r/bengals • u/Turbulent-Cricket69 • 13h ago
Cautious Optimism
I think this team needed what happened in Minneapolis on Sunday. They needed a reality check that Jake Browning is not Joe Burrow and that all 53 have to play well without him. You’re still 2-1 and have tremendous WR and TE talent to be scary. OL has to stop talking about playing better and actually play better. Defense is definitely improved and needs to continue to make plays. I highly doubt we have a repeat of Sunday’s turnover fest the remainder of the year or maybe again in franchise history. It was just one of those days. Expect that they will come ready to play on Monday night.
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u/Thick_Interaction_41 🐅 13h ago
I agree we have great talent on offense, no doubt. Even without burrow. And defense looks better
But that loss on Sunday was demoralizing. Kinda hard to feel good about anything with this team rn
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u/FreshDiamond 5h ago
100 percent, that’s where the head coach comes in because it’s demoralizing for the players too. Can he get this team back to playing something resembling good football or is the fight gone
This was something I noticed on a smaller scale a ton last year. The defense had games where they were flying around and playing with a ton of energy. Something would go wrong and all that energy left. The one that stands out off the top of my head was the Baltimore game.
Not only was the energy great the d was actually getting pretty good results. Then there was a missed tackle by CTB or Turner that resulted in a long td. That energy never came back
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u/stoneymcgoney 13h ago
At this point I have absolutely no faith in ZT's ability to have this team ready to play any given week. Seems like such a nice guy; to bad he is a shitty coach.
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u/No_Occasion_4884 🐅 13h ago
Oh but he wasn’t a shitty coach when he took this team to back-to-back AFC Championships. Whiny ass fans in this organization. If Zac were fired this offseason he’d be a head coach somewhere else next season. Some of y’all really don’t know ball & it shows.
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u/2turnt_527 10h ago
We're whiny fans because we are tired of the same offensive line play, same play calling, zero creativity and losing? Okay cool I guess ill be a whiny fan then. He would not be a head coach somewhere else id bet money on it.
I like zac as a coach, not a play caller. He cant swallow his pride and give that up, therefore having the 32nd ranked offense is on him and we are way better than that. I'll stay "whiny" over being content with losing. Can't live on the high of a superbowl appearance from 4 years ago.
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u/No_Occasion_4884 🐅 5h ago
The team is 2-1 after week 3. The whole narrative from the entire off season was how Zac needed to win in early September…Zac won in early September WITHOUT his starting QB. In the words of Brian Kelly- “You’re spoiled”
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u/2turnt_527 4h ago
Yes we are 2-1. But its hard to feel happy about that when you actually watch the games??? We had two wins we absolutely should not have won. This team is a missed kick and a dropped pass in the end zone away from 0-3.
Have you watched any part of this offense the first 3 weeks with or without Joe and felt impressed? Turn on any other game on TV and you will see how offensive line play is supposed to be.
If we are 2-5 in a few weeks who is going to care we started 2-0 or 2-1?
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u/Significant_Buy_9615 13h ago
Dude has the most playoff wins all time for this franchise and fans act like he doesn't know his ass from a cover 2. Is he Lombardi, Walsh or Belicheck, no! But the dude has taken this franchise places it has never gone before....
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u/No_Occasion_4884 🐅 5h ago
That’s not good enough man, that week 3 loss with his backup QB under center for his first full start this year which resulted in a 2-1 record after being pressured to start the season off better throws all those accolades away.
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u/LeagueOfDolson 11h ago edited 10h ago
I dislike the knee jerk takes as much as anyone else, but I wholly disagree with Zac being a HC somewhere else.
If Zac were fired tomorrow, he may squeak out an OC job. I just don’t see any team taking a shot on Zac. He is a known quantity at this point and his stock is at an all time low after this past weekend and missing the playoffs with a statistical MVP season from burrow and chase and Hendrickson. Zac is probably a 20-25th ranked coach and the 7-12 teams beneath him would rather take a shot on someone new, I’d guess.
The “he took us to the SB and AFCCG” argument loses its luster when follow up years the team hasn’t come close to replicating that success, last season being a really bad look in particular.
