Interesting Burrow Comments...

[Soonerpeace]

(06-13-2025, 02:15 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I still don't like the passive mentality and/or "take what the defense gives you". 

There's a fine line between being aggressive and stupidity, that doesn't mean you can't go into a game looking to put pressure on a defense--dictate the flow of a game--which in turn puts pressure on the other team's offense. We've seen plenty of times how they can open it up and score in bunches and we've seen too many times where they get in these lulls and go multiple series without scoring, in tight games. 

At least part of the reason for some of these tight games is because you're playing too conservative and just trying to 'keep it close', from the beginning. 

Reacting to what the defense gives you is just too passive a mentality, imo and one i've never liked. I have no problem going down swinging but i do have a problem with 'stay close and try to close late', and failing. Hindsight is 20/20 but i'm more than willing to live with aggressive mistakes. It's a failure on the FO if you haven't built a team that can run the ball with a late lead, something the Bengals have been very inconsistent with in the Zac era, hell, even before that. 

Of course, all this is fan opinion and varies from person to person. I just don't have a passive personality so i'm not a fan of it. 

Paul Dehner “The Bengals’ scheme must find ways to help the offensive line. That could come through a higher rate of pullers in protection, which produced many successful shot plays for the Bengals last season and higher efficiency metrics. It could mean a higher rate of play action to marry the run and pass.”

“ Brown ranked fifth in the NFL in scrimmage yards from Week 9 to Week 17, Pitcher dreams up what a full season of tapping into Brown’s explosive skill on the ground, in checkdowns and off-script can mean for taking another step.

“Now, we’ve got a guy,” Pitcher said. “He’s a top-10 back.”

Brown will again work with receiving specialist Drew Lieberman this offseason, a decision that fueled his jump in 2024. He sees his growth as a running back differently, which is partially why there is so much enthusiasm about his future in this offense, which, as the most pass-heavy in the NFL, is built differently than the majority of other teams.

“I can see the running back position turning more into a receiver back position,” Brown said. “You see CeeDee (Lamb), Deebo (Samuel), these guys taking run plays. Even Ja’Marr. I need to keep my game as versatile as possible so I can be trusted like a chess piece. If you need me to catch, I can. You want me on third down to protect Joe, I can. You want me to run trap, you want me to run power, I can. You want me to run zone, I can do all of that.”

And the plan is to have him do all of that.” That’s where Pitcher has felt the most new responsibility. With the departure of offensive line coach and run game coordinator Frank Pollack, he assumed and delegated the run game responsibilities across his staff. They didn’t throw out the offense put together last year, but there’s a realization of a dramatic room for improvement, specifically considering the high amounts of light boxes they face with the threat of Burrow and these receivers.

“We are going to be a little more downhill this year,” Brown said.

Pitcher stresses they didn’t reinvent the wheel in the running game, but they made tweaks to a solid foundation. Different people created different processes.

“I think what Pitch has done an exceptional job of is giving ownership to all the other position coaches and assistant position coaches, and getting them something specifically for them to come in and present in front of the unit,” Taylor said. “What it reiterates for me is when I see our coaches get out there and present. We have an outstanding group of coaches. Future coordinators and head coaches. These guys knock it out of the park … And that starts with Pitch. He has done a good job setting the tone in that room.”

All of this allows for new ideas in the running game and beyond, built around the continuity of Brown and this personnel.

“Now, it’s just different,” Pitcher said. “We have a lot of guys on staff that have done parts of (building a running game) at different stops in their career and so it’s kind of listening to them, really delving into it myself and trying to come up with something that really kind of complements who we are and what our engine is.”