While the attention on the Cincinnati Bengals linebacker corps focuses on the potentially long-term injury to Logan Wilson, it turns out Germaine Pratt is in the middle of a huge breakout season.
It was Pratt who took over the communications headset for the defense last weekend after Wilson left with his injury. And his strong performance was merely a continuation of his season-long showing.
Rest assured Bengals coaches have noticed and are comfortable with Pratt stepping into a bigger role.
Bengals linebacker coach Al Golden expanded on that theme with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“If he’s not the best preparation player I’ve ever been around, he’s up there…He’s like a coach on the field. He’s the veteran of the group and our guys lean on him and G’s there to help everyone in the room.”
“His attention to detail, his film study, half the time in the meetings he doesn’t let me finish a sentence. He knows what play is coming. I think he’s put a lot into this. His practice habits are excellent. He’s been running to the ball, attacking the football. He’s playing lower. He’s playing more consistently.”
Pratt has yet to play more than 65 percent of the snaps in a season. But he played 97 percent of the snaps last weekend when Wilson went down and earned a defense-high 90.6 PFF grade — besting his prior game-high of 79.5.
Pratt certainly isn’t Wilson when it comes to pass coverage. But in a pinch, Bengals coaches are clearly comfortable with him being a centerpiece of the defense. And with Markus Bailey also nursing a stinger, he might have to mentor along Joe Bachie on the fly over the weekend against the 49ers.