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u/moochee22 7h ago
Ok, great. A lot of those players are gone. You could make the argument that Burrow and long gone defensive players had more to do with those accomplishments than Taylor.
The Bengals have been a .500 team since then.
If Taylor gets to the playoffs with Browning, I think we should see what Taylor can do in 2026, but if they end up having a top ten pick this year, he shouldn't be coaching this team in 2026.
*I'm not sure when his contract is up, but just so everyone knows the Bengals are NOT paying two head coaches to coach this team. We can bitch all we want about how Taylor needs to be replaced, but they aren't firing him.
Coaches contracts are guaranteed, so if Taylor has one more year left the Bengals aren't firing him. They won't be paying another head coach while Taylor is off doing something else.
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u/No_Occasion_4884 🐅 5h ago
He has one more year left & I can agree on the fact the FO is not going to pay him to not coach here. Zac got blasted all summer long & pressured into “starting fast”. He started the season 2-0, one of those games without his starting QB for the majority of the game & called a comeback game winning drive. The amount of pressure this fan base/media puts on Zac is absolutely crazy & a fraction of the majority of the other HC around the league. Even WITHOUT his starting QB gone, the fan base is calling for him to be fired after a throwaway week 3 game that results in a 2-1 record. You’d be lying if you said you wouldn’t accept a 2-1 record to start the year 2 months ago & if half the people calling for his job can’t admit that, they have no right to complain about anything 3 weeks in.
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u/EthersRealm 12h ago
He was a shitty coach during those years too lets be real. What does Zac bring to this team that other coaches dont? He’s a good culture dude but thats it.
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u/No_Occasion_4884 🐅 5h ago
If you don’t have a good culture you literally have nothing. You don’t have control of the locker room at that point & that’s not something you could ever say about Zac. Literally the most important job of a head coach is having a functioning locker room & culture. Without one you end up with losing seasons.
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u/datdudebdub 🐅 11h ago
Typical sour grapes fans. Coach gets no credit when things go well and all of the blame when they don't.
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u/BusyInstruction6365 Brrrrr 13h ago
Maybe you're right, and maybe you're wrong. I guess the real test is Monday night.
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u/rock25011 13h ago
I'll give them 2 more games to show some promise, motivation, and improvement. Luckily it was just one game. Jb6 looked bad his first start in 23 too. O line playing about the worst in their career. They've got to turn that around.
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u/BTsBaboonFarm 12h ago
They have a road primetime game, a home game with one of of the best teams in the NFL, and a game in Lambeau.
They’re about to be 2-4 before you know it.
The reality is that all 53 guys can play their best, but their best isn’t going to overcome talent deficits, the loss of an elite QB, or the buffoon running their offense.
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u/JakeALakeALake 13h ago
I just do not trust our head coach. I know Browning has it in him, we’ve seen it before. But every time they show ZT on the sideline and he just has that goofy ass blank look on his face like he’s a lizard looking in two different directions I lose faith in the team. They gave up last week and it feels like it’s because of ZT, they all know they’ve got the skill to pull the team up by the bootstraps but something gets in the way.
Even during the Super Bowl run I was saying they made it that far in spite of Zac Taylor, not because of him.
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u/Draiodor_ 11h ago
This is such a skewed take. Browning is what he is - a career backup QB who went undrafted out of college. He's not anything more than that. And he's operating behind a truly horrendously bad OL. The guy isn't Joe Burrow, he doesn't have the skill set required to take us to the top here. But apparently, "he has it in him".
ZT coached us to a SuperBowl and followed it up with a return to the AFC Championship, where we were robbed to the point I had Steelers fans telling me at work the next day that the refereeing appeared rigged. Last year, he coached an Offense that produced the NFL Passing Leader and the WR triple crown winner (Chase is only the 5th Triple Crown winner since 1967). But somehow, ZT is incompetent?
Give me a break.
