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Ja’Marr Chase choice made Bengals ‘more explosive’: Zac Taylor


doitny

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good read for all those who want an OL in the 1st rd. there might not be any Chases this year but there are some WRs who can be very good and be a great help to Zack. 

do what the winners do, not what losers do.

Ja’Marr Chase choice made Bengals ‘more explosive’: Zac Taylor

Every thud, crunch and boom caused by the nine sacks of Joe Burrow during his second career playoff game fueled the skeptics. 

How could the Bengals have passed on drafting protection for their franchise quarterback in favor of a wide receiver? But the last sound heard was laughter, when a still-standing Burrow connected on a perfectly timed 19-yard throw to Ja’Marr Chase, setting up a field goal as time expired, knocking the AFC’s No. 1-seeded Titans out of the playoffs, and proving, for about the 100th time, that the Bengals’ controversial decision was correct. 

Of the countless personnel decisions over two years that helped the Bengals go from two-win doormats to Super Bowl LVI participant, one of the boldest and most important was bucking traditional draft thinking to select Chase — Burrow’s former teammate at LSU — over left tackle Penei Sewell with the No. 5 pick. Burrow’s 2020 rookie season, behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines, was cut short by a torn ACL.

“We think that when we have the weapons that we now have, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense, takes a lot of pressure off of Joe,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “You are able to get the ball out [of his hand] faster because guys can win [matchups] quicker because you have playmakers. It’s allowed us to be more explosive, score more points, put more pressure on the defense — and it’s allowed us to get to the Super Bowl, as well.” 

The Bengals correctly predicted they would be able to choose from at least two of the top three non-quarterbacks available last April: Tight end Kyle Pitts, Chase and Sewell. The first three picks were quarterbacks, before the Falcons opted for Pitts over a quarterback. 

Director of player personnel Duke Tobin sought out Burrow’s feedback on possible picks whenever the quarterback was in the facility rehabbing, just in case this situation arose. Both Chase and Sewell were 2019 First-Team All-Americans who opted out of their final collegiate season due to COVID-19. Burrow’s familiarity with Chase presented one fewer unknown scouting variable. 

“I didn’t go in and say, ‘I’d love to have JaMarr,’ ” Burrow said. “I think the organization did a really good job of making me feel like I was at least kept in the loop about the process. As quarterbacks across the league, you see some guys getting frustrated, and I think all we want is to have a line of communication in those processes.” 

Despite having receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd in place, the Bengals went with Chase, who set the NFL rookie record with 1,455 receiving yards on 81 receptions, 13 of which went for touchdowns. All three receivers are age 27 or younger and have had 1,000-yard seasons. 

“Our biggest philosophy is we want guys who can score touchdowns because you have to score points to win in today’s NFL,” offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “Quarterbacks have to have guys who can separate on all levels of the defense. We have three guys who can do that.” 

Here is where Peyton Manning comes in. OK, not actually Manning. But Callahan, who was an offensive assistant for the Broncos when Manning won an MVP and later won a Super Bowl. So, what if he also is the son of highly regarded offensive line coach Bill Callahan? 

“It really goes back to a simple story that really drove it home for all of us: Brian’s experience in Denver,” Taylor said. “They had three guys, including tight ends, who were difficult 1-on-1 matchups. In key moments in playoff games, they would get man-to-man coverage, and Peyton would pick the one who has the best matchup and trust that he was going to win.” 

Sewell slipped to the Lions (No. 7) and had a fine rookie season, allowing five sacks on 644 pass-blocking snaps as the No. 23-ranked tackle in the league by Pro Football Focus. He erased early-season struggles at left tackle by finishing strong at right tackle, though it still looks like a mistake to draft Sewell over left tackle Rashawn Slater, who was taken No. 13 by the Chargers and was named a First-Team All-Pro. 

The Bengals survived on the offensive line by sticking with left tackle Jonah Williams and center Trey Hopkins, signing veteran right tackle Riley Reiff to replace Bobby Hart, elevating left guard Quinton Spain to starter and creating a three-man revolving door, led by second-round rookie Jackson Carman at left guard. Chase is the favorite to be named Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

“For me personally, I don’t need to feel like I made the decision,” Burrow said. “You could go with my opinion or go without my opinion. It doesn’t matter to me as long as I feel like I’m involved in the process.”

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A young QB NEEDS big weapons.  More than most realize. 
 

So import for first reads to get open.  Takes so much pressure off QB’s.  Especially the young ones.  Frankly when first reads get open the OL isn’t all that important.  
Get a couple of big time weapons and you’ll see the O And QB transform into special.  

