CINCINNATI – If he could, Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden would have spent 24 hours straight starting at the game film and all the issues that led to Sunday’s 39-38 loss to previously winless New York Jets.
But as he said, “The league doesn’t wait for anybody.”
The Bengals have a new opponent with a new set of challenges to prepare for in six days, so the process of critiquing and correcting doesn’t change much from week to week, regardless of how bad a loss might have been.
Golden took 25 minutes out of his review-react-recalibrate routine to talk to answer questions about the failures in the Jets loss as well as some bigger picture problems plaguing his unit as it hits the halfway point of the season.
Let’s start with some specific plays and then widen the lens.
On Breece Hall’s game-winning touchdown pass and what DJ Turner II could have done differently:
“He would love to have finished up and through the ball. It’s just a tough one to swallow, because we had so many (black) shirts out there and he ended up throwing it late. But the kid made a great play.”
On Justin Fields’ two-point conversion run that cut the lead to 31-24 early in the fourth quarter:
“Well, we had too many guys behind him. Then 44 (Demetrius Knight Jr.) lost leverage on him. Technically we’re supposed to follow that back in there so there’s no escape route. So he really should have been stuck in the middle of the pocket there. He had an escape route, and once he gets in space, he’s difficult.”
On blitzing safety Jordan Battle pulling up despite having a free run at Fields on fourth and 2, resulting in a 15-yard touchdown pass:
“Anybody could look at that and figure they could have just run through it. He knows that. So I think the big thing there is keep your feet on the ground and run through it. You can match your hand. There’s nothing wrong with that, but just don’t slow down and keep your feet grounded. You just run through it. We were just talking about the technique of mirroring the hand and running through, but he did hesitate and he did leave his feet. So that was tough.”
Hesitation issues
Head coach Zac Taylor mentioned the hesitation he’s seen from some of the younger defenders during his news conference about 20 minutes before Golden spoke.
Just as defensive coordinators usually bristle at the notion their scheme is simple, “hesitation” is another word that triggers.
“You’ve just got to trust your technique and go at the end of the day. We want to have a defense that plays fast and tackles well in the alley and plays great fundamental football. As coordinator, I definitely don’t want hesitancy at any level of the defense. So we work hard to eliminate that, to be honest with you. We want the guys playing fast, playing with energy, playing with passion, and if there is hesitancy, we have to get rid of it fast.”
Poor run defense, poor pass rush, poor tackling
The Bengals currently lead the NFL with 84 missed tackles, per Sport Radar.
And that’s with the site flagging them for a season-low three in Sunday’s loss.
The New York Jets are a distant second with 63.
Since Sport Radar began tracking missed tackles in 2007, only four teams have had more through their first eight games than the Bengals’ 84.
The 2015 Steelers had 100, followed by the 2017 Chargers (96), the 2015 Redskins (92) and the 2018 Browns (91).
The Bengals rank 29th in quarterback hits (29) and tied for 28th in sacks (11).
In the last two games, they have three hits (only one by a defensive lineman) and no sacks.
And they rank dead last in rushing defense, allowing 151.9 yards per game.
So which is the biggest issue in Golden’s mind?
“We didn’t affect the quarterback enough. I didn’t think we were spectacular against the run in the first half, but it wasn’t awful. You can’t give up three explosives like that and think you’re going to win the game. That ties into the other point – space tackling is a part of that. They go hand and hand. If you’re talking about a 3-yard gain in the B gap, that’s a different conversation than 137 yards on four runs.
“I’ve got to put (the pass rushers) in a better position. We’ve got to pressure more. Of course you have to win one on ones. That’s a part of it. We have to win our one on ones and get them off track so it’s more pocket pass and less play action. All of it was coming together to create that.”
Lack of physicality
The reason the pass rush has been so poor is the Bengals aren’t getting off blocks and winning one on ones.
