Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor gets something of a normal offseason this year as he heads into Year 2.
Besides a year of experience for the new coaching staff and schematics and approach cemented, Taylor gets to address problem areas from a season ago.
And one of those centers on tackling.
In a superb sitdown with Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, Taylor admitted an area in his approach he needs to change might’ve played a factor in tackling woes.
“Overall, you look at our tackling early in the season and it wasn’t good enough,” Taylor said. “Part of that is guys getting comfortable in the scheme. There’s a lot of excuses you can make. Bottom line is we have to have the mentality we are going to be more physical. That starts in training camp the first day you put pads on.”
Taylor arrived in Cincinnati and one of his immediate more innovative ideas was an emphasis on health and not grinding down his players before the season started (luck laughed at this anyway given the Jonah Williams injury, etc.).
But a slight revisal here, paired with a fuller understanding of what the coaches want from returning players, might indeed spur a better performance from the defense right out of the gates.
And while it might hurt to read tackling is an issue that needs addressing at all, it’s even better to hear a learning coaching staff own up to mistakes and point out areas that’ll get changed as a result.
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