Tag: Jessie Bates

Lou Anarumo rumors don’t paint Bengals in the best light

This could end up being a very bad look for the Bengals.

After the Cincinnati Bengals fired defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, the debate as to whether the front office failed him or he failed to properly develop talent started in earnest.

The latest NFL coaching rumors might hint at the first suggestion.

According to NFL Media’s Colleen Wolfe, Anarumo’s latest reported interview is with the Atlanta Falcons — which would reunite him with a guy by the name of Jessie Bates.

This isn’t Anarumo’s first interview as he becomes one of the hottest coaching names in the NFL.

But it is the most important.

The Bengals letting Bates walk in free agency was about as controversial as it gets, given his versatility and scheme fit. It’s been all downhill from there for Anarumo’s unit. The supposed replacement, Dax Hill, now plays cornerback. Bates, meanwhile, went to Atlanta and immediately got All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods.

Should Anarumo link up with Bates again and craft an elite defense once more, it’s an indictment on the Bengals front office in a major way. That’s especially the case, considering one of the reasons the Bengals didn’t pay Bates was so that they could attempt to keep Tee Higgins and get Ja’Marr Chase his big extension down the road — neither of which they have yet to actually do.

Had the Bengals paid Bates, it’s hard not to wonder where the defense might be right now — and if the team would still be alive in the postseason.

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Matthew Judon with Falcons’ second pick-six against Giants

The Falcons were having a pick party against Drew Lock and the Giants

The remedy for any illness is playing the New York Giants in the NFL.

On Sunday it was the Atlanta Falcons who drew the Big Blue straw.

Michael Penix Jr. made his first start and had thrown one pick midway through the third quarter.

However, Drew Lock of the Giants was having no luck finding his team.

He threw a pick to Jessie Bates in the first half and then Matthew Judon came away with a deflected Lock pass and returned it 27 yards for a score.

After Bijan Robinson’s second TD, the Falcons were rolling, 31-7.

Jessie Bates with 55-yard pick-six for Falcons against Giants

Jessie Bates picked off Drew Lock and took the football to the house

The Atlanta Falcons figured to need help from all areas with Michael Penix Jr. making his first start on Sunday against the New York Giants.

Jesie Bates chipped in with a pick of Drew Lock. Bates returned the interception 55 yards to give the Falcons a 10-7 lead after the PAT.

Penix,

5 Falcons players to watch in Week 13 vs. Chargers

The Falcons have several dynamic playmakers on both sides of the ball that could present problems for the Chargers in Week 13.

The Falcons made some big splash moves last offseason, and for the most part, it has paid off. Atlanta leads the lowly NFC South by two games with a 6-5 record.

The Falcons host the Chargers for a huge Week 13 matchup this weekend. Both teams are in the thick of the playoff races in each conference, with Los Angeles likely destined for a Wild Card spot.

Here are five Falcons players that the Chargers must keep an eye on for:

RB Bijan Robinson

Defensive coordinators don’t get the best sleep when they realize they face Bijan Robinson on Sunday. The Texas product is already one of the most dynamic players in the league in just his second NFL season. He has averaged 103.8 scrimmage yards per game this season and seven total touchdowns. He’s also a dynamic threat out of the backfield, as he’s caught 45 passes, fourth-most amongst running backs.

TE Kyle Pitts

Now that Atlanta finally has a competent quarterback, Pitts has been better in 2024. Through 11 games, he has 35 catches for 494 yards and three touchdowns. He’s had just one catch in two of his last three contests, so the Falcons may make it a point of emphasis to get him involved early. Pitts presents a matchup issue due to his unique speed/size combination, and the Chargers will likely use Derwin James to try and slow him down.

OG Chris Lindstrom

Lindstrom has evolved into one of, if not the best, guard in the league. He dominates the line of scrimmage for the Falcons offense, which opens up big lanes for Robinson in the run game. The Chargers defensive line has been stellar recently, so this is another key matchup to watch in Week 13.

LB Nate Landman

Landman has appeared in just seven games, all starts, for the Falcons this season. He’s made quite an impact, though, with three forced fumbles and 52 total tackles in those starts. The undrafted linebacker has made 21 starts over the last two years and has become a legitimate contributor for Atlanta. The Chargers must protect the ball, particularly around Landman.

