Bengals DC explains Cam Taylor-Britt’s benching

There haven’t been many positives to find in the Cincinnati Bengals season for fans or their players.

One especially thorny issue has been the play of defensive back Cam Taylor-Britt. Taylor-Britt has struggled mightily in coverage this season, and these struggles have been magnified due to Taylor-Britt’s constant trash talk earlier this season.

Although the Bengals coaching staff has gotten Taylor-Britt to tone down the trash talk, they haven’t had the same success in getting his play on the field to improve.

Taylor-Britt was benched in the Bengals’ Sunday loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, the second time it has happened this season, after he was responsible for the Chargers’ first two touchdowns. Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said that a touchdown pass to Chargers tight end Will Dissly shouldn’t have happened, because the Bengals covered the play throughout the week while prepping for the game.

“That’s kind of what got everybody fired up a little bit,” Anarumo said, according to Pro Football Talk.

“We had shown that play a number of times. Germaine’s job is to hold the seam there, which he did a really good job of. And Cam should’ve been a little bit deeper and higher on that.

“He almost made the play. If he’s 3 or 4 yards deeper, he probably makes the play. And that’s the difference there.”

Aanrumo also said that Taylor-Britt was responsible for the next Chargers touchdown.

“Just a simple pickup in coverage that’s he done right a million times, and it led to a touchdown. They ran that – ‘Oh, [expletive]’ is what we call it, because it kind of what it is, and he should be sitting right there.

“It’s just a simple pickup, but he got locked in on his guy that drained out of the way. But he should just let that guy go to the front side.”

It’ll be interesting to see if Taylor-Britt is the starter moving forward as the Bengals try to claw their way into the AFC playoff picture.

[PFT]