Alright then.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ defense is a problem.
While Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles has plenty of blame to be placed on the offense, the defensive unit has struggled for most of the season. Even when the offense was firing on all cylinders, the defense couldn’t get stops.
When speaking to the media Monday, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said he won’t be making any changes going forward.
Lou Anarumo: “That’s one of our A-1A jobs as coaches is to develop these young guys. … It’s never going to change, and we just got to keep leaning on the process that we have. And, we believe in it. It’s worked before, and we just got to stay on top of it and keep working.”
— Laurel Pfahler (@LaurelPfahler) October 28, 2024
That statement is concerning, to say the least. Even as the defensive line has gotten healthy in recent weeks, Trey Hendrickson appears to be the only true difference-maker on the entire unit. When Hendrickson doesn’t bring the quarterback down, nobody does. On days like last Sunday where he can’t get to the backfield, there is little to no pressure on the opposing quarterback.
“It’s worked before,” Anarumo said.
The Bengals defense was a very opportunistic unit in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, so that is likely what he was referring to. However, it has been a problem since last season and doesn’t appear to be changing this season.
The Bengals likely won’t make any trades ahead of next Tuesday’s NFL Trade Deadline, and it doesn’t sound as if any of the young defensive players are in line for any bigger roles than we have already seen from them.
Anarumo is staying stuck in his ways.
