Williams inbox: Trey Hendrickson to rescue? Maybe not for Cincinnati Bengals' defense

Ask columnist Jason Williams anything − sports or non-sports – and he’ll pick some of your questions and comments from his inbox and respond on Cincinnati.com. Email: [email protected]

Subject: Cincinnati Bengals defense may be worse

Message: Did the Bengals not learn anything from last season? Outscoring the other team isn't a strategy for sustaining success and making the playoffs. After the first two preseason games, this defense might be worse than last year. How is that possible?

Reply: Lots to unpack here, but let's begin with this: It's time to sound the alarms on the Bengals' defense.

It hasn't been able to do the most fundamental thing in the preseason: stop the run.

The front office should've been in panic mode about the defense ever since the Bengals played the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football – last September. That 38-33 loss showed the world how talent-deprived the Bengals' defense is, and that even an incredible offense can't mask it.

Frankly, the Bengals' defense has gotten worse ever since the front office let safety Jessie Bates walk away as a free agent following the run to the AFC Championship game in the 2022 season. What you're seeing now is the fallout of that decision and a failed strategy to build the defense through the draft. The Bengals didn't even bother to compete for any top defensive free agents this offseason.

The front office wanted everyone to believe the defensive ineptitude last season was Lou Anarumo's fault, and that new defensive coordinator Al Golden would be the fixer. Golden is a fantastic coach, certainly nothing against him. But like Anarumo, there's only so much Golden can do with a lack of talent.

So no one should be surprised by what's happened in preseason games against Philadelphia and Washington.

Red alert: The Bengals knew going in that the Eagles and Commanders were going to run the ball, and the first-team defense still couldn't stop it. The Bengals didn't see Saquon Barkley in Philadelphia last week, but the Eagles still ran all over Cincinnati's first-team defense on a 75-yard scoring drive in the first quarter.

And the Bengals' starting defense surrendered a whopping 17.7 yards per carry on six runs against the Commanders, as Enquirer beat reporter Kelsey Conway pointed out in her postgame analysis. Jayden Daniels and Bill Croskey-Merritt were barely touched on long touchdown runs, making the Bengals' defense look lost and uninspired.

It all points to the potential of Cincinnati's defense being worse.

And for anyone who thinks everything will be just fine once Trey Hendrickson signs a contract extension, the sack master isn't going to make a significant difference against the run. His weakness is run defense.

How are the Bengals going to stop Baltimore's Derrick Henry twice this season? What's it going to be like against Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs and Green Bay's Josh Jacobs in Weeks 5-6?

Heck, forget about facing those elite running backs for now. How are the Bengals going to win a must-win season-opener in Cleveland? It's hardly a news flash that AARP card-carrying quarterback Joe Flacco is going to handoff the ball a lot.

What an embarrassment it'll be for the Bengals' franchise if the Browns run all over Cincinnati's defense and Zac Taylor's team starts 0-1 again.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trey Hendrickson to rescue? Time to sound alarm on Bengals' defense