Injury Update
The short week has left them short-handed. Taylor ruled out for the Ravens wide receiver Tee Higgins (concussion), defensive end Trey Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) and running back Tahj Brooks (concussion). Defensive end Cam Sample (oblique) and running back Samaje Perine (ankle) missed last Sunday are iffy.
It's the first game Higgins has missed this season in the wake of committing his offseason to fine-tuning his body after he missed five games last season. The Bengals went 1-4, including the 35-34 loss in Baltimore.
That's the game All-Pro wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase racked up a career-high 264 yards, and he was back in the building Monday after serving a one-game suspension for his altercation with Steelers safety Jalen Ramsey.
Set In Stone
Bengals safety Geno Stone, among the league leaders in missed tackles, says defensive coordinator Al Golden sat down with him last week to talk about "space tackling." Golden said he had to get closer to the ball-carrier to make sure tackles. There was no surer bet against the Patriots. According to Pro Football Focus, Stone had 13 tackles and no misses and the Bengals had only six misses all day.
"Our best tackling game both collectively and individually," Golden said Monday.
Stone said Golden talked about Falcons safety Jessie Bates III, a guy that Golden saw every day in 2020 and 2021 when he was the Bengals linebackers coach.
"Al said when Jessie was here, he needed to close distance, and if you watch him now, you can see where his game is," Stone said. "I want to hold myself to a higher standard."
Besides working on space tackling in team and individual drills last week, Stone hooked up with safety Jordan Battle during breaks in practice and started from 20 yards away working on closing space.
"To be at the stage of his career and to just go back in the lab and go to work and improve on his tackling the way he has … it showed up. He fit the run really well," Golden said. "I thought he made a big step forward. And there are so many things that Geno does well. Middle, field, half field, quarters, communication, problem solving, you fit in the run, all those things.
"He really spent last week working on the one thing that was kind of holding him back. That's a craft now that either you continue to cultivate it and improve it, or it bites you."