The Zac Taylor Debate Is Coming
Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images
Not since the debate between Skyline and Gold Star Chili has the city of Cincinnati been so divided (it’s Gold Star, by the way). Cincinnati Bengals fans have found themselves in the middle of a hot take civil war in The Queen City.
Now you may ask what topic could possibly divide a fanbase that has suffered their way through near historic ineptitude before order achieving their current contender status? The ones who stuck together through years of Akili Smith, botched drafts, and Andy Dalton playing in any game that didn’t start at 1pm? The fans who got to experience the collective euphoria of a Super Bowl trip just three years ago?
The answer is going to spupris the non locals: It’s Zac Taylor.
Is the 6th year coach the second coming of Paul Brown, or should the guy be on the hot seat? Is Taylor’s likability and we’ll documented team culture good enough to keep him installed as the play-caller for this high-powered offense, or should we be expecting more from a coach who has Joe Burrow under center?
Well if that debacle of a game last Saturday (after a debacle of a joint practice) against the Chicago Bears showed us anything, I’d say his seat should hotter than washing down your Gold Star with a bottle of Cholula.
Here comes the It doesn’t count, it was just preseason! argument. But preseason is at the crux of the Taylor concerns. For years he’s struggled to properly manage August leading to slow starts and early season holes. It’s not as though Taylor wasn’t active Saturday? Take away the top-two QB and all-world receiving corps, and this is what we got:
- 7-for-15 on third downs
- Three turnovers
- A staggering 123 penalty yards
- 226 total yards
Preseason or no, an NFL team should probably never struggle to out-gain their penalty yardage by 100. But lest you think issues with Taylor revolve entirely around a game in August, let’s continue.
Its still hard to believe Joe Burrow started last season after his calf kept him out of training camp and the preseason. Taylor had a capable quarterback sitting right there in Jake Browning, who more than proved himself later that year… once Burrow’s season finally (and predictably) succumbed to the injury bug.
Sure, you want to put your star quarterback on the field for as many games as possible. But putting a hobbled Burrow on the field in Week 1 instead of prioritizing his health for the end of the season was malpractice. The damage Burrow took when he was already a liability was insane!
Week 4’s game against the Tennessee Titans was like watching a horror film where Taylor brings Burrow on a weekend trip to You Will Be Murdered Island. I’m still shocked it didn’t end as a repeat of the Andrew Luck situation. Their 1-3 start also showed the complete lack of upside in playing a limited Burrow. Couldn’t Browning have done that? Why expose Burrow to such a beating for nothing?
Look, I’ve played fantasy football for a decade, with one third-place finish on my resume. I can’t be the only person who saw this coming.
To continue the airing of grievances, the inconsistencies of his play-calling last year were indeed a problem. And hey, sometimes it’s good. I know this because my Taylor Truther friends flood my text messages whenever he calls a good game.
That’s not nearly the positive they believe it is.
Think about it: How many other times in your life have you felt the need to point out to another fan that the coach called a good game? As a lifelong Bengals fan, I can tell you that no one has ever put on a newsboy cap, stood outside my house, and yelled, “Extr-ay! Extr-ay! Hue Jackson made solid calls Sunday!”
But the Taylor fans in my life? They watch every week with their phone in hand, hitting Send on those texts at any sign of the slightest bit of success. Oh, weird? The coach called a good play? Guess what? That’s their job! Kansas City Chiefs fans don’t have to constantly reassure each other that Andy Reid calls good plays, and Los Angeles Rams fans aren’t spiking footballs in their house whenever Sean McVay schemes the team into a first job. That’s just the stuff they do. Routinely! It’s not a big deal!
Taylor gets some play-calling Ws, but those dubs turn to duds the second the Bengals have a 4th-and-1. They have momentum, they just need a yard, and yet Taylor draws up the cutest flea flicker, reverse, end-around, full back-option play you’ve ever seen. The teams that seem to tell their quarterbacks “Fall forward three feet” tend to have a better success rate. Maybe the Bengals don’t need to reinvent the wheel for these, but Taylor can’t help himself.
I don’t want to be unfair, or bury the guy completely. Taylor has positive qualities — there’s a reason he should just be on the hot seat instead of gone. He’s won over the locker room, and getting that buy-in from players is neither easy or a small thing. The players like him and respect him. He can manage people well.
Taylor just needs to lean into those strengths instead of trying to prove he’s a Reid/McVay/Mike McDaniel-style offensive guru. Sometimes it’s just better to help shape the scheme, hire a qualified offensive coordinator, and let them call the plays. There’s no shame in that!
But instead, the offensive coordinator position in the Bengals could be filled by a one-time third-place fantasy football finisher (email me for my rates). No shade to Dan Pitcher, who works hard in the role that he’s given, but when Taylor is calling the plays and Burrow is throwing to all those weapons… The Bobs from Office Space might have a question or two to ask about the gig, that’s all I’m saying.
On paper, this offense runs itself. Cincinnati has arguably the best wide receiver trio in the NFL. By consensus, Burrow is one “Patrick Mahomes Pulling A Barry Sanders” away from being the consensus best quarterback in the NFL. They had a consistent 1,000-yard running back in Joe Mixon. That’s gotta be one of the best offenses in the NFL on a consistent basis, right?
Wrong. The Bengals have been a top-five offense in the NFL zero times during the Joe Burrow Era. Not in yards per game. Not in points per game. ZERO. Ryan Tannehill’s Titans have more top-five finishes than Burrow’s Bengals. We’re in a Super Bowl or Bust era, entirely because of the explosive passing attack, but it can’t put together a dominant regular season? How is that even possible? Make it make sense.
Culture is awesome, but if culture is the only answer for why Taylor’s status should be rock-solid entering a critical season, we’re in need of a better answer. I know that this is the Bengals, and I remember how long Mike Brown kept Marvin Lewis around without winning a single playoff game. By that logic, Taylor getting to the Big Game should mean he’ll be coach until he’s 95. But that’s not the logic winning franchises operate under. Taylor has to get this franchise to the next level to justify leading this team long-term.
I hope he does, and I hope in February, I’m chowing down on a delicious crow. Taylor has a real shot at making my grievances look very silly. But he has a lot to prove before that happens, and I’m begging the Queen City to be realistic about that.
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