S Jessie Bates

The Falcons signed Bates to a four-year, $64 million contract in 2023, and he’s been worth every penny. The seventh-veteran has become arguably the best safety in all of football. In 2024, Bates has 70 tackles, two interceptions, six pass deflections, and a career-high four forced fumbles. He’s well on his way to earning his second consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, and the Chargers must make sure Bates does not take over the game on Sunday.

DJ Reader latest former Bengals star to prove Cincy’s building wrong

DJ Reader, Joe Mixon, Jessie Bates and more — the players the Bengals let get away keep shining elsewhere.

A frustrating season for Cincinnati Bengals fans has been underlined in red ink with former key members of the team shining elsewhere.

DJ Reader is merely the latest.

Reader, now a member of the elite Detroit Lions defense, left this past offseason and has mostly kept up his usual level of play for the Super Bowl hopeful.

With Detroit, Reader has three sacks and four tackles for loss, each number more than he had last year over 14 games with the Bengals.

Perhaps more notably, he’s outpacing his replacement, Sheldon Rankins, who has appeared in seven games with the Bengals and posted one sack and tackle for loss. Due to a viral illness, he missed the game before the bye last week and will miss Week 13 against Pittsburgh, at a minimum.

Granted, the Bengals were attempting to replace Reader via a platoon of rookies, plus Rankins. But none of those guys were pure nose tackles like Reader. And while he entered free agency after a torn quad, so letting him walk was somewhat understandable at the time, the general idea of how to replace him certainly wasn’t.

But that doesn’t make it sting less when Reader is just the latest in a long line of whiffs.

Joe Mixon has revived his career in Houston. Jessie Bates is an All-Pro and the current state of the Bengals defense speaks for itself. Even Kevin Zeitler is still playing elite ball and would have been a Ring of Honor candidate, had they kept him.

At some point, this is a brutal reflection of the Bengals’ front office and Duke Tobin in how they do business and select players. Now, the results of critical mistakes are showing up big on the field — in Cincinnati and elsewhere in the NFL.

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Jessie Bates isn’t only former elite Bengals player at weak position right now

Another Bengals mistake still hurts them while the player they let get away shines.

By now, the Cincinnati Bengals are probably tired of hearing about how good some former players are doing with new teams.

Like Joe Mixon. And Jessie Bates, who earned an All-Pro nod last year and is right on his way to doing so again this season.

But they’re not alone.

One guy who often gets lost in the conversation? Detroit Lions guard Kevin Zeitler, who as of this writing, has 90-plus PFF grades in each of his last two outings and is the overall third-highest-graded guard in the NFL.

Zeitler is an infamous, yet easy-to-overlook part of modern Bengals history. The team took him in the first round in 2012, seemingly only did so because they had two first round picks in that draft, then never made a serious push to give him an extension.

While Zeitler hasn’t been fantastic everywhere he’s been since, he’s 34 years old and still doing fantastic at a spot that is currently a problem for Joe Burrow’s offense. Really, they haven’t truly fixed it since his departure. Had Zeitler remained all this time, he’d be staring at a Ring of Honor spot.

Instead, Zeitler goes on the pile of solid guys the Bengals drafted and developed, then let get away. He’s not a Bates-level player, but he’s in that Andrew Whitworth-type mistake bracket that the team never really recovered from.

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Did Jessie Bates take a subtle shot at Bo Nix ahead of Broncos-Falcons game?

Falcons safety Jessie Bates went viral after he said there’s “10 years” of college film of Bo Nix, but that quote needs proper context.

Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates went viral on Friday after aggregation accounts on Twitter/X started re-sharing a video of him saying he’s been watching Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix playing at the college level for the last 10 years.

There’s some context to the quote, though.

Bates started his answer on Nix by saying the Falcons have enough NFL film to study from the QB’s time in the NFL.

“Ten games, usually, that’s enough film to really see a quarterback’s strengths or weaknesses or what they like to do,” Bates said on Friday, via Raphael Haynes of The 3 Point Conversion. “[There’s] kind of multiple years where we can go back and watch what he does. … We’ve been watching him in college for, you know, the past five or six years, however long it was.”

Media members then interjected “Ten years!” with laughter and Bates said, “Ten years, whatever it is.”

