Visit our sponsor www.snhu.edu/AtoZSports to learn more and to see if you qualify for SNHU’s Sports Management program

With Lou Anarumo... He has a formula. Play very inconsistent in the regular season. Turn all the way up in the playoffs 😂. The Bengals defense is insane in the playoffs

Jordan Battle is the future starting SS. He was the 4th highest graded safety in the NFL last year and the best rookie safety since Derwin James in 2018. He graded out at 79.8 so 80. For a rookie that’s special. The only reason Bell is in the team is because 1) he knows the system and he is a good player and he can teach these young guys some things 2) they got him for league minimum because Carolina still owes him 1 year of salary. That’s the main reason. Battle will play a lot this year too though. And I believe Dax is the future nickel CB because this is Mike Hiltons last season under contract. Dax is either the future nickel or he bears out DJ Turner for outside CB2. Either way Turner and Dax Hill will both play a little this year. Dax is reallly good at guarding TEs. When Tycen Anderson gets back up to full strength after an ACL injury last year man this dude you wanna talk about special physical characteristics? Tycen Anderson is 6’2’’ 210 and ran a 4.36!! When he got hurt last year he was well on his way to making the Pro Bowl as a special teams player. He had like 12 tackles or something crazy like that and he played just 9 games!! My belief and hope is when Geno Stones contract comes to an end then Tycen Anderson will be ready to be a starting safety.

linebackers got a little worse because reader was out, he makes that big of a difference, that's why they took a nose tackle way earlier than expected

Yes DJ Turner got burned a couple of time last year. Name me 1 CB not named Sauce Gardner that has t in the last 10 years. Even Derek Stingley Jr struggled in his rookie year. 99% of all CBs struggle in there rookie year. Dax wasn’t as bad as people think. He had 110 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 6 TFL, 12 pass breakups and 2 interceptions. That’s what he had last year. Dax played nickel primarily at Michigan. I could have told the Bengals that he isn’t a FS. Jordan Battle is a phenomenal safety. He played under the best collegiate coach, and former defensive back, Nick Saban.

Yes you can’t call ANYONE a bust after 1 year. ESPECIALLY when you are playing a new position that you literally never played before. Dax’s first year he wasn’t a starter and rarely played. Why not? Because he wasn’t drafted to be a starter. We had Jessie Bates and Von Bell still. If you know anything about the Bengals they you know they like to draft for the future not necessarily for now. Dax was drafted not to be a starter in year 1. So was Myles Murphy. And I don’t know how anyone could look at Dax’s stat line last year and call that a bust. 110 tackles 1.5 sacks 7 TFL 12 pass break ups and 2 interceptions.

Some of the players I would love for you to break down are: Derek Stingley- Texans Tariq Woolen- Seahawks George Pickens- Steelers

Good analysis. One of the best I’ve seen. Good job. And yes the Bengals safety’s do play a more traditional FS, SS. Jessie Bates was strictly a free safety he specialized and is one of the best but there are just a few things he does at an elite level and the Bengals let him do it. Dax Hill is not a FS. Dax is either a nickel CB, and outside CB or maybe a strong safety. He could play SS. Dax does better the closer to the line of scrimmage he is.

And as far as edge rushers Myles Murphy looks physically like a differant player than last year. He still had a lot of like baby fat on him last year. I mean he was 21 years old last year. He doesn’t look like that anymore. He looks like he was chiseled out of stone. He looks even faster which is crazy because he has elite speed. But another guy to keep an eye on is Joseph Ossai. I believe Ossai is going to go off this year big time and have like a Bryce Huff kind of 4th season. He is going to make himself a lot of money this year. This guys explosion numbers are crazy. When I first saw them I was like this can’t be right there must be some kind of typo. No they were the real numbers. Ossai is 6’4’’ 260 and has a 41.5 inch vertical and an 11 foot broad jump. Those are elite numbers for a CB and a WR. Ossai plays DE!! Ossai was hurt his whole rookie year so he missed his rookie year. In 2021 he played in the first pre season game and got 2 pressures and 1 sacks in Tom Brady and by the third quarter he messed his ankle I think up. In 2022 he like Murphy this last year played about 300 snaps as he was on a rotation and he had 17 tackles 3.5 sacks 3 TFL 1 FR 1TD. And in 2023 I was expecting a big jump but the injury bug bit him again at the end of the 2022 season he was playing hurt in the AFC Championship game and he was still giving the Chiefs offensive line all they could handle. So he had shoulder surgery later that offseason and was rehabbing going into the 2023 season and kept having setbacks. He did play much last year but had 1 sack when he did get in. This year word around the facility is that Ossai is dialed in like never before. When the first person gets to the building at like 5:30 Ossai is always already there. When everyone is leaving at around 7 pm Ossai is still there. So keep an eye on him this year.

