the last two seasons as evidence that his country club summers are the way to go. That's a big if.

 

[Cincyfan78]

What's really frustrating is that we'll do all of this same shit again next year. Zac will run the summer country club, we won't play any rookies we draft, any FA additions will get no gametime in preseason and we won't start running our real offense until the leaves have fallen from the trees. That's just the way we roll.

Now, if we win enough games to make the postseaon this year with our remaining schedule, Zac can point to the way we closed the last two seasons as evidence that his country club summers are the way to go. That's a big if.

I think there is a balance to be had. You can ease guys through while also acknowledging the need to get a few live reps.

But zero live snaps is dumb. I simply won't change my mind on this. You can't be game ready until you, you know, actually play in some games...even if it is "practice games". The players all have said that getting in a pre-season game is different than practice and scrimmages. If the players themselves are saying that - I think that speaks to the need to at least get a few reps. They don't have to play a ton...but I think there's real benefit to getting those live reps in a game simulation.

You can still back them off through the week, ease them in (say, no snaps game 1, play 1/2 a quarter game 2, and then 1/2 quarter or 1 quarter game 3). I mean, if playing that much is the difference between fresh in November/December and being ragged...something's not right and it has nothing to do with how they approach the pre-season games...