It seemed to be a harmless remark from Bates with the “10 years” quip being prompted by media in attendance.

“He’s not [like] a rookie quarterback — seems like he’s a graduate student almost,” Bates continued. “He’s doing a good job … running their offense at a high level.”

The Broncos do not view Nix’s extensive college experience as a negative. Coaches and players both said this offseason that Nix appeared more poised and polished than a typical rookie because of his college experience.

Nix spent five years at the college level before entering the NFL. Atlanta’s rookie quarterback, Michael Penix, spent six years in college.

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Falcons safety wants to make sure teammate isn’t ‘swept under the rug’

Falcons safety Justin Simmons wants to make sure teammate Jessie Bates isn’t being “swept under the rug”

The Atlanta Falcons offense came to life during Thursday night’s 36-30 win over the Tampa Buccaneers, but the defense also deserves credit for making some key stops in the second half. Safety Jessie Bates III forced a Buccaneers fumble to give the Falcons life in the fourth quarter.

While those around the NFL have mostly praised quarterback Kirk Cousins’ 509-yard, four-touchdown performance, Justin Simmons wants to make sure his defensive backfield mate gets the credit he deserves.

“Jessie is playing at [Defensive Player of the Year] level right now,” tweeted Simmons. “Want to make sure what he did on Thursday night isn’t being swept under the rug because of that outstanding ending from Red and the O.”

Simmons and Bates have been as good as advertised this season. Both players have made some big plays despite the defense’s lack of overall pass rush. Without the team’s strong defensive efforts early in the season, there’s no way Atlanta would be sitting at 3-2 and first in the NFC South.

Bates recorded the game-clinching interception in the Falcons’ Week 2 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Thus far in 2024, Bates has recorded 37 tackles (23 solo), one interception, three passes defended and two forced fumbles.

Cousins and the offense received heavy criticism early in the year but the veteran QB has knocked the rust off and is starting to let it fly again. The Falcons have another NFC South game on deck in Week 6 when they face the Carolina Panthers (1-4) on the road next weekend.

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Chris Olave is officially active for Week 4 vs. Atlanta Falcons

Despite suffering a hamstring injury on Friday, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave is active and will play against the Atlanta Falcons:

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave suffered a hamstring injury on Friday, and Dennis Allen said Olave was day-to-day after practice. The expectation was that Olave would be a game-time decision.

Suffering an injury that late in the week will always put your status in question. When the Saints chose to bring up an offensive lineman from the practice squad instead of a wide receiver, it felt likely Olave would play.

Alongside Alvin Kamara and Rashid Shaheed, Olave makes up nearly the entirety of the Saints passing attack. He’s one of Derek Carr’s favorite targets, so Olave absence would have been greatly felt.

Luckily, the Saints won’t have to find out, because Olave is active and will play in Atlanta. His injury happened late enough in the week to where he was already fully implemented into the game plan. Olave and Shaheed will have a fun matchup against the Falcons’ secondary. Olave will see A.J. Terrell frequently in one of our matchups to watch.

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Falcons safety wins NFC Defensive Player of the Week

Falcons safety Jessie Bates has been awarded NFC Defensive Player of the Week..

Falcons safety Jessie Bates III has been an incredible addition since signing in Atlanta during the 2023 free-agency period. In his first season, Bates led the team with six interceptions and he’s off to another promising start in 2024.

The Falcons defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2 thanks to some fourth-quarter heroics from two team captains. Quarterback Kirk Cousins threw a go-ahead touchdown with 34 seconds left and then Bates clinched the game with his interception of Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Bates has been awarded NFC Defensive Player of the Week for his herculean effort. 

https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons/status/1836435062612480397

In Week 2, Bates finished with a team-high 12 tackles (seven solo), two passed defended, one tackle for loss and one interception against the Eagles. The 27-year-old is in his physical prime and playing some of the best football of his entire career. 

In 19 games with the Falcons, Bates has racked up 150 combined tackles, seven interceptions, 13 passes defended, one defensive touchdown and one safety. However, Atlanta’s secondary will be tested when the Kansas City Chiefs come to town in Week 3.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the team’s young playmakers present a tough challenge for the entire Falcons defense. Bates and backfield mate Justin Simmons need to play their absolute best for Atlanta to have a chance on Sunday night football.

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