Tag: Lou Anarumo

Geno Stone should thrive playing under Bengals’ DC Lou Anarumo

Former Ravens safety Geno Stone may be in for another historic season with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Former Ravens safety Geno Stone may be in for another historic season with the Cincinnati Bengals. Expect defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo to polish Stone and build a scheme that favors his ball-hawking tendencies.

Last season, the Bengals were inhibited by two key shortcomings. First, they lost all-pro safety Jesse Bates III to the Atlanta Falcons, and then their starting quarterback Joe Burrow went down in the middle of the season with a hand injury. Still, the Bengals finished the season with a 9-8 record and defensive end Trey Henderson ranked No. 2 in the NFL in total sacks.

Anarumo understands that Stone likes to play aggressively, and so does he. The Bengals had 26 takeaways last season, ranking No. 7 in the NFL.  The Bengals are looking to build a secondary behind defensive tackle B.J Hill and Hendrickson. With Stone and the return of safety Vance Bell, defensive back Mike Hilton may see more opportunities to blitz as defensive backs Cam Taylor Britt and Dax Hill work outside.

The Bengals were just a few victories away from the Super Bowl in 2022 and 2023. With Stone, they want to build on the identity that helped turn their franchise around. As an AFC North powerhouse, the Ravens need to be aware of their rivals’ moves to dethrone them in 2024.

Lou Anarumo compares Patrick Mahomes to all-time greats

Bengals DC Lou Anarumo talks about trying to slow down Patrick Mahomes.

Over the past few seasons, not many teams have been able to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs, but the Cincinnati Bengals are one that succeeded in 2022 when they went on to the Super Bowl.

Lou Anarumo, who is in his fifth season with the Bengals as the defensive coordinator, talked with Michael Silver of the San Francisco Chronicle before the Chiefs match up against the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11.

Anarumo described what it’s like as a defense to go up against Patrick Mahomes, saying it’s very tough to slow him down.

“I mean, he’s too great to say that you’re going to fluster a guy like that for an entire game,” Anarumo said to Silver. “You just have to be able to make the key stops at the right time, and then if he gives you an opportunity with a takeaway, you can’t mess it up; you have to catch (the ball). But he’s Derek Jeter; he’s Tom Brady; he’s Michael Jordan. He’s ‘The Guy.’ And here he is in the Super Bowl — again.”

When the Bengals beat Mahomes, he threw for 275 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, the Bengals winning 27-24, so those two interceptions were extremely pivotal.

“We certainly didn’t mess him up the whole game. We just did enough. And then when the opportunities presented themselves we were able to take advantage. But he is great.”

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Bengals’ Lou Anarumo is now tied for NFL’s longest-tenured defensive coordinator

Lou Anarumo has been in the defensive coordinator role longer than most in the NFL right now.

Earlier this offseason, then-Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan was the longest-tenured coach in the NFL in that role before moving on to become head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is now holding down a similar honor.

As one can see in a spreadsheet breakdown from ESPN’s Mike Clay, Anarumo is now tied with Steve Spagnuolo of the Kansas City Chiefs as the longest-tenured defensive coordinator in the NFL.

A hot head coach candidate in recent years, Anarumo’s name didn’t surface during this hiring cycle — though that’s not necessarily a bad thing during a cycle in which Bill Belichick didn’t get a job.

The chart:

Anarumo will stay in this spot for at least one more season, his task improving a young secondary that surrendered more explosive plays than most last year.

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Bengals’ Lou Anarumo working extra to fix run defense woes

Lou Anarumo wants to see the issues for his defense fixed now.

The Cincinnati Bengals run defense has been a sour point for the team most of the season and it’s something defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo continues to target into December.

Ahead of next Monday’s game against the Jaguars, Anarumo had that very thing as the focus of a late-week practice.

“We continue to practice the issues that keep popping up. We’re doing more run fits than we’ve ever done,” Anarumo said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “We just did 20. We’ll do 30 a day. That’s outside of practice and my walkthrough and then within another practice period. And then in practice, we’ll do another set of it.”

