The defensive coordinator demonstrates how predictable the bengals are by predicting the plays in the conference room

[DanBengalfan]

1M views · 13K reactions | Can someone explain this? | By Joseph Liverpool | Facebook

Can someone explain this?

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[R.J. MacReady]

AI?

 

[DanBengalfan]

funny. can't blame this on zac tho. someone did this on americas got talent.

 

[DanBengalfan]

AI?

probably just a trick, or he has an electronic board that looks like a white board. could be controlled remotely. other magicians use this in their act.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Have no idea if this is real or not, but I do know that MULITIPLE times over the ZT era defenders from other teams have said the Bengals offense is extremely predictable. Heck, I've pointed this out a few times - just based on the fact that they almost never run the ball more than 1 time per drive...maybe 2 and that would be during a 9-10 play drive. When you already know an offense is going to pass the ball 80% of the time. That's half the battle. Then you realize that when they are under center, it is a 90% run probability on the plays they do actually run.

It's like Taylor is running the old Tecmo Bowl offense where he only had 4-8 plays to choose from.

I think Taylor is a fine HC - he clearly connects well and can do some things at a high(er) level, but his play-calling is complete crap, and has been since he was at UC during his one lone disastrous season as the OC there.

 

[DanBengalfan]

the open lanes in our defense look like the roads in north Korea... wide open.

 

[Cincyfan78]

TLDR - The defensive stops in this game were fools gold. Bengals need to have some serious conversations this off-season if they truly want to be SB contenders and not waste Burrow.



Don't let the comeback fool you on the defense...

During that stretch, multiple times Herbert missed open guys, and Wr's dropped passes. As soon as they cleaned that back up, they sliced right on down the field.

One one play that Herbert missed - the Bengals dropped 8...and yet the WR was WIDE OPEN on the sideline for a 1st down (3rd and 8+ I believe). Not a single player within 5 yards...with EIGHT guys in coverage...you could damn near DOUBLE every WR in man...and yet, there was a WR wide open.

This speaks to the larger issue at hand. Lou's scheme isn't just broken, it's smashed. Obliterated. You have 3-4-5 year veterans of this defense who are constantly out of position...good players. Wilson. Pratt. Bell (Maybe not good, but certainly knows where he should be), Hilton. The list goes on.



The offense is clearly frustrating - Chase is speaking on it - despite the points/success - it's largely due to Burrow/Chase magic. The scheme is complete trash. With more than 1 minute left, and 2 timeouts...the Bengals face a nearly empty box. 4 DL, with 1 LB up close to 1 side. The other side/middle had 0 defenders within 5-6 yards. Easy run opportunity for 5-6 yards every time. Bengals did not run the ball one time in any of those failed drives. Despite having plenty of time, 2 timeouts, and clearly knowing they did not want the Chargers to get the ball back.

Maybe they felt once they got into FG range? I don't know - but I do know this - McPherson is now roughly 50% from 50+ since the start of 2023. This isn't just a bad season, this isn't just a blip. This is now 2, nearly, full seasons of ineptness from the FG kicker in a game where even the mundane kickers can connect from 50. Dude just got PAID - and needs to figure it out quick.



What this all really feels like to me - other than the defense which I think is just broken beyond repair under Lou's scheme - is a team that thought it was good enough to coast through the off-season and into pre-season. Not play anyone in pre-season, and it would just "click" at some point. It never clicked, and it won't. I think there have to be some really hard conversations after this season if this organization is going to not waste Joe Burrow's career. It starts with Taylor and the offense, but clearly includes a complete overhaul of the defense.

 

[cincygrad]

TLDR - The defensive stops in this game were fools gold. Bengals need to have some serious conversations this off-season if they truly want to be SB contenders and not waste Burrow.



Don't let the comeback fool you on the defense...

During that stretch, multiple times Herbert missed open guys, and Wr's dropped passes. As soon as they cleaned that back up, they sliced right on down the field.

One one play that Herbert missed - the Bengals dropped 8...and yet the WR was WIDE OPEN on the sideline for a 1st down (3rd and 8+ I believe). Not a single player within 5 yards...with EIGHT guys in coverage...you could damn near DOUBLE every WR in man...and yet, there was a WR wide open.

This speaks to the larger issue at hand. Lou's scheme isn't just broken, it's smashed. Obliterated. You have 3-4-5 year veterans of this defense who are constantly out of position...good players. Wilson. Pratt. Bell (Maybe not good, but certainly knows where he should be), Hilton. The list goes on.



The offense is clearly frustrating - Chase is speaking on it - despite the points/success - it's largely due to Burrow/Chase magic. The scheme is complete trash. With more than 1 minute left, and 2 timeouts...the Bengals face a nearly empty box. 4 DL, with 1 LB up close to 1 side. The other side/middle had 0 defenders within 5-6 yards. Easy run opportunity for 5-6 yards every time. Bengals did not run the ball one time in any of those failed drives. Despite having plenty of time, 2 timeouts, and clearly knowing they did not want the Chargers to get the ball back.

