The new Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden got his chance to introduce himself the local media in Cincinnati Monday. He was greeted by a slew of questions about his vision for this offense and hot topics like Palmer from a very excited group of reporters. The thought of a brand new playbook and new philosophy has the media and fans excited about the move. Let’s hope Jay is empowered and allowed to fully do his job without interference.
The Carson questions were asked as expected and I think Jay handled it extremely well. When asked if he has spoken to Carson yet Gruden answered, "Things were said before I got here and I think they have to take care of those things in-house first and if they need me I'll be glad to talk to him and do what I need to do to try and get him back." Gruden also said, "I think that's got to come from upstairs. Those two (Mike Brown & Marvin Lewis) have to handle it the right way and if they need me and need any assistance at all, I'll be there." Jay did clarify, "Until I hear something different, we're going to go forward with him as our quarterback. That's the only approach I can take, whether that's right or wrong I do not know, but that's the way I'm going about things."
Gruden seems focused on the fact that he needs to educate the entire offensive coaching staff on his scheme ASAP. To get the ball rolling he has to make sure everyone in on board. It is vital that Gruden and the coaches are able to give the players something to study and prepare for next season before the CBA issues turn into a full on lock out. "I have to teach them (coaching staff) what we're going to do," Jay said. "That's a process. Then once we get the playbook done, then we can start reaching out to players and let them learn terminology as fast as we can. The first step is to get to know my staff, then after that get to know my players." With 23 days until the possible lock out I would imagine there is going to be a sprint to get the playbook finalized. No NFL Franchises will be allowed to contact or assist any players during the possible NFL work stoppage. It is not an ideal situation at all but Gruden does have a track record over the past two years of installing successful offenses in a tight three week time frame.
Let’s get to the X’s and O’s. We know he wants to run a West Coast style offense that can move the ball and result in more points being scored. "A lot of quick throws involved in the West Coast offense," Gruden said. "Let the receivers do some work after the catch. The backs, tight ends catch the ball, run up field and make them miss and do things after the catch. It's very important to have very good receivers and obviously good tight ends and backs that can protect and run routes. Everybody has to play a major role." Jay say hello to Bernard Scott, Gresham and Shipley.
When asked by a reporter what his main principles are Gruden answered, "It's diverse. It's multiple. Multiple formations. Multiple personnel groups," Gruden said of his scheme. "It's the ability to do a lot of different things with different people. That's important. Because if you bank your system on two backs and one of your backs goes down, you have to have a one-back offense. If you bank your offense on a two tight-end, three tight-end offense, and one of your tight ends goes down, you've got to be able to adjust. The best part of this system, we'll be easily adaptable to certain situations that come up in the course of the game.” Holy crap did he just say adjustments will be made to counter act what our opponents are trying to do to stop us from scoring during the game? Did he just say multiple formations and multiple personnel groups? I love the idea of working on maximizing to the player strengths on the roster. No more waiting 3 years to see what players like Jerome Simpson can do on the field.
Gruden hasn't received any dominant direction from Lewis on how to run the offense. "He's the head coach, so whatever vision he has is my vision," Gruden said. "If he has a vision of running the ball 30 times, then that's going to be the vision.” Jay Gruden wants to make the Bengals a more explosive team. I like the sound of that!
I am excited about the hiring of Jay Gruden. I have heard all of the beaten down Bengal’s fans negative takes on the hire. He is an AFL and UFL guy how will this help? Oh great we have a first time NFL OC? In the UFL you can’t blitz or run a 3-4 defense good luck with the Steelers and Ravens? You people need to trust Marvin! Yes I said it trust Marvin! I believe without a doubt Zimmer was a Marvin hire. How has that worked out? Zimmer has come into the jungle and affectively rebuilt this defense. Was Jay a Marvin’s number one choice for the OC hire? I think so and with the impression being Marvin got more say in the decision making process when working out his new deal with Mike brown. I am confident we will see improvements. I just believe that Marvin’s personnel decisions are going to prove to be the difference moving forward.
Good luck Jay Gruden and you have this Bengals fan support!
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