Who needs Pro Football Focus when you've got Bengals rookie linebacker Maema Njongmeta, one of the NFL's leading tacklers in the preseason?
"It looks good on the stat sheet, but it could have been a lot better," said Njongmeta after Thursday night's preseason finale against the Colts. "I could have had 15 tackles, so I missed four or five. I've got to go back and see how I messed up."
Njongmeta didn't mess up very often in training camp, and he may very well join punter Ryan Rehkow as the only undrafted rookies on the final 53-man roster that has to be set by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
The 27-14 loss proved to be a pitched battle for the fifth and final linebacker spot. Njongmeta had nine tackles to add to his league-leading 17, plus one on special teams. Only Devin Harper, also battling for the fifth spot, had more Thursday with 11, one for a loss. Shaka Heyward, one of last year's practice squad backers also looking for that last spot, stacked last Saturday's good performance in Chicago with an eight-tackle game.
"Listen, I'll tell you on Tuesday," said Njongmeta, when asked if he thought he made the club. "I will say, I did what I could. No matter what, I'll be at peace. If they send me home, I'll tell my kids I was with the Bengals, and it was the greatest time of my life. I have no regrets."
The players have a long wait until 4 p.m. Tuesday, but they've got some time off before they practice Sunday and Monday.
"What's today? Like 27 minutes before Friday," Njongmeta said, glancing at a locker room clock. "My parents are here. Spend some time with them. Practice Sunday, Monday. Say a prayer Monday night."
After all, he is the NFL preseason co-tackling leader heading into the final week.
"I don't do ties," Njongmeta said. "Hopefully I did enough to get it by myself."
If special teams snaps are a road map to cuts, it's tight. Njongmeta and Harper both took 15 snaps in the kicking game while Heyward took 19.
KEEP BATTLING
Thursday is a great example why special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons starred the 18-minute interview with Alabama safety Jordan Battle at the 2023 NFL scouting combine before the Bengals took him in the third round:
After losing the starting job he briefly won in the second half of his rookie season when the Bengals re-signed Vonn Bell this past spring, Battle has thrown himself into his new role. He was their star of the game Thursday when he picked off Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson for a 14-yard interception return late in the first quarter to tie the game at 7.
"Tough, but technically I never really had a job. Last year I was fighting. You know what they say. Long season," Battle said. "Keep fighting. Embrace the competition. Don't get my head down. Play my role on this team, which right now is second safety and special teams. I kind of like special teams right now. I Iike the (new) kickoff. It's like a one-on-one block. I can't be blocked one-on-one."
Simmons came away not only impressed with Battle's ability and enthusiasm to play special teams along with starting safety at Alabama but also with his football IQ and attitude about the craft.
"Nick Saban didn't care," said Battle with a laugh about his college head coach's view of double duty. "It helped me get here and helped my stamina."
Battle also agrees that the man they call "Coach Vonn," is going to help his career rather than slow it down. Much has been made of how Bell's PH. D in communication has transformed last year's secondary into a much sharper unit.
The Bengals also believe Bell is going to help them develop a raft of young safety talent, starting with the Ravens' fifth-year free agent they signed in Geno Stone, as well as Battle, third-year Tycen Anderson and rookie Daijahn Anthony.
It catches Battle's ear when he hears Bell finishing the coaches' sentences.
"I see the way he moves, the way he communicates in practice. I'm trying to do something similar. See things in him that I can grow into," Battle said. "Every day you go out to practice and you see him talking to the linebackers, the DBs, even D-linemen. That helps me when I go out there on the field.
" 'OK, maybe I can do a little more.' I feel like every day is getting better communication-wise for the defense and myself. Just making sure guys are comfortable on the field. There's not too much scrambling when the play is called and he breaks the huddle. It's very subtle. Guys know what to expect in certain situations with certain personnel and he's been a big help in the meeting rooms. Even stopping the coaches in mid- conversation."
Anderson, coming off his ACL tear, basically doubled his snaps after going 15 plays in his return last Saturday. He took 29 Thursday to go along with 11 on special teams, his specialty. He also earned praise from Battle for his help with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo's disguise of a two-deep safety look that produced the interception.
"Really, it was all just the disguise. Coach Lou harps on us every week about our disguises as safeties," Battle said. "Just being able to show two-high and then drop down and receive an early birthday gift like that. You've got to take advantage."
