CINCINNATI -- The No. 1 concern coaches at all levels of football have about the first live game their team plays has to do with one specific area.
Tackling.
It's particularly the case with Cincinnati Bengals coaches, who in practice constantly shout at players to "Stay off the ground!" and to "Keep each other up!" Quite simply, physical tackling doesn't occur in their training camp or offseason workout periods.
So when the Bengals met the New York Giants in Friday's preseason opener, there was a little trepidation within the staff about how the game might go for the defense.
That fear turned into relief when the final buzzer sounded.
"The No. 1 thing I was pleased with was tackling," head coach Marvin Lewis said. "We've got to keep working hard at that."
In all, the Bengals recorded 51 tackles, with backup linebacker Nico Johnson leading the way with nine. Six of those were solo.
Emmanuel Lamur, a starting outside linebacker who only had one sack in very limited action, credited defensive coordinator Paul Guenther with the Bengals' ability to continuously get Giants skill players to the ground without many missed tackles.
"We emphasized that," Lamur said. "We said, we're going to do the right things. We're going to attack the ball.
"All week, that was in our minds. That was cemented in our minds. That was tattooed."