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1 hour ago, Zachtomims47 said:


I know right, don’t protect your QB!

Will Ferrell Loser GIF

you cant protect your QB. nobody can.

Matt Ryan behind three 1st rd picks got hit the most at 84.  and i keep hearing how Indy has such a great line and Wentz was 2nd with 75 hits. Josh Allen got hit 64 times. that was 4th in the league.

Dak got blitzed the most at 187. then it was Allen 182, MAC 181, and TB 12 at 176.

there coming for your QB and nobody can stop them. but yet there sack numbers are avg. thats cause there getting rid of the ball and have WRs who get open.

i know the knee jerk reaction to Zack getting a sack or getting pressure is that it was the Lines fault. but most of the time it was Zachs fault for holding it too long and the WRs for not getting open.

i like how in the article they say that you need to score points to win in this league. thats why they went for the WR over the OL. good saying.

 

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15 minutes ago, KarlaftisFan said:

This article makes me depressed.

I like AVT but Slater went one pick ahead of him. That dude might be the best OL in the league. 

No big difference between the best and one of the top OL in the league. 

Get over it. If we traded up for Slater maybe we don’t  have Moore or Carter.

We did well here.  

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1 hour ago, Joe W. Namath said:

Cincy picked a guard in the 2nd round.  We are going to take oline at 4 and a wr at 10.

Whats the difference?

because at 4 you can come up with a stud difference maker. you have an entire draft to pick from. 

did you read the article? i guess you would have drafted Sewell over Chase. 

whats the difference right?

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4 minutes ago, Larz said:

Joe Brrrrr has been getting the ball out and taking hits all year. The rams pass rush is nuts. Interesting to see if the script gets flipped on this one after the game 

Also agree with this. When/if the Rams blow out the Bengals and it looks like the Chiefs loss last year (QB running for this life) the narrative will shift quickly -- "doesn't matter how good your weaponz are if the QB is running for his life!!!!"

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10 hours ago, FidelioJet said:

I was told sacks are the QB’s fault.  

They often are and Burrow took some AWFUL sacks losing huge yardage against the Titans that were totally his fault.

In general I thought it was weird how much that narrative was buried by the media -- he had some absolute head scratchers where he lost like 18 yards and took them out of field position.

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Chase was 100% the correct pick.  Sure their O-line needs some help, but you can’t fix every hole in one season.  The Bengals have almost $60M in cap space and a deep OT draft class to address the O-line.  Given the trajectory of the team and Joey B at QB, they are an attractive destination for free agents.  

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8 hours ago, LockeJET said:

This draft sucks!! Last year had blue chippers past the top 10. Imagine this coming draft we came away with Chase and Parsons. 

It’s not that it sucks. There are plenty of good OL and DL that the Jets need. At least the options look better than 2019 when it was Quinnen Williams, Ed Oliver, and Josh Allen. 

The issue is that there is no Jamarr Chase, Devonta Smith, or Kyle Pitts available on offense which is probably what they want. 

Also there isn’t a lot of hype around these QBs which (much like 2019) makes trading out tough. 

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10 hours ago, doitny said:

you cant protect your QB. nobody can.

Matt Ryan behind three 1st rd picks got hit the most at 84.  and i keep hearing how Indy has such a great line and Wentz was 2nd with 75 hits. Josh Allen got hit 64 times. that was 4th in the league.

Dak got blitzed the most at 187. then it was Allen 182, MAC 181, and TB 12 at 176.

there coming for your QB and nobody can stop them. but yet there sack numbers are avg. thats cause there getting rid of the ball and have WRs who get open.

i know the knee jerk reaction to Zack getting a sack or getting pressure is that it was the Lines fault. but most of the time it was Zachs fault for holding it too long and the WRs for not getting open.

i like how in the article they say that you need to score points to win in this league. thats why they went for the WR over the OL. good saying.

 

Or the fast pressure/sack not being on the OL outright. Plenty of posts here of Wilson not recognizing a free blitzer and going through with the play, unchanged, anyway; or a back or TE not doing an effective-enough job blocking (or blocking an adjacent area that didn’t include said free blitzer). 

The knee-jerk reaction is that all sacks/pressures are on the OL, and at other times that it was on the OL as a whole instead of an individual weak link (e.g. 3rd string left tackle, subpar starting RG, rookie LG). The Jets didn’t go empty backfield with 5 WRs on every sack/pressure play. Not by a long shot.