Anarumo has plenty of reason to get his guys after this, considering their putrid leaguewide ranks. Just last week, the Bengals coughed up 153 rushing yards and a score on a 4.6 per-carry average to Pittsburgh in a 16-10 loss, which featured a handful of head-scratching runs that looked dead before being broken off for bigger gains.

Next up, the defense has to counter a Jaguars team that will be looking to exploit the very same issue.

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Bengals’ run defense could be a problem vs. Ravens on Thursday Night Football

The Bengals-Ravens Thursday night matchup is a good one, but Cincinnati’s faltering run defense could lose the game for them.

When the Cincinnati Bengals face off against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football, it’s not an exaggeration to say that Cincinnati is already playing for any control of the AFC North. Were the season to end today, the 5-4 Bengals would be the AFC’s eightth seed, while the 7-3 Ravens are the AFC’s second seed. Baltimore already beat Cincinnati 27-24 in Week 2, and the Bengals currently have an 0-2 record in the division, so it’s fairly important for Zac Taylor’s team to get on the good foot here.

The primary matchups are fascinating. Joe Burrow versus Mike Macdonald’s shape-shifting Ravens defense, and Lamar Jackson against Lou Anarumo’s multiple coverages and looks? It’s all heaven for football dorks.

But if there’s one thing the Bengals had beat address, it’s their run defense. Through the first 10 weeks of the 2023 NFL season, Cincinnati has allowed five yards per carry this season; only the Denver Broncos are worse. Furthermore, against the Bengals’ defense, a league-high 29.8% of opponent runs have gone for first downs. Only the Broncos and the New York Jets have allowed more rushing yards per game than the Bengals’ 136.9, and their 31 missed tackles against the run also leads the league. 

That’s a very bad matchup for a Ravens offense that can kill you with the run in multiple ways. It’s odd, because the Bengals have good defenders at all three levels, and everything else is working. Cincinnati currently ranks 16th overall in Defensive DVOA, and 11th against the pass, but their rank of 29th against the run tells the story.

The Bengals have allowed 33 runs of 10 or more yards this season, and three of them came in Week 2 against the Ravens. Justice Hill, Gus Edwards, and Lamar Jackson have all been effective rushers in Todd Monken’s offense this season, and each of them had a big run against the Bengals.

Here’s Hill defining the edge on an 11-yard carry with a few missed tackles for good measure.

Edward’s 20-yard run was pure power out of heavy personnel, and once again, the Bengals weren’t ready for it.

And Jackson got 10 yards on this QB Draw before he gave himself up.

These days, the guy to watch out for in this matchup is undrafted rookie Keaton Mitchell from East Carolina, who is officially a big play waiting to happen.

Keaton Mitchell of the Ravens is the NFL’s new big-play running back

Mitchell has just 12 carries this season, but he’s gained 172 yards and scored two touchdowns, giving him a ridiculous 14.3 yards per carry average. And this isn’t just a straight-line speed guy — Mitchell has averaged 11.67 yards after contact per carry, and he’s forced nine missed tackles on those 12 attempts.

The Cleveland Browns’ defense is quite a bit better than Cincinnati’s, but that didn’t stop Mitchell for breaking off this 39-yard run last Sunday…

…and breaking free for 32 yards on this screen pass.

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into why Cincinnati’s run defense has fallen off, and what they can do about it.

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You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” featuring all of Week 11’s biggest matchups, right here:

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You can also subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Bengals players were texting Lou Anarumo right after loss to Texans

Bengals defenders were texting their coordinator about improvements within an hour of the loss to the Texans.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo says players were texting him with corrections within an hour of Sunday’s loss to the Houston Texans.

Led by DJ Reader, Anarumo says his phone was blowing up not long after leaving Paycor Stadium.

Anarumo added this about practice on a short week, per CLNS Media’s Mike Petraglia: “I wish I had the answer to that one… Yesterday, it wasn’t up to what it needs to be… we don’t have time for tackling drills.. but we’re going to find time.”

