Bengals News (1/5): Make-or-break in 2021

The future is now for Zac Taylor and the Cincinnati Bengals heading into the 2021 offseason
"That's my expectation. Certainly I'm tired of losing," said Taylor after concluding a four-win season. "We've put in a lot of work and we believe in the players we have and the coaches we have. We certainly expect to win a lot more football games than we have. That's the standard we have to set going forward."

Cincinnati Bengals set the table for a make-or-break year for Zac Taylor in 2021
Taylor was speaking on the heels of a 38-3 drubbing against the Baltimore Ravens in which the Ravens rushed for 404 yards, the most allowed by Cincinnati in franchise history. It capped a 4-11-1 season that featured several key injuries, some close losses and moments of optimism that were all too fleeting.

Cincinnati Bengals to keep head coach Zac Taylor, 'remain bullish on foundation' he is building
Brown's comments came one day after the Bengals (4-11-1) suffered a 38-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the season finale and allowed a franchise-record 404 rushing yards. It was also a rare public comment from Brown, who has not held a news conference since July 2019.

Bengals hope Zac Taylor-Joe Burrow can pull a Sean Payton-Drew Brees
Here’s what Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com had to say: “Management has a lot of faith in Taylor and Burrow. The model is in New Orleans with the long-term Super Bowl partnership of head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees.”

Bengals’ Darrin Simmons reveals what free agents he wants to re-sign for his unit
“We have quite a few unrestricted free agents that we have to get back that are critical, critical parts to what we do here and I think critical parts to our team,” Simmons said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.

Bengals Pre-Senior Bowl 7-Round 2021 NFL Mock Draft
The 2020 NFL season looked bright for the Cincinnati Bengals after selecting LSU quarterback Joe Burrow with the first overall pick. That has hardly been the case for the Bengals. For the second consecutive year, the Bengals own a top-five pick in the draft. They find themselves in a prime position to add more young talent in this 2021 Bengals 7-round NFL Mock Draft.

Potential Offensive Line Coaching Candidates For Cincinnati Bengals
"He (Turner) basically treats his entire offensive line room like a bunch of marine bootcamp guys," Lapham said on Bengals Line on 700 WLW. "Today's players, you have to pat them on the back and praise them, then treat them like dogs when they should be treated like dogs. You can't treat them like dogs all the time. And I think that was the fly in the ointment for Jim Turner and the relationship he had with some of his offensive linemen. Some guys respond to it—being treated like a dog all the time—not everybody does. And I think that was maybe the biggest issue so I think they parted ways as a result of that."

Around the league

NFL Super Wild Card Weekend: One big question for each of the six games
It's for the best that there's less time than ever before to wait for playoff football. The ugly, bizarre ending to Game 256 of the regular season between the Washington Football Team and Philadelphia Eagles left a bad aftertaste following an otherwise delicious final Sunday in this unprecedented NFL campaign.

Bruce Arians to Chase Young: 'You better watch what you wish for'
"It's kind of like what (Pittsburgh Steelers coach) Mike Tomlin was talking about, you don't want to have to draft that high to get guys like that," Arians said, referring to Tomlin's pregame chat with Young before Pittsburgh fell to Washington, via the Tampa Bay Times. "But you've got to play against them. He's a hell of a player. Making him a captain as a rookie speaks volumes.

Christian McCaffrey admits he has to change offseason training: 'Too much is not always good'
Christian McCaffrey admitted as much Monday following the conclusion of a season in which the runner played in a grand total of three games. An early ankle injury landed McCaffrey on injured reserve, but he was able to return from it in Week 9, suffering a shoulder injury in Carolina's game against Kansas City. And just before McCaffrey was set to return again, he sustained a quadriceps injury that ultimately kept him out for the remainder of the season.

Ranking NFL head-coach openings: Chargers, Jags jobs shine
It says something about the volatility of the NFL that, on the day after the 2020 regular season ended, there are six teams in need of new head coaches, and that is greeted by a shrug and a "Not so bad." Indeed, six openings is on the low end when it comes to the coaching carousel, (last year, there were five; the year before, eight) which means the very top candidates should have their pick of the jobs.