“The film speaks for itself. You see the Rams running wild all day,” said Mixon, the defending AFC rushing champion leering at last season’s 4.9 yards per carry and 17 touchdowns from Rams running back Todd Gurley. “We’ve got that same offense. I would think we have better players than them with these offensive weapons. I would think we can do the same stuff, if not more, than they can.” -Running back Joe Mixon

My Take:

This quote should get every fan in the city of Cincinnati fired up. It remains to be seen if Taylor can replicate the success of L.A. Rams head coach Sean McVay, but this should provide optimism that he can. Mixon should be the focal point of the brand new offense and don’t be surprised if he puts up Gurley-like numbers. I agree with him that the weapons in Cincy are indeed better than what L.A. has, but it’s the offensive line that will hold them back. This offense averaged over 30 points per game during the first month of 2018, injuries struck and they struggled after that(as you can see in the table below). Now imagine what they’re capable of under an offensive-minded head coach with healthy personnel.