Tag: Germaine Pratt

Germaine Pratt aims at Tom Brady too after Bengals beat Bucs

More thoughts on Tom Brady’s comments from Bengals players.

Understandably, Cincinnati Bengals defenders weren’t too happy about pre-game comments from Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady.

Brady had made a comment calling the Bengals defense “fairly tough,” a small bit of a quote that got blown up and then used as motivation by Bengals players.

Eli Apple and B.J. Hill let Brady know how they felt about the comments after the win.

Linebacker Germaine Pratt let Brady know during post-game interviews with reporters, too.

“Hearing that from an old, savvy vet from him, we’re a ‘fairly tough defense,’ with four turnovers, what would you say — tough as nails?” Pratt said, according to ESPN’s Ben Baby.

The Bengals defense forced four turnovers, picking off Brady twice and forcing two fumbles while they scored 34 unanswered points to win the game. Pratt secured one of those picks.

Other Bengals defenders were a little more reserved, repeating the mantra of the season.

“We don’t really care about what people say,” safety Jessie Bates said. “It is how it is, week in and week out. Somebody’s going to say something. At the end of the day, they got to see us.”

This won’t be the last time Bengals players use something similar for motivation and as winners of six straight, it’s hard to complain about the results.

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Bengals LB Germaine Pratt clarifies cryptic comments about usage

Word from Germaine Pratt himself after the mini-drama.

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Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt created a few headlines earlier this week after firing off a short message on Twitter that said he’d like to play more on third downs.

Turns out that’s all it was.

Asked if coaches had anything to say about the message that gained traction amongst the fanbase, Pratt said he didn’t hear anything. He also clarified what the message meant.

“I want to play third down, Pratt said, according to The Athletic’s Jay Morrison. “That’s my mindset. I’m a three-down linebacker. I want to play. I’m not too worried about the money. The bag’s gonna chase you if you do what you need to do. It’s more about opportunity.”

It was easy to read into the message as potentially something more as Pratt remains scheduled to hit free agency this offseason — especially since he’s the most improved player on the team.

But if coaches didn’t feel the need to address it and Pratt has publicly in a more elaborate manner, it’s safe to say everyone can put the whole mini-saga behind them as the linebacker’s breakout season continues.

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Lou Anarumo shuts down Germaine Pratt speculation after cryptic tweet

The Bengals LB sent out a tweet and his coach addressed the topic.

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Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt stirred up some speculation after his team’s win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 14.

Pratt wrote the following brief message on Twitter: “Need to play 3rd down too much money left on the table.”

It’s a little understandable if fans took this one to heart a bit — Pratt is arguably the team’s most improved player in the middle of a career year. He’s also on the final year of his deal before hitting free agency next offseason when the team has to worry about possible deals for guys like Jessie Bates.

Even so, it’s always hard to read into deep meanings behind a one-liner. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo isn’t, as captured by Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic:

Pratt actually played more third downs than usual during the win over the Browns, so he’s potentially actually celebrating that fact. He’s usually in on roughly 30 percent of the third downs.

Schematically, the Bengals aren’t often going to play Pratt on third downs much more than that, especially when they want to drop eight guys into coverage. Even Logan Wilson isn’t immune to coming off the field when the coaches want extra defensive backs.

Will that impact Pratt’s free agency? Probably not — if a team wants him as a three-down player they will pay him like one. If the Bengals and Pratt want to re-up, his current usage probably isn’t going to impact the talks all that much.

And again, Pratt could be talking about anything, like a simple chance to help his defense make more plays. He wants on the field and that’s a hard thing to find fault with.

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Mike Tomlin responds to Germaine Pratt calling his offense predictable

The Bengals-Steelers fallout continues with notable comments.

The Cincinnati Bengals are on to the Tennessee Titans in Week 12.

But the fallout from “Steelers Week” remains.

Those Bengals bested the Steelers in Pittsburgh impressively, in part because Joe Burrow keeps on cruising no matter who is on the field.

But Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt suggested after the game that the Steelers offense was predictable to the point of helping them out.

