How Lou Anarumo and Zac Taylor are dissecting the Bengals' defensive downfall

CINCINNATI The look in Lou Anarumos eyes and the tone in his voice said more than his words ever could.

When the question was raised about whether his message was still getting through to the players on his defense, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator emphatically left no doubt regarding his opinion.

My message is getting across crystal clear, he said.

GO DEEPER No choice remains: Bengals must blow up everything on defense The Staten Island native with a reputation for bluntness delivered it while pressed into the most tenuous spot of a largely successful six-year run with the Bengals .

I know what it feels like when players I think we all do as coaches at some point feel like if maybe its not, its no different than being a teacher when youre in the classroom, he said.

If all eyes arent on you, youve got an issue.

All eyes are always on me, and I have a great respect for all of the players in our room and I feel like theyll give us their best and I feel like my message is getting across, to answer your question.

The Walkout: Steelers 44, #Bengals 38 What happens with Lou Anarumo? Why Burrow's words today were especially poignant What missed tackles?! Presented by @CincyShirts : https://t.co/CsRcgF0Vsu : https://t.co/vlJkezTSzC pic.twitter.com/9aORdKVfJ6 Paul Dehner Jr.

(@pauldehnerjr) December 2, 2024 The Bengals defense allowed 37 offensive points to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday and produced a laundry list of historically bad statistics during a season thats flushed an MVP-level performance from Joe Burrow down the drain.

His message in the aftermath of the latest debacle, one that unofficially ended the teams playoff hopes, was also crystal clear: Put this on him.

Advertisement All of this starts and ends with me, Anarumo said, offering a rare opening statement upon sitting down with reporters Monday.

How we play is certainly my responsibility.

The players have done a fantastic job of preparing, practicing with energy, giving us our best.

Proud of the way weve gone about that.

I need to do a better job of making sure it shows up on Sundays.

Throughout the nearly 20-minute dissection of a game and season gone awry, Anarumo repeatedly reverted to the same theme no matter the tangent.

Ive got to do better, he said.

Anarumo finds himself embattled during a season when hes rotated players at nearly every position outside of linebacker, some due to injury but more in a desperate search for playmaking for a team allowing 36.4 points per game in seven games against teams currently in the playoff picture.

The Bengals are 0-7 in those games, despite averaging 30.3 points.

Despite having to scale back snaps for starters Vonn Bell , Sam Hubbard , Cam Taylor-Britt and a cast of others and the teams facing five games mostly motivated by pride instead of playoffs, he held firm that these players arent faulted for effort or desire.

That included doubling down on Geno Stone as the starting safety despite missing three more tackles Sunday, adding to his team-high number of 16.

He said Stone, a free-agent acquisition from the Baltimore Ravens , is all in with his effort regarding tackling.

That is a common theme in the dissection of whats going wrong inside the building.

The players are trying hard.

They are practicing hard.

Winning and doing it right matters to them.

All those attributes just arent translating to Sunday when 14 missed tackles, according to PFF, led an endless list of physical and mental mistakes.

Weve got to tackle better, theres no question, coach Zac Taylor said.

Weve got to be on the same page with all the details.

I think its simple as that.

Find ways to create turnovers, get stops.

Guys are accountable for it.

Guys feel like they got punched in the gut.

We all feel that way.

All three phases, there are things we can do better to help us win a game.

Its not just one unit.

GO DEEPER Scoop City: Risers and fallers after Week 13 Yet, a simple play like Josh Newton and Jordan Battle biting inside on Justin Fields final rush of the game when the obvious play was to stay outside in case he runs the zone read as part of the package the Steelers have repeatedly used with him.

Anarumo points out that fact was clearly illustrated and practiced during the week, but when it came time to make the play, they didnt.

And a chance to give the ball back to Burrow with an opportunity to win the game was lost.

The play served as a microcosm of the bigger picture.

Advertisement They put Justin Fields in for a reason, Battle said.

Hes a threat in the run game.

Thats what hes been the last few weeks.

They put him in for key rundowns.

Its about reading our keys.

We knew we had the edge, we knew we had to contain the edge, and he got outside of us and the game was over.

Just doing the small things right and disabling plays like that.

The small things arent getting done right.

They havent all season by any number of offenders.

Taylor was asked to explain staying on the same page with all the details still being an issue defensively in Week 13.

I wish I could explain it, he said.

Its something we work through.

I do feel good about the preparation, but that hasnt shown up on game day as much as it needs to.

Zac Taylor speaks to the media going into Week 14 at Dallas.

https://t.co/lg7EbhQVFz Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 2, 2024 Taylor comes from an offensive background, serves as the primary play caller and mostly turns the defense over to Anarumo.

Thats worked well, specifically in 2021 when Anarumos defense quietly drove the Bengals AFC title run and in 2022 when they ranked sixth in points allowed landing on the doorstep of back-to-back Super Bowl berths.

Yet, in times like the past two years when the wheels have come off, hes found himself spending slightly more time attached to the defensive process, just as he would for any issue that cropped up in a specific phase of the game.

Offensive background or not, Taylor acknowledges responsibility for the defensive performance does land on his shoulders, too.

A lot, you cant shy away from that, he said.

Just because most of my knowledge is on offense and thats how I came up, as the head coach, that changes.

And you answer to everything.

Again, obviously, theres challenges when youre calling plays and youre on the offensive side of the ball.

But theres no excuse for it.

You got 24 hours in a day and youve gotta make the most of it.

I do everything I can to spend time with Lou and have knowledge whats happening, what the issues are over there and doing everything that I can to help him.

Advertisement Inevitably, the pressure falls on the coordinator to salvage the final five games of this season despite all thats spiraling out of control.

It could be an effort to salvage his job.

His focus hasnt turned to that.

All eyes are on keeping his message and connection with the players crystal clear.

Theres as much pressure in this league every day you walk into the building, Anarumo said.

My focus is on our players and trying to get them better every day.

Thats all I think about.

I mean, we all know, as NFL coaches, what we signed up for.

And like I said, my concerns are our players and getting them in the best position to be successful on Sundays.

Thats all I think about.

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(Photo of Lou Anarumo: Sam Greene / Imagn Images).

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