Cincinnati Bengals’ Defense Dealing With MAJOR ISSUES After Win Over Steelers

Cincinnati Bengals’ Defense Dealing With MAJOR ISSUES After Win Over Steelers

Al Golden’s got a threelevel problem to solve with his defense. They need to get better on that side of the ball. Let’s get into it. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What up, Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I’m Jake LCO. He’s James Rain and we’ve had you covered here on Locked on Bengals since 2016. The best one-stop shop for all things Bengals. You get news, you get analysis, you get film breakdowns, you get previews, you get everything you need to stay uptodate on your Cincinnati Bengals. Every day already know about that. and welcome back if you make lockdown Bengals your first listen today on what is the beginning of a mini by week in many ways as the Bengals are back to work on Monday in some capacity have a long week to get ready for the New York Jets we’re going to dive into some of the things that hopefully they’re fixing over the course of the first of what will be two mini buys for the Bengals this year in addition to their actual by week with the second Thursday night game coming against Baltimore later this year and some problems that they need to address at every level of this defense. Whether it’s Cam Taylor Britt in the secondary and and the safety play that we saw against the Steelers or the lack of a pass rush, the rookie linebackers out there, a lot at every level to dive into today. We also will touch later in the show about the questions that remain at guard. We’ve been talking about the guard position for the Cincinnati Bengals since the summer, since the spring, since forever, and uh well, that will remain the case today. But James, the Bengals have to get things sorted on this defense. Joe Flacco will not be out there to score 35 points a week. That is a lofty standard. However, the defense is allowing 30 points a game. And well, we’re sponsored by FanDuel today and you can get $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins with FanDuel. If FanDuel were to just set the the overunders based on what the Bengals are allowing in points per game, it would be 30 points for the opposition right now. Yeah, it’s uh look, this Bengals team is built for the offense to win them games and for the offense to be the reason why they make the playoffs and do everything that they’re hoping to do. But, and here’s the big butt. And that’s right, it’s a big butt, Jake. The Bengals needed multiple young guys to emerge as not just functional, not just solid, but emerge as big- time playmakers. And it’s no coincidence. I really don’t think it is a coincidence. Jordan Battle has three interceptions this year. All three of those interceptions came in Bengals wins and they were they were big differencemaking plays. But outside of DJ Turner, whose recent emergence over the past month has made him to me the most exciting young player on this defense, the most exciting building block that isn’t an established star like Trey Hendrickson. And as great as that is, there’s really not a close second. I’m probably the biggest Dax Hill guy in the on on the planet maybe outside of his family and he’s been really solid. But that might be the list is like Jordan Battle half the games. Dax Hill solid. DJ Turner, oh man, he’s been so sticky and has all these pass breakups and obviously had that amazing interception the other day. Like maybe he’s going to be a not just a foundation piece but a a budding star. like if you look at it through the the the best case or best scenario, but outside of that, it’s not like you’re getting a ton out of all these rookies that you’re banking on on defense. It’s not like you’re getting a ton out of Miles Murphy or Joseph Osai in a pro year when he signed that one-year contract with hopes of of cashing in in March. Like all of these guys that were whatifs or question marks, most of them are either still question marks and haven’t emerged or have emerged, Cam. And what they’ve done is been underwhelming enough to be a healthy scratch. So, I know I just hit on like the entire defense, but that’s why you said three levels because it’s not it’s not like we’re like, “Oh, well, Shamar and and Joseph and and Miles, they have a pass rush outside of Trey Hendrickson.” No one feels that way. No one feels like Jordan Battle, at least I don’t, has played well enough to to know at this point that he’s going to be a a contract extension type of player this offseason. Maybe he gets there, but I don’t feel that way right now. And that sucks because that that’s translated to this defense doing what it’s done, which is give up 30 plus per game. For the regulars on this defense, it’s Trey and DJ Turner. And those are the guys that you feel like have relatively consistently made plays, especially DJ Turner the last three weeks. He’s had an excellent three weeks, last two weeks, highlighted by pass