“Just settling down,” Pratt told Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports (h/t Michael Niziolek of Cleveland.com) “It was us giving them plays. We knew what they were going to do. They like to do the same plays over and over.”

And now Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has responded, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

General onlookers would probably agree with Pratt on this one (and one look at Steelers-based media suggests fans aren’t too happy with the offensive coordinator), though the Steelers aren’t in a great spot right now as they try to bring along a rookie quarterback on the fly.

Either way, the Bengals got the win and Pratt’s commentary is hardly the most damning compared to that shot La’el Collins took at T.J. Watt after the game.

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Bengals injury update: Germaine Pratt now out vs. Chiefs

A bad turn of events for the Bengals.

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It turns out the Cincinnati Bengals won’t have linebacker Germaine Pratt on the field for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Bengals added Pratt to the active roster from the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday in a move that seemed to indicate he had passed the necessary tests to clear protocols early. As a result, the team listed him as questionable.

Early Sunday morning, the team announced he would be out for the game against the Chiefs.

Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic added details: “Germaine Pratt ruled out by #Bengals. Appears he was negative yesterday but the second test today that would have cleared him fully did not come back negative, so he won’t play.”

So after a lengthy runaround, Pratt won’t be able to help the Bengals with Patrick Mahomes and Co. in town.

Still, the Bengals should be better than a week ago thanks to the return of linebacker Logan Wilson and defensive tackle D.J. Reader.

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Bengals get Germaine Pratt back just in time for game vs. Chiefs

Some huge news for the Bengals defense against the Chiefs.

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The Cincinnati Bengals will have linebacker Germaine Pratt on the field for Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Cincinnati moved Pratt to the active roster from the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday. It’s a surprise given that Pratt’s earliest return date was the Monday after the game — unless he could test out of the protocols early.

That means Pratt will be available alongside returning linebacker Logan Wilson, as well as D.J. Reader and others.

Pratt technically has a “questionable” tag, though Zac Taylor made it clear during the week he’d have a role if he could post two negative tests and get out of protocols.

Backup quarterback Brandon Allen also returned to the active roster. The team also elevated the following players to the active roster:

  • CB John Brannon
  • QB Jake Browning
  • WR Trent Taylor

All three will revert to the practice squad on Monday.

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Bengals coaches thrilled with Germaine Pratt’s breakout season

Germaine Pratt is right in the middle of his breakout season.

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While the attention on the Cincinnati Bengals linebacker corps focuses on the potentially long-term injury to Logan Wilson, it turns out Germaine Pratt is in the middle of a huge breakout season.

It was Pratt who took over the communications headset for the defense last weekend after Wilson left with his injury. And his strong performance was merely a continuation of his season-long showing.

Rest assured Bengals coaches have noticed and are comfortable with Pratt stepping into a bigger role.

Bengals linebacker coach Al Golden expanded on that theme with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“If he’s not the best preparation player I’ve ever been around, he’s up there…He’s like a coach on the field. He’s the veteran of the group and our guys lean on him and G’s there to help everyone in the room.”

“His attention to detail, his film study, half the time in the meetings he doesn’t let me finish a sentence. He knows what play is coming. I think he’s put a lot into this. His practice habits are excellent. He’s been running to the ball, attacking the football. He’s playing lower. He’s playing more consistently.”

Pratt has yet to play more than 65 percent of the snaps in a season. But he played 97 percent of the snaps last weekend when Wilson went down and earned a defense-high 90.6 PFF grade — besting his prior game-high of 79.5.

Pratt certainly isn’t Wilson when it comes to pass coverage. But in a pinch, Bengals coaches are clearly comfortable with him being a centerpiece of the defense. And with Markus Bailey also nursing a stinger, he might have to mentor along Joe Bachie on the fly over the weekend against the 49ers.

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Bengals excited for Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt to step up in 2021

The Bengals have high hopes for some young LBs.

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The Cincinnati Bengals hope a pair of young linebackers can help orchestrate a defensive turnaround in 2021.

