After being killed 70 times in the regular season plus the playoffs, the Cincinnati Tigers decided to form a better offensive line to protect their quarterback Joe Burrow, and the team's executives also said that the team would fully support Burrow, with Burrow as the core of the team.
"He's the real core," said Duke Tobin, who is in charge of the Tigers' player development, "and we knew at the time of the draft that when you have such a quarterback, all you need to do is build the team around him completely."
Burrow has been killed 51 times in the regular season, averaging more tackles per game in the playoffs, breaking records frequently, including nine times in the American League division against the and seven times against the Rams' Super Bowl, and it looks like the Tigers' offensive front has reached the point where they have to make up, and Tobin said they may choose to trade a starting-level offensive forward.
The Tigers sent 2018 first-round center Billy Price away before the start of the 2021 season, exchanging defensive interceptor BJ Hill from the Giants. The deal was a win-win, with Price playing the Giants and Hill contributing 5.5 tackles.
Zach Taylor, who has renewed his contract with the Tigers until 2026 for his excellent results in leading the team, also said in an interview that he does not want the team's quarterbacks to be killed so many times in the game and hit so many times. Taylor also has a lot of resources at his disposal, and they have eight draft picks and $47.7 million in salary space this offseason.
The data shows that the Tigers last season's pass protection was the third-to-last in the league, but they believe that the team still has room for improvement, and the second round of the 21st season of the guard Jackson Carman may play a more critical role next season, but this will still not stop the Tigers from reinforcing.
"If you don't have a good offensive front, then a thousand yard running back, two thousand yards away and a star quarterback can't take you to win," Taylor said, implying that he thinks the team's offensive front isn't that bad, "but it's not that we won't stop here, and after some time to come, we'll get better."
(Text/Geng Haoyang)