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New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Why Dan Pitcher's Year 2 continuity is the Bengals' secret weapon for ascension
CINCINNATI — Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher chuckles a bit to himself as he thinks about the answer. Standing in a hallway off the Bengals' locker room following the latest offseason practice where Joe Burrow distributed passes to seemingly every blade of grass and option available, Pitcher reflected on how this offseason of offensive continuity in Cincinnati could impact the health and happiness of his franchise quarterback. Advertisement 'Trust me,' Pitcher began, 'I think about that probably more than anything in my professional life.' That, generally, would be Burrow, coming off an MVP-caliber season where he strapped on Superman's cape weekly trying to carry the organizational anvil of a defective defense but exited with nothing more than a Comeback Player of the Year Award and a clear calendar in January. That, specifically, is how Pitcher can parlay a stockpile of lessons from his first cycle as offensive coordinator last year into an offense still capable of the same explosiveness while decreasing the punishment placed on Burrow during miracle creation. 'How do you thread the needle?' Pitcher asked, knowingly setting up an answer spelled out in infinite notes, studies, whiteboards and film cut-ups in his office. 'It's not a simple answer, but it's one we think about all the time and we try to build the offense and team to get us there.' The reason for increased confidence and belief from Pitcher and the Bengals' cast of stars is that they are building off an established foundation. All but two guard spots return starters from last year's top-five offense. Plays made even in June workouts are miles ahead of what the offense executed at this time last year. 'We are in a spot we haven't been before,' Burrow said. Considering the continuity — and the startling amount of money spent to secure it — Pitcher and head coach Zac Taylor have a rare opportunity. They can build off the gains of an elite group from Day 1. The Year 2 leap is almost always associated with players, but schematic growth in place could be the secret weapon buried beneath the headlines. 'Continuity is huge,' he said. 'One of the first things we talked about as a unit when we got together this spring is there are very few offenses in the league that have the experience and the time and the reps together that we have. Don't apologize for that. Take advantage of that. Build on the foundation that currently exists. I think we've done that this spring. It makes you feel good, but you have to use it. If someone's giving you a head start in the race, don't go back and start with everybody else. Take the damn head start and use it.' Pitcher rose through the ranks in Cincinnati, one of the lone survivors of the Marvin Lewis to Taylor transition in 2019, with a thorough, analytical approach fueling innovation and smart football. When he earned his first opportunity to put his twist on the already successful scheme after Brian Callahan was hired by the Tennessee Titans, he focused on ways to find more explosive plays for his best player. Advertisement No big deal. Pitcher and the staff moved Ja'Marr Chase around the formation more than at any point in his career, accessed new spots on the field through those adjustments and saw him churn out the sixth receiving triple crown in NFL history. 'He's an attention-to-detail type guy,' receiver Tee Higgins said of Pitcher. 'If you don't have that attention to detail, he is definitely going to let you know. That's what we want.' Pitcher hit the film room this offseason, understanding that counter moves to what the league just witnessed — and starting planning for — will provide the next level of answers for his quarterback. Knowing defenses will arrive on game day with a plan to double-team Chase, despite not knowing where the Bengals will line him up, will allow Pitcher to use the strategy against opponents. 'You look at it like, 'What do we do when they double Ja'Marr?'' Pitcher said. 'Well, the flip side of that coin is you know he's gonna set the coverage, so you can really plan for that, and you can put them in some serious binds, when you have player 2-3-4-5 that are dangerous. That's what we have.' The attention created by Chase allows a player like Mike Gesicki to find favorable matchups. Pitcher felt the staff truly figured out how to best utilize the receiver/tight end midway through last year. Early in the year, he was the Higgins replacement, but as time progressed, he was the double-team counter as his chemistry with Burrow blossomed. 'We're a match made in heaven,' Pitcher said. Gesicki returns to the same offensive system for the first time since his senior year at Penn State in 2017, a level of comfort he's never experienced in the NFL, coming off a level of success he'd never experienced in the NFL. That showed when he took advantage of a cornerback in a seven-on-seven last week who was peeking at Chase underneath before a Gesicki corner route produced a slick toe-tap the sideline over top of him. 'We got Ja'Marr, we put him in the backfield, he runs a flat, the corner sees him, and now I'm by myself,' Gesicki said. 'That's what I'm saying, the coaching staff does a great job just right there. There's so much talent out there.' Last summer was defined by transition and uncertainty. Chase didn't practice throughout the offseason. Higgins only joined in training camp before an early injury. This year, both are paid and happy as leaders of the offseason program. Last year, nobody knew who would replace Tyler Boyd. Andrei Iosivas was battling for a role and moving to the slot for the first time in his life. Jermaine Burton was learning about life in the NFL. Gesicki was learning how to play with Burrow. 