Optimism season is upon us, and it's in surplus in Cincinnati.
Joe Burrow recently compared this Bengals team to his legendary, National Championship-winning LSU squad from 2019. His coach, Zac Taylor, followed up with his own sunny outlook after his team closed minicamp.
"We've gotten everything we want to get done," Taylor said last week, . "We got all the installs in. I thought the guys did a great job getting the work in off the field since really late April when we started meeting and lifting and then all the field work we've done in May and June. We accomplished everything we set out to accomplish. I thought the coaches have utilized every minute we're on the field. I thought they did a great job with the practice plans and the reps, so I just felt like we were in a good space and ended on a high note. Let these guys come back in late July."
Continuity reigns with the Bengals, who return the same collection of key playmakers on the offensive side along with Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. Evidently pleased by the Bengals' offseason activity -- which included trading for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence and signing veteran defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, edge rusher Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook -- Burrow has shifted away from his open but vague messaging regarding his future in Cincinnati.
After trudging through Trey Hendrickson's prolonged holdout last summer, the Bengals don't have issues in that department this time around, either.
"It's a great thing," Taylor said. "A lot of the drama oftentimes is outside drama. Inside we're usually pretty clean with it, guys go about their business, but I feel like everybody's really focused, showed up, got the work in that we needed them to get and so now it's time to move on."
Instead of entering a new season with a collection of questions, this Bengals team seems much more stable. Even the new arrivals have adapted quickly, according to Taylor.
"I think you saw a lot of Year 2 development from a lot of guys, Year 2 in the system development, so that's great to see from all those guys we're returning that we've got high expectations for," Taylor said. "I thought that the leadership that the new guys have brought in, the free agents that we've signed have been tremendous. They've picked it up fast, they played a lot of ball so they understand it very well. So I just thought the chemistry, the communication has really stepped up on that side of the ball, and it's really good to see."
The biggest questions revolving around the Bengals in recent years have focused on their defense's inability to do its part, and the health of Burrow. Last season, he encountered yet another medical hurdle that cost him a significant portion of the season, and by the time he returned, it was essentially too late for Burrow to lead an improbable march to the playoffs.
While health is never guaranteed, director of player personnel Duke Tobin appears to have finally answered the other lingering question by aggressively addressing the defense. On paper, the Bengals appear set to finally return to the playoffs and to the level of contention they expected to enjoy after reaching Super Bowl LVI.
Luckily, Super Bowl LXI is in the same place: Los Angeles. We'll see if the offseason efforts are enough to lead them back to Southern California in February.
