Bengals: Brian Callahan is both right and wrong regarding offensive adjustments
It's time for the Cincinnati Bengals to try everything in order to prevent their season from going completely off the rails. That would include switching things up offensively to accommodate the physical limitations of an injured Joe Burrow at quarterback. In the words of offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, that's not in the cards. "Just have to […]
It's time for the Cincinnati Bengals to try everything in order to prevent their season from going completely off the rails. That would include switching things up offensively to accommodate the physical limitations of an injured Joe Burrow at quarterback.
In the words of offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, that's not in the cards.
"Just have to execute better," Callahan told reporters Wednesday afternoon. "You just don't roll out a whole new style of offense in a week."
It's possible to be both right and wrong at the same time. Callahan found that exact gray area here.
NFL teams don't stand around and do nothing during the offseason. Most of the Spring and Summer is focused on drilling in their install packages, aka the base foundation of their scheme. The Bengals did that with Burrow from April to July, and then the calf strain occurred.
Burrow wound up missing five weeks worth of practice, reps that would've further hammered down the offense to where it needed to be for the regular season. While he was out, Callahan and the Bengals' coaching brass didn't just throw out their original plans and install with backup QBs Jake Browning and Trevor Siemian running the show.
The plan was to get the same work done so Burrow could come back like nothing ever happened. It's as clear as day that Burrow's injury destroyed this plan.
Since Burrow hasn't been anywhere close to his normal self the last month, the Bengals' offense has suffered dramatically. They are a bottom-five offense by virtually every metric, and their 1-3 record paints their whole team perfectly.
It's also been just four weeks, making wholesale adjustments countering everything that's been installed up to this point very difficult to implement. This is where the truth is found in Callahan's statement.
However, time is running out for this to be a valid reasoning. Standing firm by the current version of Burrow providing the best chance at victory only adds pressure.
Look no further than the offensive evolution the Bengals underwent last year. The first four weeks of the season saw the offense attempt to marry a shotgun-based passing attack with an under-center run game. The results were dysfunctional as defenses keyed in on their clear pre-snap predictability.
Week 5 was the turning point towards marrying both phases in a more harmonious manner. The offense found its footing which paved the way for an eight-game winning streak to conclude the season.
The Bengals scrapped their entire original run game to save the 2022 season. Making further changes now to take the load off Burrow is not easy, but it's veering on being absolutely necessary.
"I think we can definitely execute better everywhere to help him out," Callahan said. "We can coach better. There's a belief we will get better, and I believe we will."
Burrow is doing all he can on the field right now, and it ain't much. Curating game plans with the idea of him being his usual self has not worked out the last few weeks. It won't work this week unless he looks significantly better.
What Callahan said has weight behind it, but not enough to make it a passable answer with the season hanging in the balance.
NFL Hall of Famer understands tough choice Bengals are making
Cincinnati’s season is on the line, and one prominent former player says to let it ride.
