Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has been something of a punching bag at times after his team’s .500 start.
Taylor deserved some of it as the head coach and offensive leader after iffy-looking gameplans, in-game decisions and the general sluggish start after an offseason of prep.
But lately? Taylor’s adapted the offense in interesting ways that has things looking increasingly up after the last two games.
Taylor accredits some of that to Joe Burrow, as he told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com the following when asked about the uptick in RPOs recently:
“ZT: He’s good doing anything. Shoot, I could put together a reel of his under-center play-actions that are spectacular over the last three years. He can operate in any way, shape or form. (Sunday) that’s just the way we asked him to do it, and he did it at a high level.“
Burrow being comfortable in any look is a big boon for Taylor, of course, but it’s the coach being able and willing to make the changes on the fly that really helps.
As Mike Renner of PFF pointed out, Taylor said no thanks to under-center looks over the last two games:
Bengals snaps under center:
Week 1: 19
Week 2: 27
Week 3: 27
Week 4: 29
Week 5: 8
Week 6: 2At least Zac Taylor is showing signs of adapting his offense and it worked this past week
— Mike Renner (@PFF_Mike) October 18, 2022
Paired with admitting the target share for Tyler Boyd hasn’t been good enough, it’s a good sign of things to come from the coaching staff.
That under-center usage won’t be the same every week and will vary by opponent. But the adaptability and the complexity of the offense might explain some of the early-season struggles, but could also hint at giving opposing defenses issues in prepping to face it, too.
So, credit where it’s due — Taylor and Co. know the problems and likely solutions, even if the latter hasn’t played out as quickly as fans might’ve liked.
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