The Cincinnati Bengals defense seems rejuvenated perhaps moreso than anything else about the team right now.
New coordinator Lou Anarumo has players like Jessie Bates noticing more accountability. On the first day of fully padded practices, Anarumo’s defense blew the offense out of the water.
And now Anarumo has a Mike Zimmer comparison at his feet.
Former Bengals safety Chris Crocker is at camp as an intern coach and had some high praise for Anarumo:
“He’s a guy that really cares about his players and for a college kid, that goes a long way. You go through a wall for him. I’m his biggest fan,” Crocker said, according to Bengals.com. “I’ve heard about some of the things from last year, there was lot of uncertainty, the coordinator (Teryl Austin) got fired during the season and it sounds like they just didn’t have the opportunity to grow as a unit. This year there won’t gray areas. They’ll fix issues when they come up.”
Bengals fans fondly remember the Zimmer days just the same as the players. Before he ran off to serve as head coach in Minnesota, Zimmer routinely took leftovers, formed a unit and fielded elite defenses.
Part of that came down to personality, as Crocker describes. And while Anarumo’s resume isn’t littered with former coordinator experience, he’s clearly leaving a Zimmer-esque impression on anyone who was around the team back in those days.