breakups. He leads the NFL with nine pass breakups according to PFF charting. Whatever you want to say about the stats, he’s had the crazy interceptions. DJ Turner is having a a breakout year that is reminiscent of how last year went for DJ Turner where it was a bit of a slower start for him and then by the time he started to emerge, he got hurt. So, if he can stay healthy, there’s a two-year trend and and there’s a a linear trajectory that DJ Turner has been on since a rookie where we we saw some of the flashes. We saw that, you know, DJ Turner often was the guy that was like in position but couldn’t make a play on the ball and then started making plays on the ball a little bit more. And then this year we’re seeing a lot of plays on the ball to the point where he’s leading the league in ball disruption at corner if you if you count pass breakups and interceptions and just add those numbers together. But it’s him and and Trey is still an effective pass rusher. I have seen some people say that Trey has slowed down this year. His numbers are worse. he’s losing money. Uh, you know, he missed a game. I think that’s a little bit of a superficial look at Trey’s stats. If you’re only looking at sacks, his his trend for sacks is certainly off of 17 right now. His trend for overall pressures is down a little bit right now, but the the underlying pass rush win rate, if you look at those numbers across the board, if you look at Brandon Thorne’s analysis, Trey Trey is still good. But beyond that, remember when we talked about coin flips for this team and we talked we’re we’re gonna toss like 10 coins on this defense and maybe half of them come up heads and and you start to figure some things out, find some guys to build around. Maybe Al Golden can can find ways to put guys in better positions. And part of this is Al Golden needs to be better. In my opinion, I think there are a few play calls, and this isn’t surprising, but there’s a few play calls a game where I’m really wondering what the heck Golden’s thinking. Zero blitzing, Aaron Rogers on third and eight in the red zone. I’ve talked about a few times. I still don’t like that call. Aaron Rogers is just too good for you to try to pull that card out. That the threeman rush that leads to Aaron Rogers 10-year touchdown where he’s running around for the entire game and then finds a guy. Alton took responsibility for that one. It’s Well, you’re highlighting two extremes for sure. Right. Right. And and so that tells me he’s searching, right? And he’s really really trying to search for the right the right formula. And and it’s that and it’s like the way they’re starting games, right? That the way that it that they’re kind of getting these slow starts, giving up touchdowns on opening drives so frequently. But then beyond just hell golden and we can come back to this topic, they have this throw it at the wall and see what sticks approach right now with personnel too. And like all those coins that we talked about flipping except DJ Turner have come up at best on their side, but most of those are on tails right now and they’re not getting those good outcomes where we thought ah maybe half of them will turn up heads and they’ll be okay. They’ve had some spurts of playing okay. They’re really inconsistent right now as a group, but it’s just not good enough between tackling, between guys being out of position in zone, between some of these play calls, between guys not being in run gaps. There’s just too many problems too consistently right now for this Bengals defense. Yeah, I it’s it’s a good point and and it’s I’m trying to think a theme might be the wrong word, but I’m going to say theme. Searching is probably the right word. They’re searching everywhere clearly. They’re looking under the rug. Oh, Barrett Carter. Oh, well, Marco Wilson. Well, like it just trying anything. And I just want them to be able to tackle Jake. Like just just like simple stuff like you’re going to give up plays. Fine. Aaron Rogers buys time and you only rush three and you realize you probably shouldn’t have rushed three and he has 8.6 six seconds to throw and he finds Jonnu Smith for a touchdown. Like, okay, but can you tackle Jaylen Warren? Can you not have a breakdown with your veteran safety when you’re up six where Pat Frymouth scores what could have been the game-winning touchdown? Like, those are the things that are are really frustrating. Like, that can’t happen. Like, if you and me were playing safety, I’d be so mad if we gave that play up. Just so you know. like if you and me were there and because it that just shouldn’t happen. And beyond that, it was the second time it happened in the game and Aaron Rogers had seen the entire game. Yeah. When DK Metaf’s over there, Gino Stone’s getting way out over the numbers and that’s opening up the seam. They got you on a third and 18 and then they got you again on a second and 20 for a 70 yard touchdown and it’s second and 20 and they got to go get