B.J. Hill, the Bengals' Happy Warrior, has declared war on Germaine Pratt this week as the Bengals prepare for Sunday's Battle of Ohio (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) in Cleveland.
"We're not best friends. I don't even like to hang out with him," says Hill, doing what he usually does and prowling the locker room with bottomless energy to see who he can rattle, needle or just plain talk to. "That's why he's way over there on the opposite side of the locker room."
If you have trouble knowing when Hill is serious, join the club. Rookie McKinnley Jackson, one of Hill's understudies at defensive tackle, mulls it for a second.
"I'd give him a 7.5, eight as serious," Jackson muses. "But those two times, he's hilarious."
This bit with Pratt seems pretty transparent. After all, they were roommates at North Carolina State almost ten years ago and are now workout buddies in Charlotte, where they both live in the offseason.
"Those two," says slot cornerback Mike Hilton with a laugh. "They might try to say they're not friends, but they're a lock. Yeah, you might not know when he's serious. But go between the white lines. He's serious there. Catch him in the locker room, he's always saying something to guys. Just a real good dude and an even better football player."
If anybody knows anything about playing an AFC North game, it's Hilton. On Sunday he plays in his 40th, tops on the Bengals. He returns to the site of the first one, Opening Day 2017, when Hilton was playing for the Steelers and took his first 34 NFL snaps stalking the likes of Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer and running back Isaiah Crowell.
Hilton can click off the elements of an AFC North grind in his sleep. They all seem to be the same. Physical, downhill, intense.
"And you've got to be mentally strong," Hilton says. "There always seems to be some extracurricular activity."
Hilton takes a look at Hill this week and knows what it means for Sunday as Hill leads this new-look defensive line into its first Battle. Both came over here in 2021, Hill by trade and Hilton via free agency, and they have become Bengals playoff heroes and staples after getting lost on the depth charts of their first teams.
Hill's starting mate in the middle, Sheldon Rankins, has played in 112 games, but this is his first AFC North game in his second game back from injury. The prized second-day draft rookies, Jackson and Kris Jenkins Jr., are getting more and more snaps as the tackle rotation begins to take shape with all four now healthy.
The trenches on both sides have defined how the division has gone lately for the Bengals. In the last 13 North games, the passer ratings are relatively the same: 88 for the Bengals and 88.7 for the foes. But the opponents have rushed for an average of 136 yards per game while the Bengals are at 88 rushing yards per game. The big asterisk is Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has played in only eight of those games. More astericks? This season, they're younger and more athletic in the defensive interior and their offense is bringing in its most efficient run game in the Zac Taylor era.
"(Hill) means so much. He's one of the heartbeats of the defense," Hilton says. "When he's healthy and ready to go, he improves our defensive front a lot. Having him back healthy and a big, physical offensive line coming in, I feel like those guys are ready to win the trench battle. This is the type of game all four of these guys have to play some of their best football."
Hill is quite serious when it comes to that Browns offensive line and the punishing running game it produces. They already sense that Cleveland's great running back, Nick Chubb, is going to be introduced last Sunday in his first game since tearing his ACL 13 months ago.
The Nick Chubb who averages 90 yards against the Bengals.
"We know they've got their big back. He's physical. They're physical. It's a solid team. We've got our hands full. We've got to get all 11 hats to the ball," says Hill, outlining the strengths of the Browns' always estimable offensive line. "The way they play together. They're physical. They're big. Very technique sound. They've been together for a while."
After missing basically three games with a hamstring injury, Hill has played 70% of the plays in the last two games and they'd probably like to reduce that closer to 50% with the emergence of Jenkins and Jackson. But it shows you how much they need him.
In last Sunday night's absolute must against the team that traded him, Hill bedeviled the Giants with seven tackles and two pass deflections, one off his face mask on third down that stopped a drive and forced a missed field goal and one that gave an infield-fly interception for his old friend Pratt.
"He didn't get me an interception. I got it myself," Pratt scowls. "He was doing what he's supposed to do."
It all conjured up memories of Hill's alert interception of Patrick Mahomes that changed the flow of the 2021 AFC title game and ignited the Bengals' win in Kansas City.
That's the player Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo saw when he was the Giants secondary coach and Hill was a rookie in 2018. It's why he lobbied for Hill when the scouts put together their trade wish list in the training camp of 2021 when they saw Hill could be the odd man out on the New York line.
"One of the things about B.J. is he's always been an instinctive football player, and you can see it again, putting his hands or his face on a ball," Anarumo says. "He's always around the football even as a defensive tackle, so he's strong enough and stout enough in the run game to hold his gap, but he makes plays.
"Go back to the interception in the championship game, however many years ago it is now, most tackles can't catch that. He's got a knack for being around the football. He forces the interception the other night because he gets his hand up. Most guys are just burying their heads into the quarterback as opposed to doing this. I think he just has a knack."
Hill doesn't think it's a coincidence he had a big game with Rankins getting back healthy.
"Rankins has some juice to him. I love watching him play," Hill says. "You can just tell how good of a player he is. He can rush the passer and also play the run. I don't know why people say he can't do both, but he can definitely do it."
If anyone knows juice, it is Hill. Taylor loves his energy and what he means to his locker room.
"I get along with everybody. I try to be a shining light for everybody," Hill says. "Spread the love. There's a lot of different people from different backgrounds. Some come from two-parent homes, some don't. I want to be the guy who is positive, who brings energy, who spreads the love."
Hill is the product of a two-parent home on the outskirts of Charlotte. His dad is still working in an airplane parts factory, and his mom is still a teacher at the high school where Hill and his siblings attended. His best friend is Pratt, raised by his mother and grandmother. He's often talking to his two fellow vets on the line, the Cincinnati Kid Sam Hubbard and Florida's Trey Hendrickson.
And he's had some memorable huddles with Ohio's Joe Burrow, also a product of a two-parent family whose mom is a teacher.
"I love sitting down with Joe. He's a different dude," Hill says. "When you get to know him, you say, 'Man, I'm glad he's on my team.' I love being around him. I'll just ask him a question about anything in life. Different scenarios. Just having fun. A lot of stuff he says makes me think."
It will be recalled it was Hill during the spring who dared Burrow to dye his hair blond.
"If you do it, I'll do it," Hill says. "He said OK."
Burrow: "You saw the game he had on Sunday. He's been a reliable part of that front for the last four years. Another guy who was kind of overlooked early in his career, but has really made a name for himself here. He's been a core part of this team. B.J. means a lot."
Hill's daily inspiration comes from wide receiver Russell Shepard, whose last two years in the league coincided with Hill's first two with the Giants.
"Just the way he came into the building. Just the energy he gave off to the other guys. I said, 'I have to steal that off him.' It just rubbed off on me the way he loved the game, just loved people," Hill says.
"I think I got that from him. The way he affected the locker room by his presence was impressive."
As usual, this week Hill has brought the energy. "Every time I wake up, I pray the Lord gives me the energy," he says.
Now he's looking for Pratt as he heads into the training room.
"No, I don't really get along with him," Hill says, "and he doesn't really get along with me. So we're good."
But the Happy Warrior was smiling.
