Who Dey
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- Mar 18, 2019
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Zac Taylor didn’t invent the idea of keeping score in practice.
The Bengals rookie coach is happy to admit bringing the idea with him from his days with the Rams, though he’s putting some of his own spins on it. Yesterday as they wrapped up minicamp, it was the first- and second-teamers watching as the reserves competed against each other.
“That was a good one,” Taylor said, via John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer. “So you just take that idea, and you do some other stuff on the field and try to create your own scoring systems. Again, when it’s scripted the guys are out there and, yeah, they’re giving their all. But it’s a little bit different when there’s something on the line. And it’s competitive, and there’s a scoring system in place. So we just want to provide as much competition as possible.”
Players have been receptive to the new emphasis — after a generation of the Marvin Lewis era, they seem ready for any change at all.
“That’s pretty much what coach Taylor has been preaching, make sure you have effort and attitude every day,” running back Joe Mixon said. “Be ready to learn in the classroom, then when we get on the field, be ready to put it all on the field. We come out there being very competitive, doing the things we gotta do. We’re going to be like that all season. We gotta keep up.”
Taylor has extended it off the field as well, with a football version of “The Price is Right” before practice Thursday, as he tries to change the mindset around a team that had fallen into a bit of a rut.