And while many of the missed tackles have been due to poor angles and techniques, there have been plenty – two in fact, that Golden mentioned in Sunday’s game – where a defender was in position in the hole and didn’t get the ball carrier on the ground.
So is the lack of physicality concerning?
“Oh no, it’s not a lack of physicality. It’s not a lack of want-to. I thought we were ready to play the game. There’s no doubt about it. We did not answer the bell when we needed to in the in the fourth quarter. But it’s hard to look out there in the first half and say we weren’t ready to play the game, or we weren’t physical the first play the game.
“I wouldn’t say it’s lack of physicality. We’ve just got to get to the point where we’re just playing faster and playing with confidence and trust in each other. And don’t make it bigger than that.”
Player development
Maybe the biggest reason Lou Anarumo isn’t still defensive coordinator and Golden is, deals with player development.
The Bengals have spent 10 Top-100 draft picks on defensive players since 2022, and the defense has been awful for going on three seasons.
Golden touched on the development of three of his struggling edge rushers.
Shemar Stewart:
“Infant stages, to be honest with you. Raw talent. You see it, but a long way to go in terms of catching up to the number of reps that the guys to left and to the right and behind him have had. Every one of those reps is a learning opportunity. We’re just trying to get him better and do whatever we’ve got to do to compound his reps in practice so that we can get him caught up. Hopefully it will start to slow down for him.
“He’ll be the first to tell you he just needs to be more consistent. It’s technique on top of assignment on top of what the offense is doing to you. That’s a lot for him right now for where he is. Once it slows down, I know his talent is going to take over. That’s where we’re trying to get him to so that he can go back to enjoying the game and play with passion. It’ll come. He’s a great kid.”
Myles Murphy:
“I think he’s continuing to make progress. He’s playing stronger at the line of scrimmage. We need him to win his one on ones in the pass rush game. He’s long. Just know who you are as a pass rusher. He’s continuing to make progress there, and we’ve just got to get it to translate to the game now, which I’m confident it will.”
Joseph Ossai:
“We ask him to do a lot. We ask him to rush, we ask him to drop in coverage, we ask him to do a lot for us, and that’s not easy. So he is incredibly willing to do whatever we ask him to do for the defense and for the team. He’s an incredibly unselfish player. Sometimes we will ask him to cover on a stunt for instance if he’s on Trey (Hendrickson’s) side, that kind of thing. So maybe it’s not all showing up in the stat line, but he is incredibly valuable to us and a tenacious worker, somebody that is the same guy every day. So I’m glad that we have him.”
Part of developing players is knowing when to cut bait and decide a guy can’t play.
Golden was asked how long it takes to know that.
“That’s a great question. All I can tell you is from my experience. When I got here, Germaine Pratt – who was, for me, one of the most fun people to work with, most rewarding – would probably tell you he didn’t have the most consistent rookie year. And he went on to have eight, nine years, two AFC Championship games, big plays, Super Bowl. I don’t know if people would have said that after his rookie year, and he just kept getting better and better, and it slowed down for him.
“Demetrius Knight comes to mind. You look at the tackle sheet and you’re like, ‘Man he’s making a lot of tackles.’ Then there some plays that he’s missing that you know he’s capable of, and your sitting there and going, ‘If he puts that together with what he’s already making,’ because of his effort and because of his suddenness and because of his strength, he’s really going to be something.
“They all learn at different times and different levels. It wasn’t too long ago we were in here talking about DJ Turner not starting against Cleveland. He is so consistent right now and so purposeful in how he practices. That’s the path for anybody, that process.”
Monday’s players-only meeting
Knight said the defensive unit held a players-only meeting Monday.
Golden was asked what says to him.
“That it’s unacceptable, that there’s a higher standard there and we let our brothers down on special teams and offense. And we can’t do that. It’s as simple as that. I don’t know what was talked about, nor should I. It does feel like the fact that that was called is a sense of urgency there, as there should be, because we cannot do that to the offense or special teams again.”
First Appeared on
Source link