Maybe they felt once they got into FG range? I don't know - but I do know this - McPherson is now roughly 50% from 50+ since the start of 2023. This isn't just a bad season, this isn't just a blip. This is now 2, nearly, full seasons of ineptness from the FG kicker in a game where even the mundane kickers can connect from 50. Dude just got PAID - and needs to figure it out quick.



What this all really feels like to me - other than the defense which I think is just broken beyond repair under Lou's scheme - is a team that thought it was good enough to coast through the off-season and into pre-season. Not play anyone in pre-season, and it would just "click" at some point. It never clicked, and it won't. I think there have to be some really hard conversations after this season if this organization is going to not waste Joe Burrow's career. It starts with Taylor and the offense, but clearly includes a complete overhaul of the defense.

I agree with your thoughts. The Chargers did not come back out after halftime and for as good as Herbert is, he is hot and cold. It's also disappointing that Lou did nothing to address the possibility of Herbert running with the football. He had shown it multiple times in his game the week before (I watched) and the Bengals are used to planning for this possibility with the way they play against Jackson. Hell, this was the Greg Roman offense, so you'd figure we would have some ideas about what could happen. As it was, Lou did not start spying on Herbert until the second half and after giving up 60 yards to the dude. It's unacceptable to not be prepared. It's also criminal that they don't use Myles Murphy on more snaps. I don't get it - He is clearly one of the best athletes on our defensive line and I think he could be really good with more experience. As it is, he already offers much more than Hubbard but he gets a fraction of the snaps. Fortunately by the end of the game, veterans were riding pine while the kids were playing. Sadly it's too late.

I think it's easy to look at this Bengals team and figure that we are screwed due to a lack of talent across the roster. Outside of Burrow and a few of his weapons, it certainly looks this way when watching the team. But, I'm reminded how much of a difference a change in coaching can do for a team. Think of the Chargers of last year - Their D looked broken. They finished in the bottom 5 of yards allowed and points allowed even though they had a few start players. Though our offense showed some success against them, their D has been fantastic this year.

I'm not generally a rip it up type of guy, but I do think the Bengals could show significant gains from changes on their coaching staff. To me, the most straightforward thing to do would be to fire Taylor and the staff and start over. Ben Johnson is obviously the big name in coaching. Not sure there would be a more favorable situation than getting to coach Burrow, but money talks and he might want something else. Same is true for a guy like Vrabel, who I think would be a terrific fit for the organization but will probably go somewhere else. But hell, how about Jesse Minter? There are some Cincinnati roots there.

I don't think the Bengals will really consider moving on from Taylor, so the next best thing would be to move on from Lou and from Frank. Fix the D and address the strategy with the offensive line and running game. All of our issues won't immediately resolve, but they could easily find themselves back to contender status given the unique talents of Burrow and Chase.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I agree with your thoughts. The Chargers did not come back out after halftime and for as good as Herbert is, he is hot and cold. It's also disappointing that Lou did nothing to address the possibility of Herbert running with the football. He had shown it multiple times in his game the week before (I watched) and the Bengals are used to planning for this possibility with the way they play against Jackson. Hell, this was the Greg Roman offense, so you'd figure we would have some ideas about what could happen. As it was, Lou did not start spying on Herbert until the second half and after giving up 60 yards to the dude. It's unacceptable to not be prepared. It's also criminal that they don't use Myles Murphy on more snaps. I don't get it - He is clearly one of the best athletes on our defensive line and I think he could be really good with more experience. As it is, he already offers much more than Hubbard but he gets a fraction of the snaps. Fortunately by the end of the game, veterans were riding pine while the kids were playing. Sadly it's too late.

I think it's easy to look at this Bengals team and figure that we are screwed due to a lack of talent across the roster. Outside of Burrow and a few of his weapons, it certainly looks this way when watching the team. But, I'm reminded how much of a difference a change in coaching can do for a team. Think of the Chargers of last year - Their D looked broken. They finished in the bottom 5 of yards allowed and points allowed even though they had a few start players. Though our offense showed some success against them, their D has been fantastic this year.

I'm not generally a rip it up type of guy, but I do think the Bengals could show significant gains from changes on their coaching staff. To me, the most straightforward thing to do would be to fire Taylor and the staff and start over. Ben Johnson is obviously the big name in coaching. Not sure there would be a more favorable situation than getting to coach Burrow, but money talks and he might want something else. Same is true for a guy like Vrabel, who I think would be a terrific fit for the organization but will probably go somewhere else. But hell, how about Jesse Minter? There are some Cincinnati roots there.

