Last year was a terrible one for the defense of the Cincinnati Bengals, and the linebacker group was the weak link of that weak unit.
It seemed obvious that major upheaval was needed, yet the Bengals’ front office did very little.
Well, it may just turn out that they were right about Cincinnati’s young linebackers, Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter.
Those two have made a number of big plays so far in training camp.
Here’s a clip of Knight quickly finding his way through the line to get in position
to make a tackle for loss.
And here’s Carter making the kind of play in the passing game that was so desperately missing last year, preventing a big gain with a heads-up play.
So now defensive coordinator Al Golden gets to take a bit of a victory lap, as he has insisted that the young linebackers just need time.
“You guys know how I feel about them — love them,” Golden said, according to Charlie Clifford. “I stood on the table for them.”
It’s early, but Bengals fans can only hope that he’s right on this one.