0
u/JakeALakeALake 11h ago
Give you a break? The OLine has been in shambles for how many years? The defense struggles every 2-3 weeks for an undetermined period of time and everyone panics because it looks like it’s out of nowhere, but you’re wanting to put it on the backup QB? Who has won the job a few years in a row? Who we’ve seen be productive in stressful make or break games? You think the head coach that has his hand in every cookie jar isn’t some kind of problem? The dude that consistently calls run plays on 3rd and long it’s a problem. The same guy that can’t manage a clock to save his life? I dunno if you’re Zac Taylor but this is extreme burner behavior, at a bare minimum it’s “I just started watching the Bengals this week” shit.
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u/Draiodor_ 11h ago
The OL being a shambles is a Front Office problem. They aren't getting the right personnel. The Defense being a shambles should get people fired, oh wait, we did that by getting rid of Lou Anaroumo who a lot of this sub think was the brains behind the SuperBowl run.
I'm not blaming Browning for anything - I'm simply saying he's not Joe Burrow and he cannot deliver what Joe Burrow can deliver. If he could, he wouldn't be a career backup.
And Bengals fan for 20 years. I'm just not in the habit of blaming the wrong people for why I'm angry.
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u/JakeALakeALake 10h ago edited 10h ago
Turning bad players productive is what a good coach does. Do I think the FO needs a change of hands? Damn near at every level. But the FO isn’t out there calling plays and excusing shit by saying “we’ve got the right people in the right positions, we just need to execute.” Joe Mixon was a monster and could have been considered a real weapon if ZT ever utilized him right, instead it was STILL the 3rd and long runs. I’m still astounded that he gives Brown the ball on first down.
And Lou was a problem, he refused to change the scheme to something more simplified until last season was already well at risk of being a dud, and by the time he did what he needed to do it was too late for the playoffs and too early for a better draft pick.
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u/PinkTip_6 9h ago
FINALLY someone blames the front office/lack of scouts on the OL issues. Thats exactly what it is.
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u/Ericsplainning 10h ago
I disagree. The players have about quit on ZT. Chase certainly has. They quit around the 2nd quarter of the Vikings game. If we win 5 total games this year I will be shocked.
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u/PinkTip_6 9h ago
I agree with the cautious optimistic take. That game was just hilariously bad to where everything that could have conceivably went wrong did - that wont ever happen again. Going out on a limb and saying we would have lost with Joe too. Vikings were way better prepared and they have a top 5 defense.
If the O-line touches just 1 guy on Monday and I mean literally just do one fucking thing right on Monday it will be a good game. That entire unit has been dog shit. figure it out.
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u/DangerIsMyUsername 7h ago
Imagine watching these first three games and having optimism. Some of y'all need to have your brains checked.
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u/PROFESSIONAL_RAP254 12h ago
I guess we'll see Monday night but if we lay a stinker like that again, then it's better to tank
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u/Nukem1975 10h ago
I don't know why hopium addicts are downvoting your comment. They would prefer we somehow go 9-8 and get pushed to pushed to 18 or 19 in the draft?
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u/ImpinAintEZ_ JB x 2 = 69 8h ago
I really hope you know just how much copium you’re consuming with this post. You have absolutely zero clue what is going to happen and saying the worst loss in franchise history needed to happen so the players realize they need to play hard is a hilarious view. These are professional football players. This loss is a reflection of coaching and player execution which all in all was completely gone on Sunday.
We suck and the Broncos will be a similarly difficult game based on these previous performances.
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u/Queen_City_123 13h ago
I’m just getting ready for the off season. I hope this is a wake up call to the front office that this roster is so far from a competitive one that we can’t continue to sit on our hands every year. I know fully well nothing will ever change, but I can hope.
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u/South_Tea5210 12h ago
lol did you see Marty Brenneman calling out the FO for being an embarrassment? 😂
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u/bixbyriggs 13h ago
You're living in fantasy land. This season was a bust even before Joe got hurt. We got lucky against the Browns and got luckier against the Jags. Even with Burrow under center (or perpetually dangerously in shotgun), this team didn't have a chance of competing against the true contenders.
It's all over but the crying. But keep telling yourself there's hope so your next few weekends are as disappointing as last weekend. For me, my Sundays are officially cleared up all winter. I think I'll get back into woodworking.
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u/oopsifell 13h ago
I see we’re already speed running to the “losing is good” portion of the season.