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12 hours ago, Beerfish said:

Burrow got sacked 9 times in a playoff game, I'm calling that he will get killed by the rams  in the super bowl.

The Chase pick was the one to make but it should have been a hard decision and not a no brainer.

So have a lot of people. Its the biggest question of the game, can he be protected enough to win the game

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9 hours ago, doitny said:

because at 4 you can come up with a stud difference maker. you have an entire draft to pick from. 

did you read the article? i guess you would have drafted Sewell over Chase. 

whats the difference right?

Jets are not faced with that type of decision. There’s no top WR like that. If there was, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be that much of a debate. 
 

We’re acting like Chase is the first ever WR to be picked in the first round and now it’s a must thing to do since they’re in the super bowl. Jerry Juedy didn’t turn Drew Lock into an MVP. It’s not so cut and dry sometimes. 

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13 hours ago, GreenFish said:

Many fans on this board would have gone with Sewell.

There were people saying that he was the only good OL in the draft, but AVT at #14 looks like the better pick. A RT that high is a failed pick. 

 

1 hour ago, UntouchableCrew said:

That's true but first round WRs have a pretty high bust rate. Jamar Chase types -- who profile elite and hit as elite -- are actually super rare.

This used to be the case but, as college offenses have become more wide open, the WRs coming into the league are much more polished. Seems like there are new star rookie WRs very year. 

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4 minutes ago, slats said:

There were people saying that he was the only good OL in the draft, but AVT at #14 looks like the better pick. A RT that high is a failed pick. 

 

This used to be the case but, as college offenses have become more wide open, the WRs coming into the league are much more polished. Seems like there are new star rookie WRs very year. 

There was a few people that thought Sewell was being a bit overhyped and he wasn't the no brainer top lineman in the draft and once in a generation talent.......media hype and coverage plays a huge role in peoples opinions let's hope a few of these platers start getting hyped up so we can trade out of 4.

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15 minutes ago, slats said:

This used to be the case but, as college offenses have become more wide open, the WRs coming into the league are much more polished. Seems like there are new star rookie WRs very year. 

Your statement is true but it's not refuting my point which is that there's a high bust rate on these guys which makes them risky -- not to mention the majority of elite WRs in the NFL came after the first round.

It's true that every year you have a Chase or a Jefferson. That said, look at all the other 1st round picks from the last few years -- you have a lot of Henry Ruggs and Jalen Reagors. How much better are Devonta Smith or Jaylen Waddle than Elijah Moore?

I'm in favor of taking a WR at 10 but it's absolutely a position that doesn't require a first round pick.

I understand not wanting to sink more assets into OL -- but I'm definitely a believer that a top tier OL raises the water level for the offense.

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1 hour ago, UntouchableCrew said:

Also agree with this. When/if the Rams blow out the Bengals and it looks like the Chiefs loss last year (QB running for this life) the narrative will shift quickly -- "doesn't matter how good your weaponz are if the QB is running for his life!!!!"

why would it change anything. they still got to the SB. they could have easily said we have Higgins and Boyd and dont need another WR and picked Sewell and not make it there.

of course he will be running for his life, the Rams have Darnold.

1 hour ago, UntouchableCrew said:

That's true but first round WRs have a pretty high bust rate. Jamar Chase types -- who profile elite and hit as elite -- are actually super rare.

i dont think they needed a super guy like Chase. just adding another top flight WR was enough to gives defense headaches. now there's 3 really good WRs to deal with. nobody is staying up late at night to try to figure out how to get past an OL. 

 

35 minutes ago, Zachtomims47 said:

Jets are not faced with that type of decision. There’s no top WR like that. If there was, I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be that much of a debate. 
 

We’re acting like Chase is the first ever WR to be picked in the first round and now it’s a must thing to do since they’re in the super bowl. Jerry Juedy didn’t turn Drew Lock into an MVP. It’s not so cut and dry sometimes. 

whatever WR is at the top of this draft is better than what we got.

i think this article is also about how picking an OL that early doesnt move the needle. Waddle, Parsons, Devonta Smith, even Surtain had 4 INTs. any one of them give them a better chance to with then an OL.

as i said in an above post, EVERYBODY is getting sacked, pressured and hit. so wasting a 1st rd pick on a OL is stupid. doing it 3 years in a row in outrageous.

so lets not act like getting a WR in rd 1 is the thing to do since that got Cincy to the SB, but lets act like we need to draft an OL in the 1st rd three yrs in a row that have NEVER worked is the thing to do.

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