NFL players and coaches spend hours studying film of their upcoming opponents to find tendencies that could give them an advantage on Sunday. Bengals safety Jordan Battle found that attitude in Sunday’s opponent, Dolphins quarterback Malik Willis.
For some reason, Battle decided to tell the press about it before the game, giving Willis and the Dolphins a chance to fix it before Sunday.
Battle told reporters in the Bengals’ locker room that Willis has a saying that lets the defense know when he’s about to throw the ball, so Battle and his fellow defensive backs can break the ball a split-second earlier. Or at least they can if Willis doesn’t fix it, now that Battle blabbed.
“He has a little bit of tap before every throw, so I feel like we can use that as a key to break the ball,” Battle said. “He wants to tap the ball before he throws, or he takes his hand off, and that gives the read a break. He’s obviously dangerous with his feet. We know we have to be alert for that. Third and longs, they’ll run quarterback draws, and in the passing game, he’ll extend plays. So we’ll have to be good downfield. So we have to be good downfield. So we have to be good downfield. So we got to be good downfield. So that we have to be alert, DBs. be on, be alert to the men where they are lined up.”
Battle and the Bengals made a good observation in their film study. Battle’s coaches and teammates may ask him why he thought it was a good idea to broadcast that observation publicly before the game.