Matt’s Take: Zac Taylor is losing the city; save us, Terry Francona

By Matthew McAdow
HCP columnist

After the Super Bowl run, the city of Cincinnati has relatively had Zac Taylor's back through many of the ups and downs that the Bengals have encountered.  

At 1-4, though, with three losses that should’ve been wins, the city of Cincinnati is flipping on Coach Taylor, even those that have continuously backed him through some rough moments. As you already know, the decision to run the ball three times (I don’t care if Burrow audibled on first down), with a chance to bury the Ravens and either score a touchdown or get closer than 50+ yards, was enough for me to finally wave the white flag on the season.  

Should Zac Taylor be fired? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know, that his play calling, along with the horrific defense is the difference between being 4-1, rather than 1-4.  

Close games need finished off, and I feel way too worried watching the Bengals play with a 10-point lead. I don’t want to rant, but here we go, and I am going to rant about a few things.

• Cincinnati pays Joe Burrow $55 million a year for situations just like he was in to finish off a game and yet again, the ball was taken out of his hands. If it wasn’t for the defense and Zac Taylor, Burrow would be the front runner in the MVP race. He is first in touchdown passes, first in passer rating, second in completion percentage, and third in passing yards. All while coming back from a rough injury and without Tee for some of those games. Burrow is having the best start to a season in his career, yet their record is 1-4. Trust Joe Burrow already, Zac. He is a top 3 quarterback in the NFL.  
    
• Do you think Andy Reid would’ve settled for a 50+ yard field goal and ran the ball 3 times in a row? If the answer is “no,” then maybe it is time for a new play caller?
    
• Non-sports rant: If you follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on Facebook and your profile picture is a politician and you want to chat sports, I’m not replying. It’s weird. I don’t care what your views are, it’s strange on both sides of the political spectrum if that is your profile picture.
    
• I don’t care what Ja’Marr wants next season, pay the man. I’d hate to ever see this offense without him. Pay him next year.  
    
• Sam Hubbard showed up to play yesterday, and it was great to see him making plays again for this defense.  
    
• Cincinnati’s secondary is troubling. Taylor-Britt, Stone, Turner II, Bell, Battle, and Dax Hill have continuously shown their lack of time on the field together. Giving up 348 yards in the air, along with 175 yards on the ground from our front line. Woof!
    
• Cincinnati has the Giants and Browns upcoming on the schedule. While it already feels over, if they somehow fail to not win both of those games, it truly is over. If they could get to 3-4 before the Eagles game, maybe something could happen? Ahh, what am I thinking?
  
• To add to the terrible Sunday loss, my wife and I went to the drive-thru at our local chain restaurant for ice cream. No ice cream (of course) and being asked to pull up to the waiting spot just added to the pain of that loss. Cincinnati might need a new play caller, and maybe I need a different chain restaurant.  
    
• I can’t even do positive and negatives from the game. Offense-Good, Defense-bad, play calling-bad, copy and paste for next week unless something drastic changes.  

Wasting away a Burrow prime year is painful.  

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Save us, Terry Francona

As you already know, Cincinnati officially put Terry Francona in charge of managing this Reds ball club for the next three seasons, with a 2028 club option. In my lifetime, I have never witnessed fans so happy to see a new manager take over, and with this hire, it is rightfully so.  

“Tito” knows how to win and has some rings to show for it. However, I loved his comment from the press conference on Monday where he stated “I don’t think it matters what you’ve done in the past. You earn your stripes every day.”  

Cincinnati is tired of getting players and managers after their prime and as a baseball city, this team needs someone who is going to focus on the “now.” If something doesn’t change soon, Cincinnati is going to turn into a drinking city with a baseball and football problem, rather than the reverse.  

In all seriousness though, Terry is the hire this team needed to make and it was time for Bell to be relieved of his duties. Stay healthy, Terry, and let’s get Cincinnati back to its core and start playing meaningful baseball.  

* * *

One last rant

Man, I hate the negativity surrounding my two favorite teams, but here is my final rant for the day. Jonathan India took his frustrations to the media and stated “We clearly had the talent. We weren’t cohesive enough. I think Tito will be able to get the most out of us in terms of a sense of urgency to win.”  

As a professional athlete, you’re telling me you need a manager to get “the most out of you?”  

I love India, but let’s look inward before casting blame. Soon to be 27 years old, India has batted below .250 for 3 consecutive years. He’s yet to match his rookie year statistics and continues to have inconsistencies at the plate. To get the best out of this team, the team needs to be looking at themselves, as I promise you Terry cannot bat or get on-base for you.  

A sense of urgency to win isn’t found in a manager from a player’s perspective. You either have it in you to win or you don’t. I hope this isn’t turning into an impossible job for Francona.  

If you are reading this column and enjoy my content, send me an email at matthew.mcadow@yahoo.com or a text at 937-779-6281. I’d love to hear from you and you can get entered for a chance to win some Reds/Bengals gear. 
 
Let’s hope the next few columns are a lot more positive, as I love Cincinnati sports, just not this feeling.