CINCINNATI — At one point during a critical third-quarter drive in Arizona, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s secondary consisted of Mike Hilton and four players yet to turn 24 with a combined 24 career starts.
Anarumo briefly laughed to himself on Wednesday at the mention of this youthful turn of his DBs. Traditionally shying away from rookies and inexperience, he’s enduring the trial and error of inexperience and potential.
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“There are certainly some things where you say, ‘What are we doing?'” Anarumo said. “But that’s part of it when you got rookies. They are going to do things that rookies do in the first quarter of the season.”
Anarumo says he’s “way more patient” with these rookies littering his rotations.
However, patience wasn’t exactly the first word used when assessing Anarumo and the rookies.
“He’s doing better,” said captain DJ Reader of his coordinator’s rookie tolerance. “It’s the secondary, so I know that’s tough on him because those are his babies. He’s not bad. They do piss him off a lot, though.”
Third-round pick Jordan Battle has pushed free agent Nick Scott out of snaps and Anarumo said that will continue as he challenges to supplant him as the starter opposite 2022 first-round pick Dax Hill. Second-rounder DJ Turner was the most impressive rookie in camp and warranted a role, one that he’s run with as Chidobe Awuzie has worked back from injury. Cam Taylor-Britt feels like a veteran with his 17 career starts.
Anarumo never played a rookie more than 420 snaps before last season. This year, he could end up with three, if first-rounder Myles Murphy eventually warrants an uptick. That’s before considering Hill is in his first season as a starter.
“Sometimes it’s out of necessity or need,” Anarumo said. “I don’t think we’re in that mode. I just think that some guys have shown promise.”
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Patience and promise are running thin with the Bengals defense as the next three games feature three top-10 offenses in the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills. They also feature teams with strengths in spots where the Bengals are seeking improvement.
That starts with stopping the run and ending an ugly trend of missed tackles.
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What used to be a rationalization Anarumo turned into a concerning trend. In the early weeks of the season, he would cite the high percentage of runs the Bengals were stopping as a reason to believe his unit was headed in the right direction despite giving up unsightly numbers against the run.
Despite being near league average in defensive success rate, the Bengals rank 31st in the league in stopping explosive runs.
Last year, the Bengals allowed six rushes of 20-plus yards. They have equaled that total already this season.
| Statistic | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
Success% | 59.3% (21st) | 60% (14th) |
EPA/Snap | -1.3 (24th) | 3.7 (14th) |
%10+ | 17.2% (31) | 10.3% (24th) |
%0 or Negative | 13.8% (32nd) | 19.2 (16th) |
Missed tackles/game | 10 | 5.9 |
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Not only are too many long runs getting out, but not enough are being blown up. The Bengals rank dead last in runs being stopped for zero or negative yards.
The primary thread in these issues? Missed tackles. Four extra missed tackles per game compared to last year accounts for the vast majority of the damage.
Don’t expect Anarumo and head coach Zac Taylor to start going full contact in practice midseason. That’s not happening. The fix comes in attention paid to the same drills, not instituting new ones.
“Yeah, the same drills allowed us to be one of the best tackling teams in the league for years, so we’re not changing them,” Anarumo said.
The Bengals’ secondary has shared in the error. Of the 90 NFL defensive backs with at least 250 snaps, three Bengals rank in the bottom half in missed tackle percentage.
• T-1. Mike Hilton
• 13. Cam Taylor-Britt
• 35. Nick Scott
This isn’t a rookie thing. Merely, one where a collection of younger players can contribute to the general increase in explosive plays allowed.
If they don’t fix tackling and explosives immediately, their grasp on the season could slip away as well.
The next three opponents come with specific strengths in the Bengals’ area of weakness.
Seattle’s Kenneth Walker ranks sixth amongst running backs with 19 missed tackles forced this year. Christian McCaffery ranks second.
There’s hope the evolution of the rookie class, including more snaps for Battle, could be the solution going forward instead of the problem.
“Those guys are growing on (Anarumo),” Reader said. “They are not dumb, they are just young and reckless. They came along and are showing you got to play them. I just don’t think any rookie is to be trusted. You just hope being a competitor has taken over.”
The Bengals spent their last seven Day 1 and 2 picks over the past three drafts on defense.
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They may not all be able to be totally trusted, but the staff is willing to live with it.
“That’s just the state of our roster right now,” Taylor said.
Maybe Anarumo is softening. Or maybe he’s just searching for answers. Either way, he’s done caring about age and status.
“This isn’t high school or college where you got to wait your turn,” he said. “The best ones will play.”
(Photo of Cam Taylor-Britt returning an interception for a touchdown against the Cardinals: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
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