The Cincinnati Bengals’ defense has looked atrocious in two preseason games against the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders.
They’ve been gashed by long runs and shredded by highlight reel passes, showing no signs of improvement over last year’s disappointing performance.
And yet, free agent defensive tackle TJ Slaton isn’t worried at all.
Asked about the poor showing last night, he said: “It happens in football. That’s the game. You’re going to have some of these big runs. You’ll have explosive
passes. It just happens.”
When asked to analyze further, Slaton said: “It’s a preseason game. So we don’t want to go out there and show everything that we’re doing. We only go out there with a few calls.”
Finally, when asked if the defense will be prepared for the regular season, Slaton said: “We’re going to be alright. We’re going to be good. Everything is trust, confidence. I feel like us, as a young group, we really have that a lot here. So we’re going to be okay.”
Of course, playcalling is just one component of team defense. As Mike Santagata and others have pointed out, the players just seem to be out of position on a lot of these big plays.
In other news, the Bengals are hosting Dalton Risner today. I expressed my excitement for his potential signing in the song below.