#bratkowski

[polishpaintersonly]

“Rest” (1909)

Roman Bratkowski (Polish;1869-1954)

oil on canvas, private cpllection

Desa Katowice

[garagetalk-blog]

That's Not the Right Gruden, Or Is It

Since John Gruden has retired from coaching, he has always been my top choice to be a coach for the Bengals. I loved watching him coach, but listening to his commentary for ESPN totally knocked him up a few levels on my radar. So when I heard we got Gruden I was stoked, couldn't have been happier, Chucky was finally coming to Cincinnati. Being a Bengals fan isn't that easy though. Upon further review, I realized we hired the younger Gruden, Jay Gruden. Such an odious finding was this that I didn't know to react, so I looked him up. Once again, after further review, I decided to give this guy a chance. The reality is the former AFL QB is actually rather qualified or at least worthy of the task, in my opinion.

Too often fans get caught up in what they don't know. I listen to sports talk and I hear fans call in to comment on Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis as if they are inside the meeting. You don't really know what happens, so stop acting like it. With this in mind, I think Jay Gruden is a good hire for a few reasons. Gruden is not Bratkowski, so the move makes the offense different. I know, I just said fans cannot comment on things they don't know. Truthfully, I don't know why the offense is unsuccessful. It may have been Bratkowski and it may have been the players, but the reality is that it was not effective. Ten years in futility under Bratkowski does not lend itself to his being an effective coach, but more importantly it's easier to change coaches than replace your starting 11.

The second reason I think at least changing Bratkowski is a good move is based on my observations. To sympathize with Bengal Nation, we are a better team when we run the ball. I know Bratkowski is calling the offense and if the offense is doing poorly and throwing, I can say Bratkowski is calling too many passes. He is to blame for the number of pass plays. I saw a lot of run plays I didn't like, the stretch handoff, but I don't know if it's a poor play call or poor execution since I'm not on the team. Simply said, Brat called a lot of passes on an offense that proved running was its strong point. Whether Gruden was the best option on these grounds remains to be seen, but his offense was number two in the UFL in rush attempts with 127 in eight games. That said, he was also number two in pass attempts with 173. Maybe his team was on offense more than other teams, so they just had a lot of opportunities to call plays. The idea that he called more running plays than everyone else is fresh air for those suffocating under the stranglehold of the Brat pass attack. 

Winning sets Gruden apart. I don't care if you win the Super Bowl or win a pickup football game, winning is winning and having winners on a team rubs off. Gruden, unlike the former coordinator, is a six time AFL Champion and one time Super Bowl Champion. Putting a winner in charge of a bunch of losers will raise their play. The receivers are hungry, Ced wanted a change, and Carson also seems to be requesting change. Gruden is change, but most importantly, he has won many times. Since winning is why they play, it seems vital to have winners. While I don't think we hired the next Belichick, we did sign a guy who is a fresh start for the players and has gotten to championships in his past. 

Maybe he doesn't work out, but he deserves a chance from the fans. They called for heads, they got the head they wanted most, and now we have a young champ leading the way on offense. Since I don't think Carson was ever going to play anywhere but Cincinnati last season, I don't think this signing will bring him back in physical form. I do, however, hope this does help in bringing forward the Carson Palmer we thought we had in 2005. Besides, he's a Gruden.