Zac Taylor’s Tenure: The Snap Counts Tell a Frustrating Tale

Bengals fans should feel the frustration from Sunday’s game. The coaching staff attempted to make some examples of players. This was made obvious by moves to have Michael Jordan and Randy Bullock inactive for the game. Hakeem Adeniji and Giovani Bernard were benched early in this game. Bernard eventually returned to the game, but he was still noticeably benched for most of the game.

Fans have watched players struggle week in and week out that never seem to have their jobs in jeopardy. However they were so quick to pull the trigger on these guys. Adeniji had a couple rough plays, but it seemed like his benching followed Trayveon Williams fumbling from running right into him. That hardly falls on the rookie offensive lineman. Adeniji showed plenty of promise at left tackle starting in Pittsburgh earlier this season.

What about Bernard’s benching? Bernard’s last fumble came in his rookie season over 800 carries ago. His early fumble—which resulted in just a field goal for Dallas—was somehow enough to cause this coaching staff to bench one of their team captains. Furthermore, Bernard has been one of the biggest vocal supporters of this staff through all of their struggles. That was rewarded with that kind of treatment. It would be one thing if Bernard had already fumbled multiple times this season, but that is not the case.

This week seemed like a dose of accountability, and some players lucked out due to a lack of depth. Bobby Hart is still playing after reverting back to his regular form and Alex Erickson fumbled one of his lone opportunities. Brandon Wilson was inactive this game, but how is Erickson still the returner, and more, still somehow getting designed plays called for him every game?

There are rumors of unhappy players, and it doesn’t take much to see the agenda. There are obvious favorites, and that is a huge issue without taking other issues into account. It becomes an even bigger issue when those players struggle to play at even an average level.

Looking over the snaps every week, it isn’t hard to find the guys these coaches want to be good. Those should have been replaced or put in competitions a long time ago. That still has yet to happen.

Go to our NFL page for more articles and updates!

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from great TGH writers!