The Cincinnati Bengals want Paul Brown Stadium to be a nightmare locale for opposing teams again.
It’s no secret the Bengals have struggled in attendance lately. Last year, the Bengals finished with the second-worst attendance average in the NFL (47,179).
Defensive line coach Nick Eason is front and center in trying to correct this issue, as captured by Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“My message is at some point in time you have to get mad. You have to get mad. You have to get mad. This is supposed to be, ‘The Jungle.’ In the jungle there are anacondas, snakes, mosquitoes and all kinds of creatures out there that make you uncomfortable. That’s the way it has to be with the Bengals.
“You come to Cincinnati to play in a damn jungle. Making this a hostile environment the way it was when I came in here. It was always uncomfortable coming in here to play. You knew you were in for a long day. I was playing against guys like Willie Anderson and (Eric) Steinbach.”
While Eason is mostly just commenting on his virtual meeting with his positional group, the greater context still stands — the Bengals hope to have Paul Brown Stadium as a major advantage in 2020 and beyond.
Eason would know — he spent time with two different AFC North teams that had to deal with the Bengals during some of their stronger campaigns in recent years.
Of course, any conversation about home-field advantage right now has to provide coronavirus context. There’s a chance the Bengals — and every NFL team — won’t get to play with fans in stadiums this season.
But the point stands — Eason hopes a rebuilt Bengals defense brings the boom. And painting in broader strokes, the arrival of Joe Burrow should have fans flocking to the stadium again.
Given the new hope with Burrow under center and the big spending in free agency, the Bengals hope to once again have a significant advantage when playing at home. Eason’s quotes just paint the idea in appealing terms.