a touchdown. like h it’s uh mighty mighty frustrating and and it is the 2025 Cincinnati Bengals defense to this point. We’ll continue the conversation coming up next. I’m Cody Ro from Lockdown Broncos and this episode is brought to you by Pelaton. Pelaton is shaping the future of fitness with the brand new Pelaton crossraining tread plus powered by Pelaton IQ. This is Pelaton’s most advanced equipment yet, giving you real time guidance and endless ways to move. Whether you’re running, lifting, or you’re crossraining with your favorite instructors like Alex Tusant, it’s training reimagined to make your workout more personal. Pelaton is built for breakthroughs with features that help you plan, stay motivated, and hit peak performance. You can let yourself run, lift, flex, and go while Pelaton handles all the rest. Plus, Pelaton IQ provides real time strength coaching, tracking your progress and suggesting weights that challenge you so you can get stronger. Plus, the new movement tracking camera. It counts your reps and corrects your form in real time, making sure every rep is safer and smarter. So, let yourself run, lift, flex, push, and go. Explore the new Pelaton crossraining tread plus at onepelon.com. Today’s show is also brought to you by Mazda. Mazda crafts cars for those who do more than simply move from footwork to breath work. Athletes sweat all the details. The Bengals defense needs to sweat every single detail. Mazda already does that. They bring the same intention with how they craft every single model. And you can make everyday drives feel like anything but from smooth handling to intuitive controls. Jake LCO knows firsthand what it’s like to drive a Mazda because he has one. Like our players, we sweat every detail. Because when you make every move count, impossible becomes irrelevant. Mazda, move and be moved. All right, Jake, let’s uh continue the the conversation here when it comes to this Bengals defense and uh and the personnel part of it because I I I think that’s that’s the element here that we question. Like we kind of understood Lou and moving on and how Al Golden could theoretically fit, but then personnel-wise, their big free agent addition was TJ Sllayton. Shocker. NFL teams need a nose tackle. Uh they they get Mike Penel right before the start of the season, but it’s not like they went out and they got a great edge rusher, right? They they drafted Jamar Stewart and drafted a bunch of guys and addressed the defense that way. But those decisions and those question marks and banking on young players, I think that’s part of why this Bengals defense, a big reason why this Bengals defense is where it is right now. You also bring back BJ Hill and I think BJ Hill is playing fine. Yeah, but he’s playing fine and and there’s no presence on the interior. So when you start up front and I’m starting there when I think about the three-level problem because we’ve talked about how Trey is still good. He’s still a good pass rusher. He’s still seen it. He’s still going to if he’s playing against Steelers in that fourth quarter, life is a lot harder for Aaron Rogers than if it’s Joseph Osai over there and Shamar Stewart getting lost and trying to turn and trying to corner. Coming off an ankle injury that is probably hampering the already somewhat limited flexibility and and bend for Shamar. Like he’s a great athlete, but turning corners is is not his forte. Things probably go a little bit differently. But the reason I start there is because you’re talking about what they did on the defensive line. And they still apparently the team that drafted Gino Atkins doesn’t believe in having an interior pass rush anymore. And I don’t know what happened between drafting Gino Atkins and literally everything that’s happened since the Bengals drafted Gino Atkins and saw how good he was in his Hall of Fame career with the Cincinnati Bengals, but they they just haven’t had an interior pass rush at a significant level with a with a havoc creator since then. And so you’ve got Miles Murphy, Joseph Osai, Cam Sample playing a lot and now the return of Shamar Stewart and you’re hoping to get literally any production out of those guys. Miles Murphy’s flashed at times, but not enough to stay on the field consistently. Joseph Osai still looks like the same guy. He hasn’t taken any steps. He’s, you know, a cleanup sack kind of player. He’s going to play with a high motor, but we saw Aaron Rogers get out of his grasp a couple of times and that’s Aaron Rogers we’re talking about. Cam sample still Cam Sample and Shamar Stewart has to learn and so yeah, you got one guy here and Trey Hendrickson and all those coin flips like will anybody take a step? Can anyone develop? Can Jamar Stewart make some splashes as a rookie? Yeah. So far the answer is not so much. And the injury sucks. Like dealing with the injury. I I I liked what I saw from Shamar in training camp and think he can matter. But he can’t be your guy like your number