'Last year, the big discussion is who's gonna take TB's share, right?' Pitcher said. 'There were a lot of unknowns there. Today, I sit here feeling like we have two guys more than capable of filling that (in Gesicki and Iosivas).' Last year, the question was who would be WR3. This year, it's who will be WR5. 'That's a big deal,' Pitcher said. Just as big are the reps banked with Burrow to grow their game to one based more on knowing the routes to one built on chemistry with the quarterback, which is where Burrow is at his best. Advertisement 'It has been weird this offseason not having to really take in a new guy that we are counting on under my wing and teach him what we are looking at, what we want on each play. That takes a lot of time,' Burrow said. 'Signing Mike back was big. Andrei coming back. We have all the guys in the wide receiver room back. We have already had all these discussions, so you can take them to the next level and talk a little more in-depth about those. That is going to continue to make us better.' Last year, running back Chase Brown's role was unknown behind Zack Moss, who was new to Cincinnati. How would each back mesh with the running game and a new plan? Well, one year later, after Brown ranked fifth in the NFL in scrimmage yards from Week 9 to Week 17, Pitcher dreams up what a full season of tapping into Brown's explosive skill on the ground, in checkdowns and off-script can mean for taking another step. 'Now, we've got a guy,' Pitcher said. 'He's a top-10 back.' Brown will again work with receiving specialist Drew Lieberman this offseason, a decision that fueled his jump in 2024. He sees his growth as a running back differently, which is partially why there is so much enthusiasm about his future in this offense, which, as the most pass-heavy in the NFL, is built differently than the majority of other teams. 'I can see the running back position turning more into a receiver back position,' Brown said. 'You see CeeDee (Lamb), Deebo (Samuel), these guys taking run plays. Even Ja'Marr. I need to keep my game as versatile as possible so I can be trusted like a chess piece. If you need me to catch, I can. You want me on third down to protect Joe, I can. You want me to run trap, you want me to run power, I can. You want me to run zone, I can do all of that.' And the plan is to have him do all of that. That's where Pitcher has felt the most new responsibility. With the departure of offensive line coach and run game coordinator Frank Pollack, he assumed and delegated the run game responsibilities across his staff. They didn't throw out the offense put together last year, but there's a realization of a dramatic room for improvement, specifically considering the high amounts of light boxes they face with the threat of Burrow and these receivers. 'We are going to be a little more downhill this year,' Brown said. Pitcher stresses they didn't reinvent the wheel in the running game, but they made tweaks to a solid foundation. Different people created different processes. 'I think what Pitch has done an exceptional job of is giving ownership to all the other position coaches and assistant position coaches, and getting them something specifically for them to come in and present in front of the unit,' Taylor said. 'What it reiterates for me is when I see our coaches get out there and present. We have an outstanding group of coaches. Future coordinators and head coaches. These guys knock it out of the park … And that starts with Pitch. He has done a good job setting the tone in that room.' Advertisement All of this allows for new ideas in the running game and beyond, built around the continuity of Brown and this personnel. 'Now, it's just different,' Pitcher said. 'We have a lot of guys on staff that have done parts of (building a running game) at different stops in their career and so it's kind of listening to them, really delving into it myself and trying to come up with something that really kind of complements who we are and what our engine is.' Ah, yes, the engine. Which brings us back to what Pitcher ponders more than any thought in his professional life: How to help thread the needle for Burrow. Playmaking versus poise versus punishment. Pocket management versus game management versus career management. There will be competition at both guard spots to pair with new techniques taught by offensive line coach Scott Peters. The Bengals' scheme must find ways to help the offensive line. That could come through a higher rate of pullers in protection, which produced many successful shot plays for the Bengals last season and higher efficiency metrics. It could mean a higher rate of play action to marry the run and pass. More than any lean in playcalling, though, helping Burrow take fewer hits will be about the team producing game situations that allow him to make fewer reckless decisions in the pocket. Playing with the lead and staying out of shootouts helps Burrow shift his mindset. 'If we are in defensive battles, then you come out, you don't turn the ball over, you get the ball out of your hands, you play the field position game,' Burrow said. 'If they are scoring, then you go out, try to make plays and run around and do all of those kinds of things. I go into every single game ready to adapt to whatever the game needs for me to try to win. I am never going in and playing every single game the same. The first drive will be the same, then pretty quickly you understand what kind of game it will be and adapt your game to that.' Advertisement That could mean the highlight plays and gaudy stats won't reach 2024 levels. That's the lens through which Burrow views his future. 'Stats are going to fluctuate year in and year out,' Burrow said. 