Cincinnati’s defense, while down Sam Hubbard, let up a stunning 17 explosive plays to a Houston offense led by a rookie quarterback, totaling 28 first downs and 544 total yards.

While the desire for improvement was immediate and apparent, Reader, Anarumo and all involved don’t have long to get things back on track before Thursday night against the Ravens on primetime — and likely without Trey Hendrickson given the latest update on his injury.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Previewing Week 9’s biggest NFL matchups

Dolphins-Chiefs! Seahawks-Ravens! Cowboys-Eagles! Bills-Bengals! Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar preview Week 9’s biggest NFL games in “The Xs and Os.”

It’s time for Week 9 of the NFL season, and as always, Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup, and Doug Farrar of Touchdown Wire and the USA Today Sports Media Group, get you ready with tons of tape study and advanced metrics.

This week, Greg and Doug get deep into these games:

Miami Dolphins “at” Kansas City Chiefs
Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore Ravens
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Buffalo Bills at Cincinnati Bengals

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

Lou Anarumo praised for the way Bengals shut down 49ers

Lou Anarumo is once again getting head-coaching hype.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo put on a master-class showing on Sunday during the team’s big win over the San Francisco 49ers.

While much of the attention after the game rightfully centered on Joe Burrow and his complete comeback from injury, there were a few folks praising Anarumo’s ability to shutter an offense led by Christian McCaffrey.

On “Good Morning Football,” Peter Schrager was one of those: “Tony Romo said on the CBS broadcast, ‘Lou Anarumo, you are gonna be a head coach next year’…and he’s right. He probably should have been one this year. That’s okay. The D is clicking and Bengals fans are just fine with him in Cincinnati.”

The full clip is certainly worth a watch:

It was a little surprising this past offseason that Anarumo didn’t land a head-coaching gig, but he missed out at a time when defensive minds aren’t getting many of the jobs.

The Bengals can’t complain, of course. He’s back, enabling the team to have more coaching consistently than most contenders ever enjoy and doing things like Sunday, helping key a big win over a contender on the road.

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Lou Anarumo says Germaine Pratt-Joseph Ossai mishap proof of Bengals culture

Lou Anarumo speaks on that infamous viral moment when Germaine Pratt yelled at Joseph Ossai after the AFC title game.

Last postseason after the AFC championship, Cincinnati Bengals Germaine Pratt went viral in about as bad of a way possible as cameras caught him questioning the now-infamous roughing-the-passer penalty by Joseph Ossai on Patrick Mahomes.

That now-infamous mishap from Pratt quickly became an afterthought though, as most could understand it was a heat-of-the-moment outburst and Pratt quickly made that clear the next day during interviews.

Fast forward to now, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo says he actually used that moment as a good example of the culture he can build while interviewing for head coaching jobs elsewhere.

“The next day in the locker room,” Anarumo told Peter Schrager. “Germaine is basically crying, saying you know, it’s my fault, I was, you know, I shouldn’t have said what I said. Joe is one of the reasons we got to this point. Just squashed it immediately. I didn’t have to say nothing to him. Zac didn’t have to say anything to him.”

More importantly, Anarumo says the whole saga is a good example of how far the Bengals have come together over the last five or so years.

The whole clip is worth a watch, given how impressive it is that the unfortunate moment caught on camera managed to bring the Bengals closer together.

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Bengals’ Lou Anarumo isn’t a fan of a funny nickname he’s earned

It has a nice ring to it, though.

Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo isn’t a fan of a nickname raised by fans and onlookers.

One of the league’s best defensive minds, Dan Hoard recently informed Anarumo that he’s earned the nickname “Lou-dini” in some circles.

Anarumo was pretty quick to shoot it down — with good cause while laughing it off, too.

“I don’t want to know any of this stuff,” Anarumo said. “I just want to win the game. My kids will make fun of me if I say something like that.”

A critical part of Cincinnati’s success and returning again despite head coach interviews as the Bengals enjoy more continuity across the coaching staff, Anarumo’s results-focused approach isn’t a shocker.

Still, “Lou-dini” has a nice ring to it, so it even coming up might only help it spread faster.

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