Zac Taylor on A.J. Green: “His time will come”

A.J. Green has not been doing well this season.

Through only four games, Green has received less than half of his targets, only 14 of 33. He only has 119 receiving yards, which means he averages 8.5 yards per reception and 29.8 yards per game. If the season ended today, those averages would be the lowest of his career both by a long shot.

This is not the seven-time Pro Bowler we’re used to seeing.

But Zac Taylor thinks they will still get that A.J. Green back.

“Oh yeah. He comes off the ball and you can see the respect he gets from the DBs,” Taylor said via SI’s James Rapien. “Again, there are opportunities there where you follow the ball thinking it might go there, No. 1, then all of a sudden it pops off somewhere else for a big gain somewhere else. I am not going to second guess those decisions.”

Green may have contributed away from the ball, but he caught the ball once in five targets.

“That’s not a concern for us or A.J.,” Taylor said. ”A.J. is doing the right things. We got a lot of really good receivers. We have tight ends that can get targets, backs that can get targets. There’s times when A.J. is open and the ball is going elsewhere for explosive plays. I think that’s the key to our success is not forcing the ball to any weapon. Just let it play out naturally.

“His time will come. There is going to be moments where he has unbelievable games and he’s going to help us win here. It’s tremendous to have that guy as a captain and a part of this offense and this team.”

The Bengals next game is against the Ravens, who Green typically does well against. In eleven games, he has 53 receptions for 886 yards and nine touchdowns. If there’s a perfect week for Green to breakout, it’s this one.