one pass rush. Like that’s never that’s not something that we ever thought. Especially when he misses a bunch of time. No doubt. But like he’s like the perfect compliment to Trey in in in a lot of ways. He can play in multiple spots. He’s versatile. I I think that he can help. But when you don’t go out like banking on BJ Hill, when you already have Chris Jenkins as a second rounder and like I think you’re hoping Chris Jenkins becomes the next BJ Hill in some ways as as weird as that and that comp’s been made, but you’re obviously hoping for more. you know, when you could have used that on an edge rusher, taken that money in Osai and gotten a stud edge rusher. Like, there’s a lot of ways you could have done it and it just it hasn’t worked. Now, maybe maybe one of these guys figures it out. Maybe Trey and Sheamar becomes this awesome duo, but it hasn’t. And when you give up that much time, regardless of DJ Turner and Dax Hill, and even if they had really good safeties, you’re going to give up plays if you can’t rush the passer. And that’s what sucks right now is clearly they had a personnel problem. I don’t think anyone doubted that like with the LE stuff. Like I’ve seen some people try to revisit the conversation when they moved on from Lou. I I don’t think any of us were like, “Oh, well, it’s only on Lou.” The personnel was a huge issue. I get wanting to start fresh and go that route if you do. and they did, but you need more talent and banking on what they’re banking on in the past rush, it certainly hasn’t worked. And banking on what what they did at linebacker where they invested sometimes it’s wild to they invested more at linebacker this offseason than they did in their pass rush. Like that’s wild. And yet I look at linebacker and it’s like, well, that’s not solved either. So, what the hell are you doing if you invest that much in a position that isn’t as valuable and it’s still not solved? It would be one thing if they had one of the best linebacker units in the league now or it felt like that their rookies were going to be so good that it was worth it, but they didn’t invest enough in the pass rush, invest a lot at linebacker, and they’re still not even above average there in my in my eyes. And part of this is rookies are going to be rookies. You know, rookies are going to struggle at times and and We’ve talked a lot about, right, and it’s the two sides of the coin, right? Like, we’ve talked a lot about like, can we get some rookies on the field? Can can we see what some of these guys have? We’ve talked about this in in the past at numerous positions, right? There are times when it’s like, can can we find a role for these guys that we spent these draft picks in on? This year, they’re doing that. They’re finding roles. They’re shoehorning Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight onto the field and as a result have some of the guys that have missed the most tackles in the NFL on the Bengals. Demetrius and Jordan Battle have 10 and 11 missed tackles respectively. Barrett Carter has seven missed tackles. This is all PFF charting. And Barrett hasn’t played, it’s not like he started every game, you know. Barrett Carter’s played about half the staffs of Jordan Battle. And the result is you get the worst PFF tackling grade in the NFL. PF’s pretty good at charting miss tackles if if there’s something you want to say that they do well or don’t do well. They’re pretty good at charting miss tackles in my opinion having seen like the the playbyplay data and like then gone to watch the film. So, part of this is growing pains, right, at linebacker, that they’re going to have this sometimes with rookies where it might just take a little bit of time for some of these guys to figure things out and learn those rookie lessons. Maybe in the long term, both of those guys are fine NFL players and and develop. And this time of making some of these mistakes is crucial development for those guys. That’s part of what it was for Lou, right? Is they spent all these draft picks and they just didn’t get enough out of them. Mhm. And Lou was part of that conversation because the coaches are so involved in the draft in Cincinnati and and it’s their job as a coaching staff to find the roles and and find the ways to make those players succeed once they get their hands on them. They weren’t able to do that enough, but now we’re seeing that persist with another defensive staff and Alton still trying to figure some things out from a schematic perspective, from a personnel perspective, trying to develop guys, trying to, you know, in his words, keep things in a way where the players can play fast and that’s just still a work in progress. And that doesn’t mention the issue with Cam Taylor Brit that you have Cam Taylor Britt who came into the season expected to be this leader in the secondary and then he’s an active healthy scratch. Let’s make sure we hit on that Cam Taylor Brit topic James before we get to the guard