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It’s not much of a secret the Cincinnati Bengals will change things up on offense next year.
Those Bengals return a bulk of the same weapons around Joe Burrow. They even return the same starting five offensive linemen of the Burrow era, too.
But the approach needs to change as defenses adapt on a year-to-year basis.
For the Bengals and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, that means getting back to more under-center books.
In a recent breakdown, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. wrote that Pitcher and Co. want to influence what defenses can do against them on a weekly basis. Burrow concurs, noting the shifts in defenses they saw over the last few years.
“And then around 2024, we got so good at just picking people apart underneath and just marching the ball down the field that we started getting some more of the 2021 defenses,” Burrow told Dehner. “So now we have to get back to making people pay for playing that way against us. That will, in turn, then create that cycle again where we’re explosive, and teams play a certain kind of defense. And then we’ll be better equipped this time to be more explosive in the run game to try to take advantage of that.”
The brief summary? The Bengals were torching defenses underneath for a few years and just picking them apart up and down the field. Since, the NFL has adjusted, blatantly leaving more under-center and play action looks likelier to succeed.
Outsiders have been asking the Bengals to implement more under-center looks for a few years now. But Burrow injuries and other factors played a role in the lag. Getting Joe Flacco in there last year and seeing how it worked with the crop of weapons, though, sure feels like it was proof of concept.
A balance will be a must, but the Bengals needed to evolve on Burrow’s side of the ball. This offseason, it feels more significant than year’s past when asked, at least, which is a start.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals, Joe Burrow hunting for long-requested offensive change
Continue reading...
Those Bengals return a bulk of the same weapons around Joe Burrow. They even return the same starting five offensive linemen of the Burrow era, too.
But the approach needs to change as defenses adapt on a year-to-year basis.
For the Bengals and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, that means getting back to more under-center books.
In a recent breakdown, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. wrote that Pitcher and Co. want to influence what defenses can do against them on a weekly basis. Burrow concurs, noting the shifts in defenses they saw over the last few years.
“And then around 2024, we got so good at just picking people apart underneath and just marching the ball down the field that we started getting some more of the 2021 defenses,” Burrow told Dehner. “So now we have to get back to making people pay for playing that way against us. That will, in turn, then create that cycle again where we’re explosive, and teams play a certain kind of defense. And then we’ll be better equipped this time to be more explosive in the run game to try to take advantage of that.”
The brief summary? The Bengals were torching defenses underneath for a few years and just picking them apart up and down the field. Since, the NFL has adjusted, blatantly leaving more under-center and play action looks likelier to succeed.
Outsiders have been asking the Bengals to implement more under-center looks for a few years now. But Burrow injuries and other factors played a role in the lag. Getting Joe Flacco in there last year and seeing how it worked with the crop of weapons, though, sure feels like it was proof of concept.
A balance will be a must, but the Bengals needed to evolve on Burrow’s side of the ball. This offseason, it feels more significant than year’s past when asked, at least, which is a start.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals, Joe Burrow hunting for long-requested offensive change
Continue reading...
