‘You Don’t Have To Change Much’

When Taylor met Flacco in the locker room Tuesday night, it was for the second time ever. The first time came last year when the Colts and the Bengals had a joint practice before a preseason game.

Yet with Flacco in his 18^th year, all but five in the AFC North, Taylor feels like he knows him inside-and-out.

“I know his game. Played against him (three times) … I’m very comfortable with his style, concepts he’s been good at, things that fit us that we do,” Taylor said. “The terminology there is a lot of carryover, more so than what I would have anticipated, so feel like we can get him up to speed quickly.”

Plus, an added bonus is Flacco and the Browns beat the Packers in Cleveland 17 days ago, 13-10, when he hit 21 of 36 passes for 142 yards and an interception. As Flacco bids to become the first starting quarterback to win his Bengals debut since A.J. McCarron won on the road in San Francisco 10 years ago, Taylor says he’ll have to account for rabid Lambeau Field, but some film work has already been done. Huge in a week packed like a sardine.

“You’ve done seven days of prep already on the team and got out there and played and felt them and understand what their line feels like, understands the basic cover structures and some of the things that they try to do to stress you,” Taylor said. “On top of studying our stuff and watching the tape, usually the quarterback already knows your offense, and so he’s just focused on watching the tape of the opponent.

“Now, at least the one advantage we do have with bringing Joe Flacco in here specifically is he’s watched tape for a week. He’s played this game. He’ll still need to do the same thing, because they played two games since then, but at the same time, it’s at least there’s in the back of his mind. ‘I’ve played these guys, and I have an understanding of how they try to attack you.'”

Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden is also five weeks removed from preparing for Flacco.

“In terms of his ability not to throw the ball away, put the ball in bad spots, he didn’t really put the ball in danger at all,” Golden recalled of the Bengals’ 17-16 win. “I know we pressured a couple of times and sacked him a couple of times, but I thought he managed the game really well. I said it before the game and I’ll say it now, his arm still scares you. He still has power in his arm. He can push the ball down field.

“I don’t think he’ll get rattled. Obviously, teams will come after him because there’s a new procedure and things of that nature, but he can see it. He has great vision, his pre-snap awareness is awesome. He’ll kick the ball out if he gets the right look. I just think he plays with a lot of poise. And I told him after the game when we played him, just how much respect I had for him, because a lot of different looks we gave him and he was able to process at the line of scrimmage really quickly.”

Taylor said once director of player personnel Duke Tobin told him Tuesday that Flacco was the guy they could pry loose, he knew he had his Sunday starter. Jake Browning’s six interceptions in the three-game losing skid Taylor has entrusted Flacco to stop had been a disqualifier.

Taylor couldn’t wait to tell Flacco he was starting:

“That was probably the second sentence I told him.”