questions that still linger as the Bengals work through their mini buy coming off a win. So it’s it’s not bad by any means but this defense has answers to find. We’ll continue on those topics coming up next. Today’s show is brought to you by FanDuel. FanDuel is America’s number one sports book for a reason. They have all the props, all the odds, all the betting lines. Maybe you think that the Bengals are going to rally and win the AFC North. Well, you can get all of your division odds. Boom. Right there. Right now, as we record their plus 500, they have the third best odds well ahead of the Browns, but behind the Steelers and behind the Ravens. So, you can still get pretty good odds if you think that that’s going to be the case. And they’re going to handle business in the division for the first time since 2022. Regardless, you got to get to FanDuel. Well, right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. You pick a bet, you put down five bucks. If it hits, you unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. Get in the game today with FanDuel. Visit FanDuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. It’s kind of crazy when you talk about the odds for the Bengals win the AFC North that you have to go all the way back to 2022 at this point. Like we’ve had two full loss seasons for the Bengals since then between injuries and last year’s defensive debacle. In fact, it’s Cam Taylor Brit’s rookie season 2022. the last time the Bengals won the AFC North when Cam Taylor Britt was seen as an ascending future potential cornerstone player and he put together similarly productive years in 23 and 24 and then between benchings at times and getting back onto the field we’re we’re back to the same song and dance with Cam Taylor Brit with the new coaching staff which I think definitively kind of points in a direction at who who can change this? And I guess the question is does does Cam Taylor Rid have a chance to to salvage this thing with the Bengals? I I think if he stays on the roster, he’s going to have a chance. And what’s so interesting is how quickly Cam and DJ have gone in opposite directions. Like DJ Turner was a punchline for a lot of training camp for people on social media. DJ Turner was told by Zack Taylor before their week one game against the Browns like, “Hey, you’re not starting.” And Cam Taylor Britt has had those conversations. I know he has. And the coaching staff, and this isn’t just about the coaching staff, but like the theme of the offseason when it came to Cam Taylor Brit, what was the word everyone used? Consistency. Zack said it the other day again after this after Kim was a healthy and active and so he’s he’s just got to got to got to be consistent because I think he has the talent to start to play to matter and so whatever it is that is not happening behind the scenes that the coaches feel like is impacting him on the field on game day it’s got to be dialed in on football and I think that’s it is whatever it is it might He’s just not watching enough film. It might be that technique-wise he needs to work on it after practice. Like, I don’t really care at this point, but I think Cam is a a good human being. I like Cam and we only see so much. Coaches are only going to say so much. and uh and he’s he’s respected enough and he’s earned some of that with his teammates where like I it’s not like you’re hearing chirping or mumb uh mumbling or anything like that behind the scenes about him, but he’s clearly losing the trust or has lost the trust of this coaching staff and he’s got to earn that back. And the only way you do that to me is you just got to put your head down and work hard. and uh that’s that’s pretty much his option unless they traded him, which I would not rule out. It’s not like there’s uh lack of continuity for like they have a new defensive coordinator, but it’s still the same corners coach. No doubt. So, and a good corner coach. It’s been some of the same some of the same stuff for camp. Yep. It’s not just the the staff change that’s the issue here. So, yeah. I mean, it’s interesting that the trade possibility, we’re getting closer to the trade deadline. That conversation is going to be a little bit different now that they have won a single game uh in the post Joe Burrow part of 2025. And we’ll see obviously if Joe can get back, but part of this is going to extend to the the lingering questions that the Bengals have at guard where Jaylen Rivers is now the uh fourth highest repped guard or or offensive lineman on the team. You have the roughly every snap players in Ted Carris, Orlando Brown, and Amarius Mims. Mims missed a few snaps uh as he came off the field with with various bumps and bruises. But Jaylen Rivers at 198 pass blocking reps has the fourth most pass blocking reps on the team right now and has given up uh the second most pressures on the team despite having a hundred less snaps than those tackles according to PFF charting. Anyway, he’s at 