These brakedowns of players and defensive scores are on another level. I love the statistics and the insights, fantastic video!

Yup, Geno and Battle/Bell are a good safety duo. Cam Taylor-Britt and Hilton are good corners, if Dax is a good corner that's a good group. Linebackers fine. Defensive line comes down to if the young guys (Murphy, Jenkins and Ossai) step up.

Great analysis and film breakdown! Ppl don’t realize that Dax is gonna be starting at outside CB over Turner. And the LBs had a down year bc Reader was injured/hurt a lot. DJ Reader was very important for Lou’s defense, he made LBs jobs easier bc they can play the pass more knowing he’s gonna clog the middle just enough for them to be a tick late on run fits. Hopefully Jenkins & Jackson can patch up our run d

If there are *that many* players in the secondary making mistakes, it raises the question: were there coaching changes made? The LBs with the off-years the same year as well as many busted coverage seem to imply it's a team-wide phenomenon.

Awesome analysis, as a bengals fan u really nailed it on the head. I feel so much better abt our safety room w Vonn bell back, his leadership is huge. Dax is moving to outside corner according to camp and coaches so that’ll be fun to watch apparently he’s been very good, with his length and speed if he can make the transition I’d feel way better about our secondary. I think I felt better abt DJ turner before this video from my memory he was pretty good over his first couple starts, and then fell off severely late season but some of his issues are pretty glaring. Imo the x factor is if one of the rookie dlineman or Murphy can be a stud, DJ reader going down ruined our run defense, made it was harder on the linebackers and in turn exposed our young secondary, if Murphy can get that rashan Gary type progression or Kris Jenkins + McKinley Jackson can replace reader in aggregate we should bounce back

My goal and hope for the bengals seconday is ctb cb1 dj turner cb2 and Dax hill as NICKLE I like Mike Hilton but his coverage isn’t very good Jordan battle ss and Geno stone fs

i wonder where he gets these numbers and these stats from . can't find these ON PFF

They did Dax a disservice by putting him at Free Safety. The guy never played FS before he got here. 3 years at Michigan he played mostly nickel CB but also some outside CB and Strong Safety. The closer Dax is to the LOS the better. He is not a free roaming safety. Not a center fielder. He could learn to be but he is an elite nickel CB. Next year he will take over there from Hilton. And Jordan Battle will take over at Strong Safety next year too. But I scoff at those who say Dax had a terrible year. That’s just not what I saw. I saw an extremely talented defensive back who was playing a position that he had never played and was learning it against the toughest competition imaginable. Bengals had the hardest schedule in football last year. They play in the tougher division in football. Last year Dax had 110 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 12 pass breakups, 2 interceptions, and 7 tackles for loss. And he played every snap.

Great film breakdown. I really enjoyed this video.

