What Makes Lou Anarumo, Bengals Defense So Dangerous?

Embed from Getty Images
The Cincinnati Bengals are likely known more for the lethal passing attack of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. However, Cincinnati’s defense has truly become one of the more unique attacks to counteract. The Bengals can play physical. They can rely on speed and quickness. Additionally, this group can confuse and frustrate opposing offenses in a multitude of ways. The Kansas City Chiefs have felt the wrath of that much too often over the last couple of years.

It all starts with Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Cincinnati will mix and match different looks pre-snap. At the same time, they will cling to different assignments for all 11 players that are on the field. The defenders are not just given freedom to perform different tasks. More importantly, Anarumo does a tremendous job of playing to his player’s strengths. Cincinnati has gained massive amounts of confidence and determination, because of that.

This group is playing with a looseness that any defense would long for. Opponents already have a tall task of hoping their defense can slow down the Bengals offense. Yet, Cincinnati is simply too tenacious and feisty on defense themselves. Will that lead them to a second straight Super Bowl appearance? Or, will the Chiefs figure out some new tricks to exorcize the demons that are the Bengals defense?

Chiefs Discuss Bengals Tendencies, What KC Must Accomplish

In Wednesday’s media availability, Patrick Mahomes and JuJu Smith-Schuster discussed the items that make the Bengals defense so challenging. In total, there are many disguises and looks that Cincinnati operates out of. Will the Chiefs be able to overcome some of these difficulties that were discussed on Wednesday?

Mahomes discussed Anarumo’s style as very “gameplan specific.” He added, “it’s never the same. He gives you the same look, but different coverages. They have no weakness across that whole defensive line and that linebacker position. They do a great job of pass rushing and they do a great job with their DBs of rushing from the outside. They keep changing it up and I think that’s the biggest thing. You can’t relax back there. You have to make sure that you’re really focused on the details.”

When you look at what Mahomes said, it is easy to focus on the mixing and matching of certain coverages. But the detail-oriented approach of Cincinnati is what truly gives offenses fits. In the end, Kansas City will have to execute better situationally.

Meanwhile, Smith-Schuster talked about what the pass catchers have to do well against the Cincinnati defensive backs. “When the ball is thrown to you, make your plays,” Smith-Schuster said. “Be on the same page, being able to read coverages. And in between while you’re running routes, knowing when to stop, when to keep running. For us, we got to be on the same page as Patrick Mahomes.”

Kansas City added smart pass catchers last offseason. As a result, that could be a major difference against the Bengals this year, compared to last season’s AFC Championship Game.

Pressuring With Three

Embed from Getty Images
What you will see from the Bengals, is their ability to put pressure on the quarterback by only rushing three defenders. It is a group of defensive linemen that provide a tremendous mix of size, speed and length. Trey Hendrickson has transformed this unit since coming to Cincinnati. He can win with a multi-faceted attack as a pass rusher. Simply put, Hendrickson keeps his hands active and takes the sharpest possible angle to the passer. On the flip side, names like Sam Hubbard, Cam Sample and Joseph Ossai offer long strides, short area burst and power. The duo of DJ Reader and BJ Hill can also rely on incredible change of direction skills for their size, while still clogging up gaps.

By rushing three defenders, Cincinnati works with tight and sharp angles. That may seem straightforward for the opposing blockers to corral. Nevertheless, Anarumo teaches them to not get too far up the field, while still crashing in as hard as they can. On top of that, the Bengals will attack through any and all gaps. You could see one defender attack from wide angles. While that occurs, two pass rushers may overload from the A and B gaps from the opposite side. It is truly anyone’s guess as to how they are going to pressure quarterbacks. That can lead to late reactions from both blockers and passers, to boot.

Will Bengals Continue To Drop Eight Into Coverage?

If it is not broken, do not fix it. You would assume that Cincinnati would continue to utilize dropping eight defenders into coverage. It has worked against Kansas City before, for the most part. This forces even the best quarterbacks to be perfect when throwing into tight windows. Even if you want to use the quick passing game against the Bengals, Cincinnati is able to tackle well and lay some booms in space.

So, how could the Chiefs adjust to the Bengals and Lou Anarumo dropping eight into coverage? Overall, we saw glimpses of success by Kansas City in this year’s regular season meeting when they elected to run the ball. Isiah Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon each have the mentality to match the Bengals defense. Though, it will also take vertical stretch passes and challenging throws on the outside in order to test Cincinnati and Lou Anarumo when they drop eight.

Physicality Reigns Supreme

The thing that makes this matchup even tougher, is the physicality that the Bengals defense brings. Cincinnati can impose this at all three levels of the defense. Starting on the defensive line, there is power at the get off of the snap. There is power at the point of attack. Moreover, the finishing power of this defensive line can leave opponents battered and bruised. If you move to linebacker, the Bengals have a group of second level defenders that play fearlessly. They are not hesitant if they need to stick their face in the fan over the middle. Plus, the ability to leave jarring hits in the run game can wear down opposing running backs.

It is already challenging to separate with the mixing of coverages that the Bengals do. But overall, Cincinnati is able to provide vice grips to opposing pass catchers. This can leave wide receivers or tight ends overthinking seemingly every little detail if the Bengals truly get into a groove. This includes overthinking routes, the timing of their hands at the catch point and releasing off the line of scrimmage.

Be on the lookout for more FPC Chiefs articles and analysis throughout this week. For more great sports and NFL content, stay tuned to Full Press Coverage.

– Braden Holecek is the Kansas City Chiefs managing editor for Full Press Coverage. He covers the NFL. Like and follow on Follow @ebearcat9//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Follow @FPC_Chiefs//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js and Facebook.