Why Bengals’ improved defensive communication with Vonn Bell’s return is so crucial (2024)

Logan Wilson pulls the memory in an instant.

During the first practice of OTAs in May, he stood at his linebacker spot next to Germaine Pratt and heard one of the most beautiful sounds of his career.

Vonn Bell never shut up.

After a year of frustration with the lack of consistently confident voices behind him, the yell of Bell, the prodigal son back after a year with the Panthers, and free-agent signing Geno Stone working through every adjustment sounded like a sweet symphony.

“Wasn’t like it was a fast practice or anything,” Wilson said. “Just a walk-through and I’m looking at (Pratt) and talking to the coach and I’m like, ‘Man, is it good to have them back there.'”

No matter who you talk to around the Bengals’ facility, they offer the same sentiment, specifically about the 29-year-old Bell.

“He’s just a really, really good communicator,” safeties coach Jordan Kovacs said. “It’s second nature to him.”

Bell left in free agency following the 2022 season and re-signed at the veteran minimum of $1.2 million in March. Yet, somehow, along with Stone he has become a primary reason to believe the Bengals defense can leave a disastrous 2023 behind.

How’s that possible?

For a group that led the NFL in explosive play rate allowed. A group that nearly set the AFC North record for most rushing yards allowed in division games. A group that lost defensive tackle DJ Reader after finishing 31st in yards allowed and 32nd in yards per play.

If you want to hear the answer, all you have to do is listen.

“He’s a calming factor for our defense,” defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said.

It became the most notable development of training camp.

“I want to bring peace,” Bell said, holding a dramatic pause while a smile grew across his face. “Or violence.”

Bell knows what went on in Cincinnati last year. He watched the tape. Although, he didn’t need to.

“They were 32nd in defense,” Bell said. “And I finished top five in Carolina. Go look at it.”

He’s not wrong. The Panthers, who signed Bell to a three-year, $22.5 million contract in 2023, finished fourth in yards allowed despite a 2-15 record.

Carolina finished ninth in explosive play rate, allowing 40 fewer than last-place Cincinnati. The Bengals allowed Jessie Bates and Bell to leave in free agency and replaced them with Dax Hill, in his first year as a starter, Nick Scott, in his first year in the system, and third-round pick Jordan Battle.

4. Vonn Bell will help the run defense with his instincts and sure tackling.
His work ethic resulted in Bell receiving the coveted closest spot to the entrance in the player’s parking lot.
“It’s a sign of love and appreciation,” Vonn said. “I don’t take that for granted.” pic.twitter.com/bZT2xFll61

— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) August 8, 2024

From Anarumo on down, they found a unanimous reason for the failure.

They were playing amid self-created chaos.

“I wouldn’t say (we didn’t know) what was happening,” cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt said, “but most definitely what the call would be. Communication was not great.”

That meant adjustments to Anarumo’s notably intricate scheme, relaying checks or alerting to an offensive tendency.

Every single play comes baked in with adjustments and checks requiring confirmation led by the safeties and distributed forward.

“Sometimes they wouldn’t even say anything,” Wilson said. “So it’s like, it doesn’t matter if we are not in the correct adjustment, just everybody be on the same page. If we aren’t on the same page, that kills you. Then you get someone dropping when they are not supposed to and there is a big seam somewhere. We play these quarterbacks, they are going to find those guys.”

And they did.

Brock Purdy and the 49ers hit them up for nine explosive completions. The Jaguars had 10. C.J. Stroud and the Texans 12. All were more than any game in the Bengals’ two previous seasons.

Anarumo acknowledges it’s unfair to put all the shortcomings on the safeties. He starts with himself and places it on everyone.

As he’s watched this defensive group win more than it’s lost against Joe Burrow over the last month, force a three-and-out in the preseason opener and perform well in joint practices against the Bears and Colts. The presence of Bell directing traffic was unmistakable.

“There is no indecision in what we are in, why we are in it because he’s going to make whatever call we are in and they are going to make it loud, they’ll make it clear and be concise about it,” Anarumo said. “We are ahead from where we were at this point last year, clearly, and it starts with all the calmness — or peace — that leads to the violence.”

When Wilson tries to describe the value of the voices he now consistently hears behind him, he must run through all his responsibilities on every play.

“For us specifically, we are trying to be forward-thinking,” Wilson said. “(The QB) knows we are in this call, if it goes to empty what do we get into? If it’s going to empty, he’s getting the coverage adjustment and so is Geno, getting the adjustment out. In turn, it lets us, if we have to based on what we are in, adjust for the D-line. At times last year, we are having to do that coverage adjustment on top of having to do the adjustment in front of us.”

As more offensive presnap motions and movement have taken over the league, the chaotic chess match occurring just before the play is filled with valuable seconds and game-changing reaction time. The play can be lost if a linebacker is forced to look behind him to find out what’s happening or reaffirm an adjustment.

That’s before getting into the real value Bell and Stone bring in understanding what they see formational-wise and situationally. Then, more importantly, anticipating what will come next because of it.