Thank you 8:25 I been saying this for 2 years Sam Hubbard is out there doing cardio giving Trey Hendrickson no help

Need a video like this on the Bucs

new vid and on my favorite team

Bengals Defense was overhauled and it was expected that they were gonna be average at best or bad; Lose their 2 Starting SAF in JB3 & Vonn Bell in the off-season which they didn't expect to lose both. (Bengals assumed Bell would come back on another cheap deal but Carolina came calling and gave him his bag & Bengals dont pay older Vets that kind of money) JB3 situation was a loss as well, they played hardball and the SAF Market value went up with the Derwin James deal and essentially it was over for them. Dax Hill played limited snaps as a rookie and last year was his first year of starting full time and at SAF (rookie year he was Dime/Slot/TE Matchup) so not a lot of reps at SAF & he played slot/hybrid at UM. Dax Hill missed a lot of assignment due to the Bengals lack of a plan to find his running mate. JB3 & Bell left and Bengals took their old approach (sign a vet FA for cheap & draft another one) which ended up being Nick Scott & Jordan Battle. Then into camp they wanted Scott to be Hill running mate without giving Battle much of a shot only to see Nick Scott play himself into unplayable with his performances. Somehow the Bengals dont look at their mistakes and ended up moving Dax to outside CB/Slot CB when they were the ones unable to find Hill running mate until 1/4 into the season. Yet it wasn't easy because you essentially have 2 rookies at SAF trying to make all the checks and calls for the backend in a complex Lou Defense. JB3 & Bell played with each other for like 3 years and know each other play style and all the checks and ins and outs of the defense. which made it easier for them both to know where everyone has to be and everyone is dialed in. Now they lose them both and people expect the team to be a great Defense when their 2 SAF was essentially making all the calls for the DBs. Myles Murphy said it himself that he was out of football shape last year and that didnt help because the Bengals DL needed some youth/talent influx. Bengals DL looked tired in so many games. Unable to stop the running game which was particularly bad all around, DJ Reader was doing his best to play 2 gap and the rest of the DL was getting pushed and OL got to the LB and SAF were late to fill. DJ Turner was essentially on spot up duty. Start some games and then get benched for Chido Awuzie (whos coming back from ACL injury) which prohibited his speed. DJ Turner looks to be their Slot with his background of playing SAF. Last year was the 1st year of blending older Defensive cores w/ Youth movement & incorporating new influx talent which is bound to struggle for a team having a revamped at the Defensive side. This only happens because the Bengals can't develop any talent in the draft. Which is causing them to throw money at Vets at positions they dont really spend on to help them in this "WIN NOW" mode yet they are afraid to make moves to have a better roster, they just keep making lateral movement on their roster. Example: Scenario: JB3 & Bell are FA Draft: Dax Hill at pick 31 (to replace Bates) Actions: We dont want to overpay for an aging SAF (Bell) & JB3 is out of our price range (because you let the market dictate your chance to sign him) Cause: Lose both Bell & JB3 in FA (who both got bags from their new teams) Panic Reaction: Lets go sign a Vet SAF who can come in and know the Defense to help show the ropes for Dax Hill. Sign a Cheap Vet FA SAF (Nick Scott) to bandage the weaknessess Draft: Take Jordan Battle in Round 3 Reality: We have a Vet FA SAF to help our Defense and be Hill running mate. (Nick Scott plays himself out of the system and rotation) Bengals are force to look for other options at SAF and let Battle play. Off-season: Yeah, Dax Hill was inconsistent and missed a lot of assignment for us last year and he needs to get better. (Cuts Nick Scott who the team and Coaches raved about because he was their guy) Move Dax Hill to Outside CB/Slot CB. Sign Geno Stone & bring back Vonn Bell (after he was cut by Carolina), more lateral movements instead of trying to win now. just creating another logjam at SAF with having 2 Vet SAF (Bell & Stone) & an emerging young SAF in Battle. Sigh..

overall, this was a very great analysis. I was wondering about what your opinion about sheldon rankins is because I feel like he can bring a good interior pass rush.

Dax and DJ are going to be battling for CB2.

