A breakfast club of their own.
Every Tuesday at 10 a.m. the defensive backs of the Cincinnati Bengals gather for an hour of film study accompanied by breakfast at Paul Brown Stadium. The two common breakfast choices are either First Watch or Chick-fil-A. Each week, a specific player is assigned to bring food for the group of 15. But as cornerback Mike Hilton said, there’s always room for seconds within this group so the order is for a group of 20.
The order consists of the following: Sausage and chicken biscuits, burritos, and hash browns.
“Nobody can go wrong with Chick-fil-A,” Hilton said. “Bring at least 20 in total because you know a guy might grab two or three, possibly.”
They come for the film study and stay for the food.
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Team captains Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates started this tradition before Week 1 on a group chat. Bell and Bates realized an hour to an hour and a half of film study together on their opponent could be a difference-maker for Cincinnati’s defense.
Bell, a six-year veteran, runs the film study for the group. The former second-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State played on a New Orleans Saints team that went to the playoffs three times in his four-year stint.
“They know I’m here early all the time,” Bell said of how the idea to meet as a group came about. “Really a jumpstart on the game plan and who we’re going against. How we’ll be attacked, first and second down and (then our defensive) coordinator comes down, the position coaches come down. We ask what we can show the group and how can we get started so we get a jump start for Wednesday.
The Bengals’ defense is one of the most improved groups in the NFL and without the performance of defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s unit against the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round, Cincinnati wouldn’t be playing in the AFC Championship.
To help show how vastly improved Cincinnati’s defense is just look at the statistics from last year to now. In 2020, the Bengals ranked No. 32 in sacks, No. 29 in rush defense, No. 26 in total yards per game and No. 22 in points per game. Fast-forward to 2021, Cincinnati finished the regular season ranked No. 5 against the run, No. 11 in sacks, No. 17 in points per game and No. 18 in yards per game..
The success the Bengals are enduring on defense is a microcosm of a few different things: Talented players acquired in free agency, comfort in Anarumo’s scheme, avoiding major injuries to key starters and player-led accountability.
Cincinnati made a commitment to improving its defense from the get-go last year. In free agency, the Bengals added a few key players on defense that helped tremendously from a production standpoint in Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson, top cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. Defensive tackle D.J. Reader returned from a season-ending quad injury and playing the entire season at full-strength. Linebacker Logan Wilson has grown immensely in his second season and their core players, Bell and Bates, are leading the way for the entire group.
Anarumo said when he saw his players wanting to come in on their off day to get ahead it showed this unit could be different – in a good way. The Bengals have two player-led meetings a week. Tuesday’s meeting is specific to the defensive backs and Friday’s is the entire defense.
"Well, I've always said when the players take ownership of the team it really shows that you're heading in the right direction as an organization,” Anarumo said. “They started that early on and they have another meeting, the whole defense does right after Friday practice, I make a script tape, they all go in there, I make some calls and put it on a sheet of paper and make a tape and watch it together, no coaches. They talk through some things and as far as the defensive back stuff is concerned there are a lot of moving parts these days in NFL football. The fact they take a couple of extra hours on a Tuesday morning to get ahead of the game plan is huge and it's paid dividends for us."
The defensive backs meeting is especially important from a communication standpoint and making sure players are lined up in the right positions. It’s also equated to more turnovers for the group. Bates and Hilton recorded interceptions against the Titans, and both were a result of intense film study.
In addition to the dividends it pays on the field from a scheme and results standpoint, it’s also helped bring a belief and cohesion to the defensive backs room that couldn’t be forced. The Bengals are able to play instinctual and it allows them to be opportunistic in ways only teams with strong locker rooms can be.
Cincinnati’s defense is heading into a game in which they are widely viewed as the underdogs, despite beating the Chiefs in Week 17 and holding Kansas City to three points in the second half, and it doesn’t phase anyone. They don’t need the outside praise to be fulfilled because their preparation and belief in one another is more than enough.
“There’s no selfishness on this squad,” Hilton said. “We got a lot of hungry guys and we got guys that are selfless and they want to do everything they can to help us win so we know from the front line to the secondary we trust every other guy on that defense and we love playing with each other."
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