Dan Pitcher ‘very excited’ about narrow room

Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com asked Dan Pitcher about the new elements of the offense and how the first-year offensive coordinator and former Cincinnati Bengals QB coach would change things up schematically.

Pitcher was excited about a lot of things, perhaps most notably tight ends. This is what he said:

Our restricted room is a room that I am very excited about. And I think they had a great spring. Tanner (Hudson), Mike (Gesicki) and Drew (Sample) are obviously the three experienced guys in the room. Everyone feels good about themselves, knows who they are, knows how to play. They wouldn’t stay six or seven years in the league if that wasn’t the case, and they all have some very good football ahead of them. I’m excited about this piece.

This could potentially mean we’ll see more than one on the field a little more often. “Does this mean we will play more than 12 than in the past? Maybe,” Pitcher added.

Some other highlights from the conversation:

• Pitcher makes it clear the offense won’t change drastically, although he adds: “Certainly, we’ve made some small adjustments and maybe put some emphasis on some areas that might have been less emphasized in the past immediate.”
• Rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton of Alabama Crimson Tide makes a good impression. Here’s what Pitcher had to say about him:

Very talented. Some of the safest hands and ball skills I’ve seen. A young player who attacks the ball really hard, but then shoots it gently. If that makes sense. Great body control, change of direction…I see him getting the job done and he’s only going to get better in that area…I think he has a ton of growth ahead of him. But I think he’s approaching things in such a way that he’s going to get where we need him…

• With Tyler Boyd leaving for the Tennessee Titans, it will likely be slot by commission. “I think we have six guys that we can put in there in any shape and form that all do certain things well,” he said.
• Zack Moss could help the Bengals finally replace Samaje Perine. “I think Zack brings a lot of the positive things that we felt about Samaje,” Pitcher said. “I think he’s going to be a tough, physical runner to play against. He’s going to be able to do a number of different things for us in protection, in the passing game and as a runner. Very happy we have it.