I don't think the Bengals will really consider moving on from Taylor, so the next best thing would be to move on from Lou and from Frank. Fix the D and address the strategy with the offensive line and running game. All of our issues won't immediately resolve, but they could easily find themselves back to contender status given the unique talents of Burrow and Chase.

100%

Offensively - the biggest changes (If Taylor stays he'll never give up play-calling so...moving on from that) - Volston has to go. He's abysmal. I'd elevate Lee to C and move Karras to LG. I'd replace Cappa at RG. LT and RT have been fine and actually pretty good in general. The interior is awful. LG - C - RG. I move on with Lee at C, move Karras to LG to buy them 1 more year, and replace RG/Cappa either in the draft or with a high(er) level IOL.

I'd re-sign Gesicki - he's been good for what he is, and with All's 2nd ACL - I'd want to have him return as they work to get MacLachlan into the mix. I'd find another WR because Burton looks like he couldn't care less out there. His one attempt last night was a 1 handed half-hearted effort in the endzone early on. Pathetic.

They need to fix the way they run the ball. Brown is doing more with less. They need more of a scheme that highlights running out of the shotgun. They don't need to tear up the offense (because it won't happen) but they can tweak it to fit Burrow better AND implement things that keep the defense on their edge that any play could be a run/pass.

Defensively - again - I mention this in the other thread - I refuse to believe all these players suddenly suck as bad as they do. Some of these guys looked good early on and now look completely lost. That, to me, screams coaching. How do you drop 8 and still leave a HUGE chunk of the field uncovered? You have guys 2-3-4+ years in the system and are consistently out of position? Lou's defense was always hidden because of turnovers...but never was good at yards/offensive moving up and down. They held teams from scoring because of timely turnovers but that isn't an attribute that is replicable. It's not just broken, it was never good. I just got covered up.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Let this sink in:

Joe Burrow leads the NFL in passing yards and TD's.

Chase leads the NFL in yards and TD's.

Hendrickson leads the NFL in sacks.


The Bengals have 4 wins in 11 games. The offense is scoring 27 points a game.


All this talk about "finishing" games is just noise and smoke to detract from how bad this defense is. The defense is giving up 27 points a game - and that's having played some really bad offenses in Raiders, Browns, and Giants. They have given up less than 23 points just 3 times this season. Browns - 14, Giants 7, NE 16. That means in the other 8 games, the defense is giving up 32 points a game.

Thirty. Two.


Stop talking about "finishing" games and start talking about holding coaches, and players, accountable. I don't care if they have to play Tycen Anderson at Safety - you can't allow Stone to be the 83rd ranked Safety (out of 87) and continue to run him out there. You, almost, literally cannot get worse play. Stop talking about "Finishing" and start talking about going out there and actually doing your job as coaches. It can't be on Burrow/Chase/Brown to "get it done" every single game when the defense continues to melt like butter on a hot day, meanwhile Lou just sits there and dials up the same stuff play after play...

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Let this sink in:

Joe Burrow leads the NFL in passing yards and TD's.

Chase leads the NFL in yards and TD's.

Hendrickson leads the NFL in sacks.


The Bengals have 4 wins in 11 games. The offense is scoring 27 points a game.


All this talk about "finishing" games is just noise and smoke to detract from how bad this defense is. The defense is giving up 27 points a game - and that's having played some really bad offenses in Raiders, Browns, and Giants. They have given up less than 23 points just 3 times this season. Browns - 14, Giants 7, NE 16. That means in the other 8 games, the defense is giving up 32 points a game.

Thirty. Two.


Stop talking about "finishing" games and start talking about holding coaches, and players, accountable. I don't care if they have to play Tycen Anderson at Safety - you can't allow Stone to be the 83rd ranked Safety (out of 87) and continue to run him out there. You, almost, literally cannot get worse play. Stop talking about "Finishing" and start talking about going out there and actually doing your job as coaches. It can't be on Burrow/Chase/Brown to "get it done" every single game when the defense continues to melt like butter on a hot day, meanwhile Lou just sits there and dials up the same stuff play after play...

Yet, Stone led the NFL in INTs last year and looked like the next great safety. You think a player goes from that good, to that bad by himself? How about Britt? Wasn't he coming into a situation where experts were labeling him a potential all pro candidate at corner? What happened to Logan Wilson this year? Why is Rankins worthless? Is Same Hubbard alive still? Where is our #1 pick from last year? I heard Murphy's name called like 3 times this year.

We need a new scheme.

Fire Lou, hire Salah to be our next DC, make pitcher the play caller. Taylor can coach, I like him as a coach.

Start letting everyone that is not holding their weight or contracts up to go on defense. Hubbard, Britt, Stone, Rankins, Bell, maybe even Britt depending on whether new DC can get more out of him. We unfortunately have to let Tee go because of contract and his injury history. We need to sign an above average WR with Tee's build to compliment Chase on an affordable contract.