Both Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt sit positioned to see major roles in the heart of the defense next season, especially with the former now being responsible for wearing the radio that relays plays to the unit.

Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo says both guys are ready for the task, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“You know, he’s taking strides that way. I made a comment to Al Golden … how well Logan is communicating. And for a young guy, when you think about it, you know, he missed the games he missed last year, didn’t have an offseason, didn’t have a spring, and so, in a lot of ways, this is just a continuation of his rookie year. And he has really, to this point, done very well, and we continue to see him that way. I think Germaine Pratt is communicating very well also and trying to get guys in the right position, so between those two guys, they’ve really stepped up so far this spring.”

Pratt, a third-rounder in 2019, enters year three with a chance to see a major uptick in playing time if he can put it all together on the field surrounded by what could be an improved unit. There’s a chance his snap count of 65 percent from last year could jump.

Then there’s Wilson, a third-round pick last year already projected by some to be the team’s breakout star. He flashed major upside last year despite missing some games and with someone like Josh Bynes gone, he’s got a chance to lead the linebacker unit.

Heading into year three of Anarumo’s scheme, it’s now or never for the linebackers.

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Ravens fans clown Bengals LB Germaine Pratt for his freezing cold take

Cincinnati Bengals LB Germaine Pratt said the Baltimore Ravens weren’t going to the playoffs days before getting stiff-armed to a TD.

Look, I appreciate confidence. I especially appreciate it coming from a player on a 4-10-1 team looking to maybe inspire his teammates and finish the regular season strong. But Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Germaine Pratt might want to log off of Twitter for a little while as an awful take earlier in the week is coming back to haunt him.

The NFL’s Twitter account had posted a preview of Week 17’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and Bengals on Friday, framing it as Baltimore needing to beat Cincinnati to get into the playoffs. Pratt, in quite the show of confidence, said it was never going to happen.

And as the Ravens beat the Bengals 38-3, fans quickly flocked to the tweet to rub Pratt’s nose in it. It’s probably best to start off with what Baltimore running back J.K. Dobbins said at the podium after the game.

“No comment on that,” Dobbins said with a wide smile and a laugh when asked about Pratt’s comment. “We just let those guys do the talking on the internet and we go play ball.”

It’s also worth pointing out that while Pratt finished the game with eight combined tackles, he had no sacks, no quarterback hits, no tackles for a loss, no forced fumbles or fumble recoveries, and no interceptions. We’ll let the fans dive in a little deeper as to how Pratt’s day really went . . .

Oh, how about that time Dobbins stiff-armed Pratt out of the way before outrunning the entire Bengals defense on the way to the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown run? Yeah, that’s it.

Let’s just let the fans take it the rest of the way.

Maybe Pratt can do a little more next season.

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Germaine Pratt continues to show notable improvement for Bengals

Germaine Pratt is on the rise for the Bengals.

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The Cincinnati Bengals are starting to see the return on rookie linebacker Germaine Pratt.

The third-round rookie was thrown to the wolves this year and the growing pains were initially apparent. They still are in some ways, but Bengals coaches like the growth they’ve seen as the season comes to a close.

Here’s what head coach Zac Taylor told the media:

“Continued improvement. And there needs to be continued improvement. I feel like I sit here and say it every week, but with our young players, there is the good and the bad every week that they need to improve on. We see a lot of the qualities that we thought we were going to get when we took him. It’s good that he’s been getting to play a ton of snaps in the last half of the season. He has to continue to correct the mistakes. There’s a lot to grow on, but there are certainly a lot of positives that we’re excited about.”

The numbers — especially since the team cut Preston Brown — have started to ascend:

In addition to this, Pratt just had his best tackling game as a pro, registering seven solo and 10 total against New England while playing a carer-high 75 percent of the snaps.

Pratt still has some problems in coverage (16 completions on 19 targets). But for the former safety, that area figures to come around in time.

For now, the Bengals will take this rate of return. Pratt is a big part of the plan at a unit in need of overhaul, so these next two weeks are particularly important.

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