“He wants to make everybody better”: Zac Taylor makes feelings known on Joe Burrow helping out Bengals defense

Syndication: The Enquirer - Source: Imagn
Syndication: The Enquirer - Source: Imagn

Joe Burrow is determined to ensure the Cincinnati Bengals are a better team this season, not only on offense. Throughout the off-season, the two-time Pro Bowl and two-time NFL Comeback Player of the Year has been offering his advice on ways to improve the defense, sitting in on numerous video sessions and giving his input.

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Speaking to Kay Adams on the “Up and Adams” show on Wednesday, his head coach, Zac Taylor, called his quarterback a huge asset to the team on all sides of the ball.

“He’s just a tremendous resource, and so shame on you for not using Joe," Taylor said (0:19). "Joe has to go to every player and say here’s how I can make you better. A lot of it is the ownership in those players to go to Joe.”
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According to Taylor, Burrow is more interested in improving the team than anything.

“Joe (Burrow) is an open book. He wants to make everybody better, so he’ll tell you, here’s what I saw from you. That made my life a little easier,” Taylor said.

While the Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson led the league in quarterback sacks last season (17.5), as a team, Cincinnati was 25th in the NFL regarding yards allowed per game (348.3).

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The Bengals have missed the playoffs in two successive seasons after making it to consecutive AFC Championship Games, including an appearance in Super Bowl LVI.

Over the off-season, they lost veteran defensive end Sam Hubbard, who retired, though they made some new additions that could be impactful on both sides of the ball. They signed linebacker Oren Burks, who is fresh off winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles and also brought in former Seattle Seahawks tight end Noah Fant.

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The pre-season plan for Joe Burrow

Pre-season is just around the corner, and how the Bengals intend to employ Joe Burrow and the other starters during that time was a big question. Sports Illustrated reported on Tuesday that the Bengals' starters are likely to see playing time, but according to Taylor:

“We don’t have this targeted as the biggest play time for our guys. We really picked Washington to be more of that.”
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“Another thing I hate to put in a stone—a couple of series, several series is what we’ll give those starters.”

After facing the Eagles on Thursday, the Bengals will travel to Northwest Stadium in Washington, D.C. to face the Washington Commanders. The Eagles and Commanders were the final two teams standing in the NFC last season.

Cincinnati will open the regular season on September 7 at Huntington Bank Field against the AFC North rivals, the Cleveland Browns.

Bengals Nation! Check out the latest Cincinnati Bengals Schedule and dive into the Bengals Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

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Edited by Joel Lefevre
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