DE/CB has to be our #1 pick. We have to sign one of each in FA in the off season.

Draft should be DE/CB/S in the first 3 rounds. House needs cleaned. We can also use another LG and a potential RG to replace Volson/Cappa.

 

[Cincyfan78]

More the IOL:

Of 77 qualified NFL Gs through 11 weeks, Bengals LG Cordell Volson ranks #77/77 in pressures allowed at 33.

The next worst? Bengals RG Alex Cappa at 27. On true pass sets, Volson ranks #77/77 in pressures allowed. Cappa ranks #75/77.


I mean - Brown is doing a really good job - and Burrow is Burrow - but at some point the Bengals have to make a change, and be willing to make those changes a bit quicker. I'm not saying they have to bail on guys at the first sign of trouble, but the MO under all of my time following the Bengals back into the 90's has been that they double down on "their guys" when it's clear as day that they are not good. Obwehi (sp?), Fischer, the list goes on an on.

If I'm Burrow - I'm DEMANDING a change up front. I'm DEMANDING a change to the offensive approach. Not just to win, but to save "my" career from injury. You can't have Joe back there getting ransacked like he has been through 5 years of his career - including 2 season ending injuries.

 

[cincygrad]

You know what this is? This is Dan Marino in Miami. Marino won a ton of 1 score games because he was a once-in-a-generation talent, but he never should have been in 1-score games.... His supporting cast continuously let him down and they never won enough games to have postseason success after that super bowl year. I think @Cincyfan78 hits the nail on the head about the D and one score games.... The only reason they are one score games is because of the excellence of Burrow and Chase. With the way our D has played we should have lost a bunch of these games by multiple touchdowns. Look at the Ravens - Their D has struggled but not nearly as much as they struggled against Burrow. Look at the Commanders. There D isn't great, but it's much better than they showed against Burrow. Same with the Chargers. But, while everyone just says these were fluky outcomes that we needed to 'finish' ignores the larger issue. The D didn't play well enough to win. The D didn't force enough field goals rather than touchdowns. The D didn't generate enough turnovers.

I disagree that Zac Taylor will 'never' give up play calling duties. What if Duke Tobin goes to him and says he gives it up or he gives up his job? Taylor isn't getting hired anywhere else. He has no leverage after this year. He can salvage his career by getting a new DC, a new line coach, and letting Pitch call the plays while Taylor concentrates on situational football. I do think Taylor is good at team building and I do think players like playing for him. His teams are also more disciplined than they get credit for being. But, he struggles to manage games and his record in 1-score games would suggest that he might want to change his approach.

 

[Cincyfan78]

You know what this is? This is Dan Marino in Miami. Marino won a ton of 1 score games because he was a once-in-a-generation talent, but he never should have been in 1-score games.... His supporting cast continuously let him down and they never won enough games to have postseason success after that super bowl year. I think @Cincyfan78 hits the nail on the head about the D and one score games.... The only reason they are one score games is because of the excellence of Burrow and Chase. With the way our D has played we should have lost a bunch of these games by multiple touchdowns. Look at the Ravens - Their D has struggled but not nearly as much as they struggled against Burrow. Look at the Commanders. There D isn't great, but it's much better than they showed against Burrow. Same with the Chargers. But, while everyone just says these were fluky outcomes that we needed to 'finish' ignores the larger issue. The D didn't play well enough to win. The D didn't force enough field goals rather than touchdowns. The D didn't generate enough turnovers.

I disagree that Zac Taylor will 'never' give up play calling duties. What if Duke Tobin goes to him and says he gives it up or he gives up his job? Taylor isn't getting hired anywhere else. He has no leverage after this year. He can salvage his career by getting a new DC, a new line coach, and letting Pitch call the plays while Taylor concentrates on situational football. I do think Taylor is good at team building and I do think players like playing for him. His teams are also more disciplined than they get credit for being. But, he struggles to manage games and his record in 1-score games would suggest that he might want to change his approach.

I don't see that ultimatum happening, but sure. Taylor, though, has talked about giving up some of those duties in the past, but ultimately that never really occurred. That's when he was supposed to turn that over to Callahan, but in reality it was a "consensus" which was Taylors' way of saying "I still call the plays".

The only way anything is going to change schematically or with calling is if Burrow speaks up. He carries a LOT of weight in that room, and his contract means they would need/have to listen to him. Though, Palmer thought the same thing...is this different? Does Burrow have more of a voice? We'll find out - but Burrow is clearly frustrated, and he's not the only one. Yes, losing will do that - but this goes deeper. There are clearly major issues just under the surface that need to be addressed or the cracks will fissure and the entire team will implode.