Billy Price is primed to earn respect for the Bengals’ o-line

Billy Price is entering his second season as a pro, but it will be his first year to prove himself to the Bengals’ new coaching staff. When it comes to buying into a new system and the players the team has brought in, it should come as no surprise that Price is at the forefront of the transition.

“It sets an attitude in this new evolution of offense that we’re running now. You gotta start with it up front,” Price told Bengals.com. “We’ve got veteran guys from [Clint] Boling to Cordy Glenn. Everybody who has really helped us young guys to step up to what this philosophy is going to be with this scheme, and how we are going to attack these things. I think it is going to be really great for us. Especially with what we did in the draft, I think it is going to really help.”

You can certainly see there is a notable change in the mindset of the offensive linemen compared to last year. It seems like plenty of it has to do with them learning this new offense that Taylor has brought with him. Draft picks Jonah Williams and Michael Jordan and free agency signee John Miller provide needed competition to the right guard and tackle spot, but Price also cites one more thing as a driving force for the upcoming season.

“I think we need to continue to gain that respect. We finished last in the AFC [North] last year. There was a lot of meat still left on the bone, if you want to call it that. So we have a lot of good things going forward. A lot of guys are really excited for what we are doing in this offense, and how to attack these defenses in the upcoming year.”

The players are clearly eating up what this new staff is selling. Hopefully it ends up having an impact on their performance next season. Last year, it was clear the offensive line was more than a couple acquisitions away from being back to an acceptable offensive line.

Players like Bobby Hart and Alex Redmond on the right side had major inconsistencies that dragged down the whole unit. You could also say Glenn was a disappointment considering the Bengals moved down in the first round to acquire him. There were still times when they were all able to put it together, but the additions and change in coaching shows that it still wasn’t good enough.

If the Bengals’ offensive line wants to gain respect, then one of the easiest ways is too be more consistent with their good plays. A way to do that is focus on the running game to open up the passing game. Something Price is excited the new coaching staff is emphasizing.

“As coach [Zac] Taylor and coach [Jim] Turner always talk about, it is the marriage of the pass and the run. You really got to set up the run, so you can hit those deep shots in the passing game. So I know he is really excited about it, and I know we’re going to make sure we get after it.”

It is pretty obvious that Price fits into the intangible aspect of Taylor’s new era of Bengals. He will likely be one of this team’s leaders going forwards just from the way he can command a room.

Fans are also hoping that this new offense fairs better than the one former-Bengals’ offensive coordinator Bill Lazor brought in last season. From what Price is saying, it seems like fans at least have a chance to be excited about the direction of the offensive line.