“Say, for instance, they get an explosive, I don’t care how it happens, it could be a sudden change,” Bell said. “They got momentum. They might take a shot. I’m already thinking what they are thinking. I’m already relaying the message and it’s going to play out how it’s going to play out.”

Bell’s reputation as the first one in the building hasn’t gone away. He owns the first spot in the parking lot, on the inside of Burrow’s. The car is waiting on everyone when they show up to work as a reminder of how you survive eight years in the league and build instincts to win the chess match.

“Call-wise, they might know what we are in because they studied the coordinator,” Bell said, then snapping his fingers. “Boom, we should think about beaters.”

Knowing what play call the opponent will use to beat the coverage is almost more valuable than the call itself — and what you lose trading experience for youth.

“(Bell) knows the issues that can arise in maybe a certain call or play and try to stay ahead of that before it ever happens,” Anarumo said. “Don’t stress, we got it.”

Expecting Hill, Scott or Battle to pull those answers on the fly crumbled the foundation of a defense that finished in the top 10 in points allowed per drive the two previous seasons.

“If anybody moves or even before they move, we are talking presnap,” Taylor-Britt said. “Vonn gets everything in shape, Just having a vet on the back end is like everything is going smooth now.”

Beyond giving up explosives in the passing game, the run defense got gashed repeatedly, specifically in the AFC North. Now, their top run-stopper, Reader, is gone to Detroit.

The reasoning heard most often in August about why the run defense can improve from one of the worst in the division’s history to one more resembling a stingy group that buoyed two deep playoff runs goes back to Bell and Stone.

But wait a minute. How can safety communication be expected to make that big of a difference up front?

“It’s way more challenging,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “As a play caller on offense, just details in the run game, it’s hard to just get that yardage because of the fits of everybody on the second level. So, forget about the D-line, but just the fits from backers, safeties, corners. Makes it a lot more challenging. The receivers have to be on top of everything.”

Bell points out that can be as simple as understanding a quick fix to shore up the play and alerting Wilson or Pratt.

“I’m talking to G, I’ll say, ‘Leave one for me. Leave a gap for me. You got me in the fit,'” Bell explains. He could be showing a deep drop in coverage, but seeing the gap, he knows he can run up and fill the space if needed. Letting Pratt know not to worry about that gap allows the linebacker to attack his assignment more aggressively.

Even when Reader was playing last season he would constantly point out the problems in the run defense weren’t merely defensive line issues, as they are typically characterized. Everything was connected, or more precisely, disconnected.

Forty of the 58 rushes allowed of at least 10 yards last season came outside the tackles, per NFL NextGen.

“There could be a motion where they are going to crack the defensive end and the defensive end doesn’t see it because his hand is in the ground looking at the ball,” Anarumo said. “All of a sudden a simple ‘crack alert’ and you are better on that play. Just playing the crack blocks of the wideouts is a skill that takes time and he’s excellent at it. The perimeter balls that bounced out last year, he’s not going to make those plays but will force it a little wider and make it a little easier for the corner. He’s never just going to get knocked across the field because he’s unaware of it. That all plays into it.”

Anarumo stated in August the communication improved “tenfold.” Wilson expected as much considering the extreme emphasis placed on it with every practice, meeting and personnel decision.

Lines of communication had to become stronger or the same problems would arise. Young defensive backs like Hill, Taylor-Britt and DJ Turner now can execute with conviction instead of hesitation. That’s why a move to outside corner made sense for Hill and has gone so well as he takes over as the starter against the Patriots in Week 1. Put him in a position where somebody else can take care of all the talking and he can focus on letting his rare physical abilities take over.

“You are definitely more at ease; having that reassurance back there gives you more confidence,” Hill said, letting out a relieved laugh that tells so much of his story. “It’s not really all on me now. I’m good.”

And the defense is great. Taylor found himself talking about it daily of late. What started as an improved foundation has grown into a full-blown movement.

“The last two weeks they’ve really taken a giant step,” Taylor said. “They’ve got a ton of confidence in each other. I think each guy to a man has always had confidence in themself, and now that has spread over to the entirety of the unit. I’m not saying it was missing, I’m just saying it’s really impressive to watch the energy they’re flying around with. They expect to dominate and you hear about it when they do well. That unit is in a really good place right now.”

From his seat, that progress all comes back to communication — and to Bell.

“A lot of it,” Taylor said. “He spreads that knowledge throughout to where other guys have the confidence to communicate at a higher level and operate at a higher level. He’s certainly not the only one. There are a ton of guys, but you feel Vonn as much as you feel anyone.”

There are those questioning Bell’s ability to run with the likes of Hill and Battle in his eighth season —after all, that’s part of the reason he’s changed two teams in two years.

He’s selling on what teams were buying.

“They want to get younger and it’s cheaper,” Bell said. “And sometimes they don’t think we can run no more. I feel like I’m 21. I feel like I’m running with the best of them.”

The Bengals need him to be right. If he’s not, a new set of issues will be exposed. If Bell and Stone can translate results from the practice field to game day, then real chatter can begin.

“We’ll be top five before I go,” Bell said.

For now, it’s all talk. The Bengals’ big defensive bet in 2024 is that talk just might be enough.

(Top photo of Vonn Bell: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)