Bengals News (10/12): Zac Taylor on play-calling duties

Middle School Students Team With Bengals In Character Camp
Mason Middle School and Winton Woods Middle School are two of more than 50 local schools that participate in the EverFi Character Playbook, a digital character education program for middle school aged students designed to cultivate and maintain healthy relationships. The students were invited on to the Bengals home field for a Skills & Drills Clinic as the team's way of saying thank you for participating in the program.

Bengals Give Back To Middle Schoolers on Off Day
When the team recently held the EverFi Character Playbook Program for students from Winton Woods Middle School and Mason Middle School, five Bengals got a chance to give back at an event emphasizing communication, relationships and character. They decided to attend the event even though it was their only off day of the week.

Zac Taylor Talks to Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson In Run-up To Saints Game
We lost two in a row and I just put up there what the conference standings were and that, 'Hey, this team is at the top; they lost three games in a row. This team's second; they lost two games in a row, then they regrouped.'

Here's why the Rams and Bengals are suffering from Super Bowl hangovers: Loss of talent, QB play, more
The Bengals and Rams were playing in the Super Bowl just eight months ago. Now they both find themselves with 2-3 records. It's the third time ever both the previous season's Super Bowl teams have a losing record through five games. In 1999, Denver and Atlanta both started 1-4. In 1988, Washington and Denver both started 2-3. None of those teams bounced back to make the playoffs.

Bengals coach offers eyebrow-raising quote about offensive struggles
“There are things we could do better early in the game, for sure, on the coaching side, put guys in a better position earlier than we have,” Callahan said, according to CLNS Media’s Mike Petraglia. “We do fight the problem of getting different looks than we’ve gotten from the other team than what’s on tape, which is frustrating particularly on third down. So that can be a challenge, but that’s what it is. That’s every week in the NFL and we’re not the only team that’s facing those types of issues.”

Zac Taylor addresses idea he should surrender play-calling duties
ESPN’s Ben Baby captured Taylor’s thoughts on the matter: “It’s collective on the headset every play. So whether it’s coming out of my mouth or somebody else’s, it all gets the same end result. We communicate every play.”

Around the league

NFL's eight most disappointing offseason trades and free-agent signings of 2022
The Bengals overhauled their offensive line in the offseason after watching Joe Burrow get harassed all last season -- specifically, in Super Bowl LVI, when he was sacked seven times. Scooped up following his release by the Cowboys, Collins was supposed to shore up Burrow's protection, but it's been more of the same in Cincinnati. Burrow, the NFL's 2021 sack leader (51), has been sacked 18 times in five games this season, putting him on pace for more than 60. Collins' overall offensive grade from Pro Football Focus (53.2) would rank as his worst since 2016, and his pass-blocking grade (42.7) would be a career low. Per PFF, he's allowed two sacks in five games already after allowing two total in each of the last two seasons. In other words, Burrow is still waiting for his self-proclaimed "bodyguard" to show up.

Raiders WR Davante Adams charged with misdemeanor assault after postgame shove
"Before I say anything, I want to apologize to the guy running off the field and he ran and jumped in front of me," Adams said. "I'm coming off the field and I bumped into him and pushed him. I think he ended up on the ground, so I want to say sorry to him because that was just frustration mixed with him running in front of me and I shouldn't have responded that way and that's how I initially responded. I want to apologize to him for that."

NFL trade candidates: Notable players who SHOULD be on the move before the league's Nov. 1 deadline
The Browns swung a deal with the Falcons to land LB Deion Jones on Sunday, just hours after losing in the waning moments to the Chargers. Jones has yet to take a snap this season following offseason shoulder surgery. When healthy, though, he could provide some juice to a struggling Cleveland defense. While Jones' stock is down at the moment, he's still a 27-year-old with a Pro Bowl appearance on his résumé. All in all, it's a change of scenery that makes sense. Speaking of which ...