Season begins with a bang when defense, special teams dominate Bengals
It was during that awful stretch of an NFL training camp, where the monotony was as thick as the humidity, when a change in the time of the daily thunderstorm from late afternoon to early afternoon qualified as a welcome diversion. During an interview that would air on the team’s flagship radio station (WDVE-FM), Coach Mike Tomlin said about his defense, “We have the men, not only in personnel but in schematics and coaching. I expect them to be dominant.”
Expect them to be dominant. Wow. Not a lot of room for misunderstanding there. But there’s this: What qualifies as dominant? Statistics? Awards?
“You tell me,” answered Tomlin. “Give me a circumstance, and I’ll tell you what dominant defenses do. Dominant defenses smile in the face of adversity.