19 pressures allowed, which is uh more than Amarius Mims and two less than Orlando Brown so far this year. Meanwhile, we’ve seen the shift at left guard from Dylan Fairchild when he got hurt to Daltton Risner. Risner has acquitted himself reasonably, I think, and has represented at times a more consistent player. He got a couple times against Pittsburgh, but the decision-making for the Bengals at guard remains interesting where Lucas Patrick is now back and you’ve seen Daltton Riser, the the upside of having the veteran Daltton Riser on the team and now you have these two rookies and Jaylen Rivers and Dylan Fairchild and you’re trying to develop them, try to get them live action to to get them ready to go. But at the same time, it’s similar to the linebacker spot where you’ve got rookie growing pains and you’ve got guys that maybe just aren’t ready in in some cases. So, it’ll be interesting to see over the course of this miniby. How long do they stick with Jaylen Rivers? Because some of the tape, especially in pass, you like the attitude, you like some of the the approach that he’s bringing, especially in the run game, but some of the Pass Pro tape for Jaylen Rivers in particular, is leaving something to be desired, I would say. Yeah, I I don’t know why you wouldn’t as you’re trying to win games look at it and say Daltton Risner needs to be starting. I just I think that’s an element of it and and I do think that Dylan Fairchild is ahead of Jaylen Rivers and so don’t be shocked if if that’s the route they go. Now that involves moving Dalton back to the right side next to Amarius Mims. I don’t think that’s a down like I think that’s fine. Maybe they like that that tandem of Orlando and Daltton on the left side. And so that’s what they have to work through. To me though, clearly and and at the time we said this, like it would have been nice to have Dalton in training camp and working and all those things. He wasn’t in football shape. He wasn’t he wasn’t ready to go and he got his butt whooped a few times because he signed and and had to play 10 days later and then started the next week and then the next week gets nicked up and you go with the rookie. Like I get it, but now the rookie is is struggling and you need to keep your 40 40-year-old quarterback upright so he can do what he did the other night. I don’t see a si like would you debate that Daltton is one of their two best guards regardless of who the other guard is? Like I wouldn’t. I think he’s clearly one of their two best guards. Yeah. I just honestly might want to keep him on the left side and that’s where it gets tricky because I do think that there’s some chemistry kind of evolving between him and Orlando. And he he just had a good run blocking game. He was key to some of their better run plays. And that is not something that you would expect to see from Daltton Riser, especially against that Pittsburgh interior, which maybe is underachieving this year. Like if you if you go listen to to Pittsburgh fans, they’re very disappointed with their defensive line this year. But that that’s where it gets tricky to me is really we’re we’re trying to figure out what to do at right guard. And Dylan Fairchild’s played left guard. And so, do you think about the return of Lucas Patrick as he gets further and further away from some of the injuries that hampered him throughout training camp and early this season? I would like I I would consider I would have considered that going into that Thursday game given where they were at. It stinks with Dylan because he he’s basically only played left guard. like even in college it was left guard and that doesn’t mean he couldn’t move him to right but you wouldn’t want to do that now at least I wouldn’t and so yeah I I think could it hurt to have have Lucas Patrick out there now the other element of it is he was your backup center and and in and how that plays out like we saw week one if you roll with with two centers and one of them is starting at guard like that’s that’s a scary propos position to be in if that guard gets hurt because Matt Lee has been inactive often this year. Yeah. Is why we’re talking about that. Yeah. So, so it’s a jungle. It really is. And I I think Dylan Fairchild is going to be good at some point, but what Dalton has given you is very real. And to your point, there is chemistry there. And that would be my concern. So, both of us agree he’s one of the two best guards. He should continue to start. Do you move him from the left side? The the the answer is probably based on how confident they are in what they’ve seen from Jaylen Rivers. Like I know what the numbers are. Like are you sticking with Jaylen Rivers or not? If not, then I would in in an ideal world, I would rather play Dylan Fairchild at left guard if you think he’s going to be better than what Rivers is at right guard because I do think he’s the future there. And so if you think Riser can give you what he’s given you at left guard, at