Why the Safeties Play So Loose

[SunsetBengal]

(12-05-2023, 11:21 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Like many of you, I shake my head at the way the Bengals’ secondary is weak against the pass.  In 2021 and 2022 Lou Anarumo was the secondary whisperer and the things the safeties and cornerbacks could do were nothing short of astounding.  

Now, during the game day threads everyone consistently criticizes Lou for allowing too many completed passes.  After careful analysis I believe I have figured out what is going on.  NOTE:  I’m not saying I agree with what Lou is doing — but I understand it.

First of all, losing Von Bell and Jessie Bates III was more devastating than anyone anticipated. At the end of the 2020 season the secondary was lighting up receivers.  Heck, JuJu Smith-Schuster is still reeling from that infamous Von Bell hit.

It took Lou at least one season to develop Bell and Bates into the NFL’s best safety tandem.  The same will occur for Jordan Battle and Dax Hill.  Right now Battle and Hill are where Bell and Bates were in 2020.  It takes time and talent to develop safeties.  

Right now Lou is training Battle and Hill to play over the top and guard against huge pass plays.  It’s called keeping the ball in front of you and it’s a fundamental of good safety play.  This means allowing short and medium length passes to be completed.  Basically, allowing a fifteen or twenty yard completion is better than allowing a forty yard bomb over the top.

As their proficiency increases we will see less short and medium length passes completed.  It’s a work in progress.

Oh, I'm pretty sure that at least one of us anticipated a tremendous dropoff in Safety production. (I made a thread about it and was pretty much torched for it)  Even coach Lou himself foreshadowed what was coming when he spoke of the 'dark day' when Bates and Bell would no longer be with the team.

Now that their departure has come to pass and we are developing a new tandem to fill the spots going forward, it is tough to watch their youthful struggles but I remain optimistic as I see every week what they are physically capable of.  I have a feeling that it won't be long before Hill and Battle will be recognized as one of the NFL's premier Safety duos.