ENOUGH CED?
Ole Miss rookie edge Cedric Johnson, a sixth-rounder, had another impressive night. If the special teams' snap counts are an indicator (14), he would make the roster. He probably will, anyway, because two other edgers are hurt: Cam Sample (Achilles) is out for the year and Myles Murphy is (knee) week-to-week.
Plus, Johnson is usually relentless on the pass rush. He took 38 snaps from scrimmage and had a fourth-down hurry on the goal-line stand late in the first half. On the same drive he had a sack taken away by the Bengals' only penalty of the night, Daijahn Antony's illegal contact.
"I was a little upset. I was a little bit more upset when I found it was my old teammate," said Johnson with a smile referencing his Ole Miss teammate. "It was still a good product on the field, so I'm not too mad at him."
Johnson thinks he's shown enough to make it.
"I played a lot of teams. I like that," Johnson said. "I think I've shown I can give value on special teams and the rush position and versatility."
JAXSONIAN ERA
Another guy who couldn't have done any more this camp in his bid to make the 53 is offensive lineman Jaxson Kirkland, and that's probably why he'll make it. He didn't last year when he was an undrafted rookie out of Washington, but they liked him enough to keep him on the practice squad until he needed surgery, and their development has paid off.
Kirkland not only threw around his physicality and mean streak at both guard spots, but he moved out to both tackles at a moment's notice in the last two games and held up well both times.
The first time came last week when offensive line coach Frank Pollack had him take a couple of snaps at left tackle heading into last week's joint practice in Chicago. He played left guard during that practice, but was next to left tackle D’Ante Smith when he went down with a season-ending knee injury.
The next morning Pollack told Kirkland he was starting at left tackle the next day against the Bears. He took all but 10 snaps there in the contest, and Pro Football Focus graded him as their top offensive blocker. The website had him allowing just one pressure.
So why not right tackle? That and center were the only positions he didn't play during five seasons at Washington, where he made All-Pac 12 his last three seasons.
The one time he had played right tackle was in last year's preseason finale when he came off the bench. He was still surprised when he showed up for work this past Monday and Pollack started working him there so he could be in a right tackle rotation during Tuesday's joint practice with starter Trent Brown and backup Cody Ford.
Pollack then started Kirkland at right tackle Thursday night against the Colts, and Kirkland felt pretty good after it was over.
"The nice thing about it is there's no time to think about it or freak out about it," Kirkland said. "It's just, 'Let's rock.' What saved me (at left tackle) and what got me through is I played it in college. I feel at home at that position."
Since he's predominantly left-handed, this week's work at right tackle was a much bigger challenge for him.
"That stance is the toughest part. It's underrated for sure. Not a lot of people talk about it," Kirkland said. "I really focused on the right-handed stance. It felt uncomfortable at first, but it felt great out there tonight."
The Bengals love Kirkland's smash-mouth approach and this attitude: "I don't mind moving around. I pride myself on it. I'm a team player. Where ever they think I can help the team. That's what I told (Pollack)."
Kirkland knows the camp couldn't have gone much better. His parents came in for the game and are here for the weekend, so he'll find some places to take them out to eat and wait. There's always plenty to talk about. His dad Dean Kirkland, an 11th-round pick of the Bills in 1991, has a Super Bowl ring after a decorated career at Washington.
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor got what he wanted Thursday when it came to penalties. They committed only one for five yards after racking up more than 100 yards on 11 penalties five days before in Chicago.
"That's good news. Even the turnover battle was something we wanted to come out in the second half and win," Taylor said of a battle they split. "The penalties, it was nice to clean it up. But the turnovers, we have to be better getting some and protecting the ball." …
Rehkow had some nice moments and some tough ones. Half of his six punts went inside the 20, but he also had a touchback, a 29-yarder, and a 37-yard net …
Wide receiver/returner Charlie Jones played for the first time in the preseason and looked good returning. He popped the opening kickoff for 48 yards and added a nine-yard punt return.
"How does that feel? So good," Jones said. "The blocking was great. It was a good call. It was my first play out there, so obviously I was excited. And it was a good start for me confidence-wise, and good momentum going in the season." …
Rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton just keeps making plays. He scored his second touchdown of the preseason on a leaping 21-yard grab from quarterback Logan Woodside at the right pylon, giving him eight catches for 157 yards in three games...
