Bengals' Zac Taylor shouts out special connection with 49ers TE George Kittle
No one for the Cincinnati Bengals cares about San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle's inconsistencies in fantasy football. He's a threat on every play in real life."He's a three-way tight end," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said of the four-time Pro Bowler. "He's tremendous in the pass game, he's tremendous in the run game […]
No one for the Cincinnati Bengals cares about San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle's inconsistencies in fantasy football. He's a threat on every play in real life.
"He's a three-way tight end," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said of the four-time Pro Bowler. "He's tremendous in the pass game, he's tremendous in the run game and he's tremendous in protection."
A complete player at the position without a doubt, but all those skills had to start somewhere. Taylor knows exactly where.
Taylor and Kittle are both alumni of Oklahoma's Norman High School, something the Bengals' head coach shared when showing effusive praise for one of the NFL's elite playmakers.
"It starts with the run game really for them," Taylor said of Kittle and the 49ers' offense. "The physicality, the violence, the motions and all the things that they can put you in a bind with and then they play off of that with all the play actions, naked [bootlegs], and screens and they do a good job of that. But a big part of that is because of what Kittle can bring to the table, and his willingness in the run game to be dominant."
"Because he went to Norman High, probably."
If you think Kittle the 49ers tight end was multi-faceted, wait until you hear about Kittle the high schooler. He played wide receiver, tight end, linebacker, and defensive back for the Norman Tigers. According to his bio for Iowa football, he caught five touchdowns and five interceptions in both his junior and senior seasons.
10 years prior, Taylor was the leader of the football program, throwing for 1,950 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior which earned him first-team all-district and all-conference honors.
Only one of them lasted in the NFL as a player, and he'll be on Taylor's mind throughout the week. Kittle torched the Bengals in their last meeting back in 2021, catching 13 of 15 targets for 151 yards and a touchdown. Now he's facing them again coming off a productive 78-yard performance in a loss.
You can bet all of Norman will try and watch this game.
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