There aren’t many applicable words to describe Cincinnati Bengals linebackers right now.
Most land in the “horrendous” category and only get nastier from there. The Bengals have searched for an answer all year to this problem to no avail, the most recent catastrophe a 49-13 loss to Baltimore where Lamar Jackson put up some highlights fans will see for the rest of their lives while running for 65 yards and a score on a 9.3 average.
And it sounds like Taylor has seen enough. He told the media the following:
“One area where we need to step up is at linebacker. Someone needs to step up and be a leader there. We’ve been waiting on that and shuffling the lineup around waiting on someone to step up and be consistent and be a leader in that room. We’re still waiting on that.
He added some more potent thoughts later:
“That’s the challenge for those guys in that room right now. From the consistency, you can become a leader. It’s not one or the other. You can’t say things and then not do them. You need to be able to do them, and then guys will respect that and follow you. We just need some consistency from those guys at that position.”
This is a “yikes” for the players in that room but there isn’t much else Taylor can do. Besides the addition of LaRoy Reynolds, who has played minimally, the front office isn’t exactly ushering new talent in the door to help.
In the loss to the Ravens, Taylor even tried to give different faces a chance to step up. Rookie Germaine Pratt got 49 percent of the snaps while Preston Brown saw just 36 percent. The results speak for themselves. Taylor specifically talked about linebackers being the reason for some of the game’s biggest plays thanks to poor positioning and effort.
When specifically talking about the linebackers, some might make the suggestion this is a Lamar Jackson thing. But the struggles have been a constant all year but given something of a pass thanks to the blatant problems for the offensive line.
It is hard to say what happens next if the unit doesn’t respond, but one would think some of this will reflect on coordinator Lou Anarumo, too.
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