'Maybe I have a better statistical year, and maybe I don't. I'm not really too worried about that. Try to come out and win games, do what I can to win games, be better as a quarterback and as a player. I think that's attainable.' Burrow's driven by making the highest-percentage play to win. If that means risking a sack because it's third down, he's compelled to do that. If that means scrambling more often to produce an off-script explosive play, he's done plenty of that. 'I think he's one of the most pocket-aware guys I've ever been around,' Pitcher said. 'Sometimes that conversation really has to be parsed out between innate awareness and ability to maneuver, manipulate the pocket, which he has all of those things as good or better than anyone I've ever been around.' Constantly playing from behind or creating plays to keep up in another shootout are reasons Burrow's pressure-to-sack percentage was high, and many games featured him enduring concerning amounts of hits. It's also what makes him special. 'That's why you just try to entrust that guy, talk about all those factors, and then he's the one that has to go make the play in the moment,' Pitcher said. Pitcher and Taylor want to flip the percentages on when that urgency exists. 'Our goal as a team is to put ourselves in more situations where maybe that risk tolerance, he can dial that back a little bit because we're ahead, we're running the ball a little better, where we're doing things better on the other side of the ball,' Pitcher said. You won't hear complaints from the quarterback, that's for sure. He's known for his toughness, but with six years in the league comes wisdom. Advertisement 'As you get older, you realize those hits add up a little bit,' Burrow said. 'I'd love to take less. We'll see how the games play out. The end of the day, you win and lose with your quarterback play. I am going to take that to heart and be better this year.' Continuity fuels all this. The trial-and-error portion of the program is largely behind this offensive unit. They look crisp. They look as you'd expect considering the circumstances. They're now in a situation exponentially more conducive to threading the needle than this time last year. 'That's the job,' Pitcher said. 'Here are the ingredients. Make the meal. And we've got some really good ingredients.'
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Bengals offensive coordinator seeing QB Joe Burrow reach the next level
CINCINNATI (AP) — While Cincinnati's Joe Burrow led the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns last season, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said that he sees a quarterback that's looking even better than he did last year. 'I just see a guy that's seen a lot of football, played a lot of football and has no fear whatsoever,' Pitcher said on Wednesday after the Bengals' second day of minicamp. 'Total comfort and confidence in himself and in his skill set. And if there's a window, he's gonna throw the ball.' The highlight of Wednesday's practice was a deep shot down the field over the middle to wide receiver Andrei Iosivas, who snared the catch between three defenders. Throughout this spring's workouts, organized team activities and minicamp, Burrow has been making aggressive throws into tight coverage. At this point last year, he was still rehabbing a major wrist injury that required surgery. Burrow said that last year, he 'wasn't quite back' throwing the ball at the level he expected. He still had 4,918 passing yards and 43 touchdowns. 'I went out and played as good as I have,' Burrow said. 'I'm looking to take that next step. I'm happy with the progress that I've been making the last couple of weeks and getting better… I understand how to play the game more efficiently and more productively. Understanding what defenses are going to do to us and have all of the answers in your back pocket to try to combat that. I feel like I'm as prepared as ever. Anything anybody throws at me, I'll have an answer for it. I'm excited to show that again.' In previous years during OTAs and minicamps, Burrow was focused on helping new players in the offense figure out their roles. Last year, he spent a lot of time with Iosivas as he stepped into the starting lineup and with new tight end Mike Gesicki. This year, the Bengals bring back all of the core pieces from 2024. 'We're in a spot we haven't been before,' Burrow said. 'Guys coming off of the season healthy. Getting all of our guys back. It's been weird this offseason not having to take care of a new guy we're counting on and try to teach him what I'm looking at and want out of each play.' Burrow was also happy not to be worrying about the future of his top two playmakers after Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins signed lucrative extensions in the offseason. Both receivers weren't at the offseason workouts last year, but have been there throughout this year's practices. 'Last year, they're out there working on their own, not being here. But when you have those two guys, guys that bring energy, guys that make incredible plays day in and day out, and they're going to grind just as hard as everybody else. That permeates throughout the team,' Burrow said. Running back Chase Brown, Chase, Higgins, Iosivas and Gesicki all return to the same roles that they were in last year. Pitcher said that Burrow can really benefit from having so much continuity around him. 'One of the first things we talked about as a unit when we got together this spring is there are very few offenses in the league that have the experience and the time and the reps together that we have,' Pitcher said. 'Don't apologize for that. Take advantage of that. Build on the foundation that currently exists. I think we've done that this spring. It makes you feel good, but you have to use it. If someone's giving you a head start in the race, don't go back and start with everybody else. Take the damn head start and use it. That's what we're trying to do.' ___ AP NFL:
