Lou Anarumo’s Defense Wins Round 1 as Bengals Ramp Up Physicality in Practice

CINCINNATI — There’s a long way to go, of course. But Round 1 of the padded portion of Cincinnati Bengals‘ training camp belonged to the defense.

Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo spoke after practice and pointed not just to the plays, but the decisions that were made.

The focus of the offseason was to improve communication and eliminate mistakes and big plays, which is why the team brought back Vonn Bell and signed veteran Geno Stone to take over as the starting safeties.

Lou Anarumo’s ‘Tenfold’ Comment Speaks Volumes

With one practice behind him, Anarumo heaped some praise on the duo, and Stone in particular, when asked about the communication piece.

“It just improved tenfold with those two guys back there,” Anarumo said. “Obviously we know Vonn really well, and Geno coming in was that guy, too, in terms of his knowledge of the game and his instincts and all those things.”

Stone has yet to pick off a pass in practice. He hasn’t even had a notable play on a ball.

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But he’s been exactly where he’s supposed to be and done precisely what he’s supposed to do on seemingly every play.

“He’s just a savvy veteran that knows football,” Anarumo said. “He comes from a defense that played really well at Baltimore. He played a great defensive scheme at Iowa. So the guy’s played good defense for the last five, six, seven, eight years of his life.

“He knows the ins and outs,” Anarumo continued. “He knows where the holes are in a defense, so he can anticipate things that maybe some other guys couldn’t. I couldn’t be happier with him.”

Here are some of the other topics Anarumo touched on:

Dax Hill vs DJ Turner II

“Ultimately, all those guys are gonna play. We’re always going to use a bunch of corners in the number of different schemes that we use, so I think right now they’re both having good camps. Just keep getting better, keep stringing those days together. We’re pleased with both of them.”

.@daxhill5 said "NOPE" pic.twitter.com/28zyEZs3jC

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 30, 2024

Cam Taylor-Britt’s Return From a Tonsillectomy

“It was great. Good to see him back out there. He’s kind of been progressing back into it. So I feel good about him, and it was good to see him back out there.”

.@CamTaylorBritt_ WITH THE JUICEEE🧃 pic.twitter.com/FKCbJbPT08

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 30, 2024

Cam Taylor-Britt said he had the procedure done two weeks ago and the team was just being smart last week because they didn’t want the stitches coming loose and him “bleeding all over the place.”

Taylor-Britt said he kept getting strep and tonsilitis, which forced him to have the surgery so close to the start of camp.

He said the worst part, which will come as no surprise to anyone who has ever been around him, was not being able to talk for three days.

Shaka Heyward’s Pick-6

“That was one of those bad shot, bad shot, good shot. Joe Bachie set him up a little bit there, so it was great. He made a hell of a play. Great instincts. He saw the ball and went and made the play, so that was great to see.”

In line with what Anarumo said about the communication, he said they had one check called for an empty-backfield look, but Bachie adjusted it and called another check.

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“Joe made a call, which he has the right to do. (Shaka Heyward) wouldn’t have made that pick if we were in the empty check, so it was good Joe made that call.”

The interception came against Jake Browning late in the second 11-on-11 period.

Rookie Defensive Tackles Kris Jenkins and McKinnley Jackson

“I’ll be anxious to watch the tape today. Again, it’s the first time in pads. They’re gonna have their moments, both good and bad as rookies. We’ll see how it looks when we put on the tape. And ultimately until we play the first couple preseason games, then we’ll have a real evaluation on where those guys are at.”