Cincinnati Bengals players aren’t holding back in interviews lately as training camp gets underway.
Wideout Tyler Boyd, as a brief example, blasted the Dayton-area field where A.J. Green got hurt. Plenty of other Bengals have stressed how different this year feels under new head coach Zac Taylor.
Jessie Bates falls into the latter camp, telling Jeremy Rauch of Fox 19 the following: “Last year the level of accountability wasn’t there. This year it is.”
Bates also told Rauch he’s cool with being labeled as an underdog: “I think we’re exactly where we want to be. Nobody’s talking about us. That’s perfectly fine.”
The accountability comment is more interesting, of course. Strictly speaking about the defense, the Bengals ended up firing coordinator Teryl Austin in the middle of last season with the unit on pace for historically bad numbers and players not being used to their strengths.
Viewed in this lens, Bates is merely the latest to praise new coordinator Lou Anarumo, who has been a hit with players so far. So has Taylor, to say the least.
And once again, it’s likely refreshing for Bengals fans to see a young leader speaking out in this matter. Transparency has taken a bump under the new coaching staff and based on Bates’ comments, so is accountability across the board.
