Ask columnist Jason Williams anything − sports or non-sports – and he’ll pick some of your questions and comments from his inbox and respond on Cincinnati.com. Email: jwilliams@enquirer.com
Subject: Will Cincinnati Bengals coach Zac Taylor change?
Message: Zac Taylor is incapable of doing anything differently nor (is) the Brown (family), who are happy with their team generating millions.
Reply: The inbox has been flooded this week about Taylor's future, and I am choosing this as one of the more tame messages.
First, Taylor deserves the opportunity to see if he's willing to change. That may sound silly, considering Taylor is in his eighth season in Cincinnati. But the pressure for Taylor to win has never been greater than this season. And the Oct. 4 loss to Jacksonville may have been the most obvious example
since Taylor first came to Cincinnati in 2019 that he must change – or else this Bengals team is going to massively underachieve and he'll be out of a job.
Secondly, it's no longer fair to say owner Mike Brown and his family aren't capable of doing things differently.Ownership invested $125 million in the defense last offseason. They traded a top-10 draft pick for the first time in franchise history to land Pro Bowler Dexter Lawrence. The Bengals brought in Super Bowl champions Bryan Cook and Boye Mafe.
As such, the Jacksonville loss fully exposed that there are no more scapegoats. And it really exposed that the Bengals' offense hasn't changed much, if at all, since quarterback Joe Burrow arrived in 2020.
All eyes are fully trained on Taylor.
The Bengals can no longer solely blame a crappy defense for their problems. It was decent enough against the Jaguars. Burrow threw for 428 yards, more than any other quarterback in Week 4.
Burrow chucking it all over the place and an average defense was supposed to be the recipe for lots of victories this season. Turns out, it takes a balanced offense – and this is where Taylor has failed. He calls the plays, as he's done since Day 1 with the Bengals. Cincinnati, which ran for just 23 yards last weekend, ranks next-to-last in the NFL in rushing.
It seems like that could be an easy fix. Just game plan more carries for Chase Brown, who had only 10 yards on nine attempts. He's not an every-down back, but he's an explosive player that can add versatility to the offense by running the ball 15 or so times a game.
But it's complicated. Very complicated.
For one, Sunday's game raised questions about who is really in charge of the offense. Taylor said he doesn't want to run for 23 yards. But Burrow seems fine with it. His response to Enquirer reporter Kelsey Conway's question about the low the rushing total remains dumbfounding.
"My response to that would be, 'Let's throw it more,' " Burrow said.
Major red flag. Are Taylor and Burrow trending toward butting heads? Does Burrow have too much power? Is Taylor willing to stand up to the greatest quarterback in franchise history? All questions worth raising, but it's not fair to try to answer them right now. Taylor and Burrow both deserve the opportunity to show they can change and get on the same page.
There are other reasons to be concerned about whether the offense can quickly evolve, including:
∎ The Bengals' roster isn't built to run the ball. They do not have a workhorse running back like Kansas City does in Kenneth Walker and Buffalo does in James Cook.
∎ The scheme and culture are entirely built around passing. Even with a concerted effort, a team probably can't change that overnight or in one week – or maybe not even in a season.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati Bengals may not be able to change offense | Williams