right guard, then you do it. I’m not sure they feel that way. I don’t know how they feel about it. They’ve left it open-ended for a reason. But if you if you’re keeping Risner at left guard then and you’re worried about Rivers, well then Lucas Patrick is the obvious option. and and and what that leads to if you do that is then are one of these rookies inactive if you want a true backup center ready to go active and that’s the the real dilemma is is now we’re getting into the the weeds a bit when it comes to offensive line decisions but all things the Bengals have to consider when they’re making these decisions because if Lucas Patrick gets nicked up and you don’t have a backup center available and and you’re playing the Jets that’s well that can really screw you over in a game that you should win for example. I wouldn’t really hesitate personally like if you need to go with the veterans for a couple weeks maybe it’s just until the buy. Maybe it’s until one of those veterans shows that they shouldn’t be on the field. You have the other options. The tricky thing I guess then would be like yeah if you have one of those rookies down Jaylen Rivers repped both sides. I guess then Cody Ford is your backup right guard if Lucas if if Dylan Fairchild’s only playing left guard just in terms of like the the backup conversation if if Lucas Fair if Lucas Patrick deals with another injury. Well Well I think I I think if if you decide that Fairchild isn’t going to start at left guard then you instantly put him and have him rep both sides. Like the moment Daltton came out Yeah. the moment Dalton came out and was no longer the starter he was he was repping both sides a ton. Right. I think he would have to. The Jets gives you a chance to to try to get some footing at guard. Like they’ve got Quinnon Williams for sure. He’s not having a great year, but the Jets are playing JT Fell at defensive tackle right now. Not to take anything away from JT Fell, but this is a guy that couldn’t make the Bengals team. The Jets on the interior right now, not the the scariest pass rush. like they got some guys that can can beat you and I’m sure in a week I’ll be regretting talking about the Jets interior defensive line this way, but gives you a chance to find something and and try to build some continuity and build some confidence on the offensive line and Joe Flacco the way he’s navigating the pocket and pass protection from from a passing game perspective. the way he’s feeling pressure, getting rid of the ball very quickly. At some point, teams are going to make that harder for you if you’re the Bengals, but right now, he can help you build that confidence in the offensive line. And that’s something that they need. They they obviously need to figure that out and answer some of these questions, find some development. One of those things has to come together for for this team as they’re trying to remain in the picture here and and got a big win on Thursday to do so. Yeah, I I’m with you. I I I lean veterans right now and uh that doesn’t mean don’t have those other guys ready. They’re rookies. They’ll be fine. They’ll bounce back. They might be back to bounce back. Dalton showed them Dalton showed them three weeks ago how to handle it. I We’re long and we got to go. But I talked to Dalton and he handled that about as well as anyone could have given the fact that he had signed like two weeks prior and he’s like, “How in the world am I a backup now suddenly with no Joe Burrow?” Like he could have lost his mind and been like, “I made a mistake. I should have went here or there or all these other options that he had.” And uh he said, “No, I just got to keep working.” And he got right back in it. And uh now we’re both saying, “Hey, start it.” So good for him. And I and I think the rookies will approach it the same way. Rookies could be back later this season. We’d almost expect it. That’s going to do it for this episode. The Jets. Yeah. I mean, we might still see them. I mean, I’m just saying if you took our approach, the rookies could earn their way back onto the field. No doubt. As soon as you wanted, as soon as they’re ready. Anyway, that’s going to do it for this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. You got that mini buy. So, we’ve got a couple more episodes for you this week before we get to the preview. Until next time, thanks for listening to this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Who day and have a good one.

The Cincinnati Bengals’ defense is dealing with issues on ALL THREE levels. The guys discuss the pass rush, the linebackers, secondary, the entire rookie class, Al Golden’s decision making and so much more!

They also talk about the uncertainty at the guard position, if Dalton Risner should start moving forward, what rookies Dylan Fairchild and Jalen Rivers have done so far this season and if Lucas Patrick should get the nod at right guard.

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