Jonah Williams sees Bengals' offense starting much better compared to 2022
From the opposite side of the formation, Jonah Williams sees the Cincinnati Bengals' offense in a much better place right now than they were 365 days ago, a practicing starting quarterback or not. Getting Joe Burrow back in the fold is obviously important. His being a top quarterback in the NFL is far from a […]
From the opposite side of the formation, Jonah Williams sees the Cincinnati Bengals' offense in a much better place right now than they were 365 days ago, a practicing starting quarterback or not.
Getting Joe Burrow back in the fold is obviously important. His being a top quarterback in the NFL is far from a mystery. What has yet to be proven is how the offense as a whole will cohesively combine the passing and rushing attack in an effort to create more explosive plays.
The first two weeks of the 2022 season were a disaster in this regard for Cincinnati. Williams is optimistic that won't be the case this year.
"I think we're right now a lot better than we were this time last year," Williams told reporters Sunday. "And I know we can get even better and build on that before the season and then throughout the season, we're just going to keep on building and I think we have a better understanding who we are as an offense."
Repeating as AFC North champions and going back to the AFC title game seemed like a fantasy after the Bengals' 0-2 start last year. Much of it had to do with pre-snap predictability. The Bengals passed the ball almost exclusively out of shotgun, and ran the ball almost exclusively from under center.
In Williams' own words, it was disjointed. Achieving a better schematic pairing between both phases will allow him and the rest of the offensive line to perform better, which ultimately makes the wheels turn.
"That's really going to help us up front," Williams said. "I think especially early in the year last year, some of the issues we were having as an offense reflected poorly on us, and we were a little bit disjointed. And I think this year, we're working better as an offense and helps us look good, helps receivers look good, everyone looks good.
"It's complimentary football, and I think that we're doing better at that right now than we were this time last year."
Actualizing this improvement won't come easy out the gate. The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens each gave the Bengals' offense trouble last season, and they will be their first opponents of the new season.
Avoiding another 0-2 start will come down to whether or not Williams' optimism translates into reality.
Bengals Film Room: Jonah Williams passes first test at right tackle
Williams got the jitters out, successfully, in his right tackle debut vs. Atlanta.
Featured image via © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
