CINCINNATI — No one is taking more of the brunt of Sunday’s defensive collapse than defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo.
He knows that’s part of the job in the NFL and that’s what is going to happen when your defense allows over 500 yards to an offense that was averaging just 328 per game coming in.
Russell Wilson completed 29-of-38 passes for 414 yards and three touchdowns, including 21-of-27 for 257 yards in the first half with two touchdowns. The 414 yards were the second-most in his career. The Steelers were averaging 192 yards passing entering Week 13 before they more than doubled that totaled on Sunday.
“I think, obviously, I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t say I wasn’t frustrated with the outcomes,” he said. “We all do as much as humanly possible to get and play up to our standard. And that’s something that I pride myself on, and the rest of the coaches, and we’ll keep doing that every day.”
Anarumo says he has no questions about the desire of his defense, insisting “nobody is letting go of the rope.” The problem is getting everyone to pull in the same direction.
That’s why the Bengals missed so many tackles again on Sunday, double figures for the fifth time this season.
That number is simply not sustainable or acceptable in today’s NFL where the strategy is to keep high-powered offenses geared down to short plays and keep the play in front of you. When you don’t, 7-yard dump-offs become 50-yard jailbreaks down the field.
The Steelers had seven plays on Sunday that began with passes of less than 7 yards that turned into gains of over 20 yards. That is catastrophic to any team, with or without a Joe Burrow on your team.
“Obviously, all of this starts and ends with me,” Anarumo said on Monday. “How we play is certainly my responsibility. I think the players have done a fantastic job of preparing, practicing with energy, giving us their best. I’m proud of the way we’ve gone about that. We need to do a better job — I need to do a better job of making sure it shows up on Sundays.
“It always comes down to the little things. And I’ve said, unfortunately, for the last few weeks, just inconsistencies. That’s something we’re harping on. But we’ll continue to fight to get better every day and find answers for things that have been hurting us.”
Head coach Zac Taylor and Anarumo continue to look for solutions that might give the Bengals a late-season kick and help right a sinking ship.
“Just finding solutions and again here on December 2, whatever it is, there’s no magic formula that’s going to fix everything and change everything,” Taylor told me. “So we got to get guys playing detailed, playing fast, be in a great position to make the tackles, get guys on the field to create stops.”
Then there’s the little details that get missed and messed up – like not containing Justin Fields on an obvious QB option run on third-and-4 with a chance to get the ball back, down six with over 90 seconds left in the game.
Rookie Josh Newton came crashing down from his corner spot on the edge leaving the area outside the tight end wide open for Fields to take a Sunday jog to the outside and slide in safely with the play that sealed the Bengals’ fate, for the game and really, the season.
“Josh is outside the tight end, and there’s nobody that wants to make the play more than Josh,” Anarumo said. “He knows the situation. He knows what’s going on. And unfortunately didn’t (make the play). The next time he gets that opportunity, I have full faith that he will.”
Anarumo showed that faith by calling Newton hours after the game.
“He’s a guy who was one of the first guys spoke to (Sunday) night on the phone, because I know how much it means to him,” Anarumo said. “He’s a very serious guy and really cares, like all our guys do, cares about his teammates and what he’s doing out there. There’s nobody in that locker room or in our meeting room on defense that feels good about what has happened. So, he took it to heart, and certainly doesn’t ever want it to happen again.”
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Cam Taylor-Britt had the pick-6 to start the game but also had a couple of penalties that extended Steeler drives that led to points. Overall though, Anarumo thought it was an improvement from his meltdown in LA that resulted in a benching until the DJ Turner injury forced him back in the game.
“Obviously, he started off great, as I thought Cam would,” Anarumo said. “He reacted the right way during the week. I told you last week he reacted well during the game, and I was proud of the way he came out and started the game and certainly had the big play to get us going. So I was happy with him.
“Cam was fine (Sunday). He battled. He had a couple penalties, but it’s a physical bunch and he was trying to be physical. So I’d rather him be that way than the other way.”
But the safety spot continues to be a troubling area for the Bengals, and really has been in the two years without Jessie Bates. That was something Anarumo acknowledged on Monday. Vonn Bell was brought back from stability this season but is older and a step slower. He was benched Sunday in favor of second-year safety Jordan Battle.
“We were fortunate a few years back with the situation we were in, and I just think, again, I’ll put it on me,” Anarumo said. “That’s my background. I’m a DB coach at heart. I’ve got to do a better job to get the guys in place to make plays, get guys on the ground. That’s our jobs as coaches. My job. So I’ve got to do better.”
Geno Stone missed three tackles in open space in the middle of the field that led to gains of at least 15 yards. This comes on top of the Chargers game where there appeared to be lapses in communication on the outside and in the red zone that led to wide open receivers.
But Anarumo sees the secondary as an entire unit that is struggling and at some point, you’ve got to let your best players play and Stone, is still one of those players in the middle of the secondary.
“No,” answered Anarumo when asked Monday if he’s considering sitting him down like he’s done with Bell and Taylor-Britt. “Geno’s our guy. We’ll move forward there. We gave Jordan the starting nod this week. I think Vonn had 15 snaps throughout the game in some packages. Going forward we’ll keep it that way. For the most part, Jordan had some good plays. Hopefully he’ll continue to trend in the right direction.”
As for Stone’s missed tackles, it’s not about effort according to Anarumo.
“Yeah. Geno’s all in. One hundred percent,” Anarumo insisted.
For most of the season, Joseph Ossai has been the classic case of close but not close enough. But Ossai has been getting some pressure and push toward the quarterback lately, recording a sack in each of his last two games for his first two of the year.
His trademark motor has been on in the eyes of Anarumo. At this point, the Bengals can use all the energy they can muster from a defense that has struggled to get any pressure on the quarterback from anyone not named Trey Hendrickson.
“One thing about Joseph is his want-to is 100 percent there, his great effort,” Anarumo said. “He had a couple plays where he was around the quarterback. There’s nobody out there that I can say is letting go of the rope. That’s just so important. I hate to say that even comes up, but our guys are fighting til the end.”
The Bengals defensive coordinator knows full well that the unit hasn’t been close to competitive in key situations this season and it’s cost the Bengals a chance at staying relevant in the AFC.
The Bengals allowed the Russell Wilson-led Steelers to amass 518 yards in Sunday’s 44-38 shootout loss that dropped Cincinnati to 4-8 on the season.
“My message was we’ve got great men. We signed up (as) NFL players and coaches and our jobs are to come out and practice like professionals and meet like professionals and play like professionals. And that means, what does that mean? It means having great energy, having great passion for the game, and play these five games and see where we’re at at the end of it, you know?
“And I think that’s what the task at hand is. And I’d be disappointed if we didn’t approach it that way. I think that we have the right kind of guys that will do that, the right kind of leadership. And I’m confident that they will.”
