What tweaks can Bengals DC Lou Anarumo make to bolster struggling defense?

CINCINNATI — As Lou Anarumo walked across Bank of America Stadium on Sunday looking to shake hands with Carolina head coach Dave Canales following a 34-24 Cincinnati victory, the defensive coordinator got stopped before he could make it to him.

He wasn't tracked down by a former player or assistant-coaching buddy. No, he got stopped by the cornerback he'd just benched, Cam Taylor-Britt .

"Cam beat me to it," Anarumo said on Monday. "He said that will never happen again. And I trust and believe in him."

What happened was a coordinator searching for answers saw one of his foundational pieces and supposed No. 1 corner getting burned deep. Again and again.

Anarumo referred to Taylor-Britt's performance as "erratic." Head coach Zac Taylor said, "That game was not up to his standard." By any description, it landed Taylor-Britt a spot on the sideline as DJ Turner accepted his snaps as part of a rotation while Anarumo tried to settle him down.

Right now for a defense serving as an extreme liability and one of the worst statistical units in the league for the 1-3 Bengals, patience is no longer an answer. Changes are coming.

"It's not a threatening thing to any of the guys," Anarumo said. "I think they know we are all held accountable to how we play, how we coach, all of it. We just have to make sure we are staying on top of it. Poor play can't be tolerated by anybody."

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There's been plenty of poor play to go around for a group ranked in the bottom five of the league in points allowed per drive, EPA/play and success percentage. There are no stats or eyeball tests they pass right now.

What changes are Anarumo and the Bengals considering? Three areas are specifically under the microscope, starting with Taylor-Britt and the cornerback rotation.

Safety Vonn Bell said he didn't know what was going on as Turner came from off the bench sporadically on different drives to replace Dax Hill and then Taylor-Britt. This wasn't the plan but when Taylor-Britt got beaten deep by Diontae Johnson on the opening third down of the game, it was only the beginning. He allowed five of six targets for 84 yards, a touchdown and a perfect passer rating when defending.

He had watched Turner play well with the second team in practice for weeks and felt a desire to get him involved. He ended up playing 73 percent of the snaps with Hill playing 91 percent.

"If you're not playing well, we're gonna put somebody else in," Anarumo said.

As for the plan going forward, he said everyone will be up, and playing time will depend on how the games go. He repeated his faith in Taylor-Britt to fix the Carolina problems and play better, but the tone was clear everyone is on a short leash, specifically Taylor-Britt.

"He's a guy we really lean on to be a foundational piece over there," Taylor said. "We expect more from him. I'm excited to see how he responds."

The biggest issue this season has come up front. That's started with injuries. At one point or another, eight of the top nine defensive linemen on the projected training camp two-deep have suffered injuries that kept them out at least part of a game, the majority missing weeks or the season.

That meant piecing together a collection of the battered and backups to make it work. Second-round pick Kris Jenkins had thumb surgery just before the opener and missed the first two weeks of the season before debuting against Washington sporting a club for protection on his left hand.

Taylor and Anarumo opted to ease Jenkins into the rotation despite how much it needed help since he was a rookie and still only weeks removed from surgery. He played 25 snaps against the Commanders and 22 against the Panthers.

. Panthers when they need it most

It only took three plays for Jenkins to make an impact. On fourth-and-goal, he broke through the block and pulled down running back Chuba Hubbard short of the end zone. He later sniffed out a screen to Miles Sanders that helped drop him for no gain. More than anything, on most plays, specifically in run defense, he held his ground and freed up others to make plays.

It wasn't perfect, but it was much more production than they had seen from the combination of Zach Carter and Jay Tufele , filling in. He quickly started winning over the staff.

"The more evidence that has shown up on the tape, the more it shows we can believe in him," Taylor said. "I think we've seen enough through two games to where he deserves a lot of opportunity."

How many snaps does that mean?

"He'll get as many as he can handle," Anarumo said.

With an expected return of B.J. Hill (hamstring) and an increased workload for Jenkins, the Bengals could finally be finding some level of stability on the defensive line. Sheldon Rankins will eventually return from his hamstring injury, but he's further behind Hill.

Anarumo hopes that Hill can help ignite Sam Hubbard , who worked inside more than any game in recent years, playing 19 of his 56 snaps from inside, according to PFF. They've established a chemistry over the years pulling off games and stunts that have proven effective in critical moments.

Anarumo has used more stunts and games to scheme up pressure for a group that has not won enough. They rank 28th in the NFL in pressure percentage and average time to pressure. They aren't getting there much and when they do it takes as long as almost everyone.

With edge Trey Hendrickson recovering from a stinger, 2022 first-round pick edge Myles Murphy and rookie defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson expected to start practicing and open the window to return off injured reserve, there's a chance the cavalry of additions are coming to provide hope. Jackson's contribution wouldn't come very soon considering he last practiced in early August and only has three padded NFL practices under his belt.

Either way, it could mean a near elimination of the role of Carter, Tufele and Joseph Ossai , who've mostly failed to reach an acceptable standard against the pass or the run.

The one move that doesn't appear to be coming is a replacement of veteran safeties Bell or Geno Stone . Both made critical errors and missed tackles in the run game on Sunday. Second-year safety Jordan Battle took over the starting job last year when Nick Scott couldn't hack it, but a repeat of that rise didn't sound imminent.

"When he came in, he just started off a little bit slow in training camp, for whatever reason, and then again, has kind of progressed as we've gotten along," Anarumo said of Battle. "So if he continues that upward trend, then, we'll work him in there."

Whoever ends up in there knows their time could be limited if they don't perform up to standard. The margin for error at 1 to 3 is too small for patience.

"Where we're at," Anarumo said, "we can't allow anything to slip."

(Top photo: John Byrum / Icon Sportswire via )