First, there has to be some optimism with this Bengals team with the play of Burrow and the win over the Titans last week?
It’s definitely an upward trend. The win over the Titans was Zac Taylor’s first against a quality team. The offensive line is improving – Burrow has gotten better in helping them too. He’s mastering the playbook like he did at LSU and not taking unnecessary hits now like he was early on. I think they’ve only had two punts in the last three games.
Starting with the defense – eight turnovers overall and a struggling pass rush. What’s going on there and any upside you can expect?
Yeah, the defense is a huge question. Some weeks it shows up and some weeks it doesn’t.
Logan Wilson – our rookie linebacker – he’s only playing maybe 40% of the snaps right now – I’m not sure if they just don’t trust him on first and second downs. He can generate some plays when he’s in. We’ll see if they give hm more playing time.
They’ve had a ton of injuries on the defensive line. They had a lot of problems with Carlos Dunlap – he hit his ceiling. They relied a lot on Geno Atkins but he hasn’t been the same. Some think it may be just age, others are optimistic it may be due to a bad shoulder. Carl Lawson is the one real pass rush threat but you can focus on him and chip him.
Despite that it hasn’t been a complete trainwreck on defense – what’s stopped that from happening?
The secondary has been anchored by Jesse Bates. His range is incredible and he’s a very smart player. He can get into the mind of a quarterback. The secondary was supposed to have Trae Williams opposite William Jackson but he’s been hurt. Instead they have LaShaun Sims and Darius Phillips in there. Bates’ coverage has covered up a lot of mistakes and made it more difficult to throw deep.
Third downs still seem to be a big issue though – I think you’re near the bottom of the NFL in third down stop percentage?
We’re giving up a lot of yards on third downs. I think a lot of it is a scheme thing – defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is very predictable. He likes to ensure they don’t get burned deep – but that let’s teams throw underneath and work their way downfield. I guarantee if there even a minute left at the end of a half there’s a 90% chance you’ll score.
How do the Steelers match up best versus your defense – especially as your run defense has really struggled?
I think the Steelers are well-built to take on this defense. They have a lot of deep threat guys and Bates can’t be on everybody. If they spread those guys out he can’t be everywhere – they’ll have chances to run Johnson, Claypool and other guys deep and have Ben look off Bates and limit his role there. If the Steelers get those corners on an island and get some big plays, they can demoralize this defense.
What has the Bengals offense done so well that’s created so much success?
Burrow has really begun to master Zac Taylor’s offense – they have bene able to open up the playbook recently. If you send an extra rusher Burrow has been able to punish you for it – he knows where to go with the ball.
The wide receivers don’t get a lot of separation, but Burrow is so accurate and they are good at making contested catches. On third downs they’ve been unpredictable – especially on short yardage downs. They aren’t just running up the middle. They’ve run quarterback sneaks and hit backs in the flat. I think that’s why they punted just two times over the last few games.
Despite a struggling offensive line…
It’s hard to say. They had four backups in versus the Titans. Now, the Titans pass rush isn’t good but I expected the line to get mauled some. Burrow though helped make the offensive line better. Still, there’s some uncertainty on who will play – on what injured guys will be back. And the Steelers are certainly a much more difficult defense to beat than the Titans’.
How do you stop the Bengals offense if you’re the Steelers?
I think you emulate what the Ravens did when they held the Bengals to three points. I’m not sure most teams have the personnel to do what Baltimore did, but the Steelers do. Doing what the Ravens did, throwing in your own wrinkles into that could work. Rolling safeties pre-snap to confuse Borrow. It all runs through Burrow – you have to make him uncomfortable.
How are the special teams units for the Bengals? The Steelers certainly struggled last week.
Darrin Simmons is one of the best coaches in the game – some are talking about him as a head coaching candidate. The special teams don’t make many mistakes on covering kick and punt returns. Their punt return is nothing to be scared of but they have a Pro Bowl kick returner in Brandon Wilson – he’s dangerous. Teams haven’t been giving him many opportunities to return kicks but when they have he’s been able to rip one past the 40.
So, for the Steelers to win….
They need to get to Burrow. He’s played like a superhero some weeks but the Ravens showed he’s still a rookie. The Steelers have the personnel to cause him to have a pedestrian game.
For the Bengals to win…?
If the Bengals win its because they were able to make it a high-scoring affair. They’ve been in every game except the Ravens game but always lose the lead at the end. The need to be ahead by 10-to-14 points at the end to get their first win in Pittsburgh since 2014.
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