Haha again Logan Wilson. How can you call this a down year. Logan had 135 tackles a career high, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles a career high, 9 pass break ups a career high, and 4 interceptions which tied a career high. He had the most tackle in the team. How can you possibly look at that and say he had a down year??!! And Germaine Pratt in 2022 was PFFs best graded Linebacker in coverage. He had a big of a down year in that catagory but again Pratt had 118 tackles a career high, 2 sacks a career high, 2 forced fumbles, 3 pass break ups, and 2 interceptions ties a career high. In 2022 Pratt had 10 pass break ups so he needs to improve there. 3 is not enough. But you can’t look at either of these guys and say they had down years. No im sorry you can’t do that. Oh and one other thing is BOTH guys played all 17 games. No injurys. Well there were and are always injurys but some aren’t severe and can be played through. Sam Hubbard had an injury last year that should have knocked him out the rest of the year after game 12. Sam said no I want to help my team reach the playoffs and he played through it. It was a shoulder I think and 2 days after the season ended Sam had surgery. Sam Hubbard isn’t the greatest pass rusher in the world. But he is above average when healthy. Look back though his career. In 2020 he wasn’t healthy so only had 3 sacks. He got healthy in 2021 and had 7.5 in season and 3.5 in the playoffs. Of ALL the edge rushers drafted In his class of 2018 he has the most tackles, the most sacks, and the most forced fumbles. Of ANY DE or OLB In that class.

First time watcher, great video! Keep it up

Yea Jordan Battle is a stud. He is now a rare commodity. What do I mean? He played for and was trained by Nick Saben. Saban retired. Battle made the All Rookie team last year on the strength of like 7 games. He started 7 games and had 71 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 pass break ups, and 1 interception.

I wouldn’t mind if battle moved to linebacker

Gonna come down to the DL .. we need a big year from both Myles Murphy & Kris Jenkins. Losing Reader hurts people don’t realize how much Reader Did pushing the pocket and stopping the run and just making other guys around him better . I know if BJ hill doesn’t make a jump he’s gotta go. Same for Sam Hubbard . I give Hubbard the benefit of the doubt bc he was playing injured a lot of the time last year but the DL has to get better and create pressure . I’m sick of Zach Carter he either steps up in Training Camp or I’d cut him n cut my losses. Secondary will be solid Geno Stone Bell Battle Taylor Britt Hilton Dax Roomie Josh Newton n DJ Turner II will hold it down on that front but the key is that DL and OL . We seen what Burrow can do if he gets time to throw the football. I think Bengals draft was a solid B but they could have been more aggressive n traded Cappa and got a pick in the 70-72 spot and picked up Cooper Beebe that man is pure gold and could of given this OL a Huge BOOST UPFRONT!!!

I think this is a very good analysis. And I’m a Bengals fan

The lack of interior pressure kills us.

So basically the defense is terrible and the only way it will be better is if 5 or 6 players make a big improvement since last season. That doesn’t inspire confidence.

Great choice letting baits walk😂 💯

🤘🐯

Can you make one on the bears

I think Kris Jenkins has the ability to play some edge and Murphy move to DT👀

You said with DJ Turner that you never saw his athleticism play out on the field?? Really dude?? Because most of those plays you have showed his athleticism. Speed is athleticism. Breaking passes up by jumping in front of the wr is athleticism. DJ needs to work on the mental part of the game. Physically he will almost always be the fastest guy on the field. Most CBs not named Sauce Gardner struggle their rookie year. Even Derek Stingley Jr struggled his rookie year. DJ will be ready to roll this year. I think Dax is going to take over the nickel spot in 2025. He will still get playing time this year though I. The slot and out wide. And the Bengals stole Josh Newton in the 5th round. If he had come out after the 2022 season like he should have he would have been a late 2nd or early 3rd round pick. The dude is just a good football player. His testing numbers don’t blow you away but he is one of those guys, sort of like Mike Hilton, whose testing numbers don’t match what you see on the field. Look at the numbers and look at the play and the play far out shadows the numbers.

Dax Hill has been moved to CB, so reviewing him as a safety is pointless

They never once had a top ten defense I immediately shut off video after that dumb statement

The Browns are better

Murphy is really fast

Watch my guy Jay Tufele go off this season in this defense. I train him. You heard it here first. 🫡💯