Welcome to the board.
What are your thoughts, and the general consensus thoughts on your HC from the Cincy fan base?
Is ZT a big game coach? Halftime adjustments? Will he abandon the run if it's not getting chunk yardage early?
Is he aggressive on 4th down?
Thanks.
ZT is a hero now in Cincy to many. He has done what Marvin Lewis couldn't do in 7 tries; actually win in the playoffs. (It's really rather remarkable if you think about it. ML went to the playoffs 7 of 13 years, 4 times winning the division and having a home game, and couldn't win a single one. Not one. I mean, how does that even happen?).
Anyway, ZT is still developing and a lot were losing patience with him until this season. But, he seems to be getting better all the time.
Personally, I love his attitude and demeanor. I think it's perfect for that team, and he expects to win and push for championships.
He was very agressive early this season with going for 4th downs, even deep in his own territory. I liked the aggressiveness at times, but seemed like analytics was getting in his head a bit much and he has since dialed that back and been a little more conservative when the situation calls for it. It's been a smart move and they've been successful, but he will still get aggressive when needed.
He won't abandon the run. They'll keep sticking with it even if it's not getting chunk yardage. Although, he can get predictable with it by going with a 1st down run consistently.
He also sticks with the run often when Cincy is in the red zone (hence many of their red zone struggles in recent weeks). I believe this is due to dialing back Burrow's aggressive "gunslinger" attitude in the red zone. Early this season, Burrow was throwing a lot of risky/aggressive balls that got picked down there, in addition to having sacks because of the OL. I mean, Burrow is still young and hadn't even played a full season yet, so he was still finding out what he could and couldn't get away with in scoring territory (he's developed that quite nicely over the last part of season though). ZT going more conservative in the red zone has allowed Cincy to always "at least get 3" when they have the opportunity (hence Evan MacPherson lighting it up the second half of the season). Mac is great for a rookie, but Cincy is gonna have to get TDs and not settle for FGs often if they want a chance in this game.
Big Game Coach? IDK Man, he is still a young coach that is developing. However, the team always believes they will win, never panics, adjusts scheme nicely when needed, brushes off bad plays with "amnesia", and keeps pushing forward. They are also one of the least penalized teams in the league (maybe THE least, but not sure). That is some excellent coaching IMO. In late December and throughout January the Bengals were in games to clinch the Divsion and advance in the playoffs. Those are some really big games for a team like Cincy, and they prevailed. Want to call that big game coach? Idk, everyone can have their own opinion. But we'll see how it goes in this one.
ZT has also gone to local sports bars after the playoff wins, hung out with the fans, and presented the game balls to the city of Cincinnati (game balls reside in those establishments for all to come and hold it, take pics, etc). He knows what this means to the city and fanbase, and he engages/involves them as part of this experience. I don't know about you, but I think that is some awesome stuff right there!