Geno Stone has had a week off to assess his play and adjust for the rest of the season. The Bengals safety's statistically been one of the worst high-snap players at his position leaguewide, but there is plenty of time to turn it around.
Stone is ranked 63rd out of 65 qualifying safeties in PFF grade this season (46.6 overall) with two pass breakups.
"One thing I'm not gonna do is go out there and chase plays," Stone said to local media on Monday. "When I go out there and chase plays, it looks bad on me. Something goes wrong. It looks bad on me, the last guy in the back of the end zones. So whatever it may be, I'll take the criticism. I get paid the big bucks and take the criticism. And one thing about me, I told the guys halfway through the year, I said, 'At the end of the day, I'm here for them." I'll never point fingers. That's never what I do. So I'll take the heat for everything. I'm the last guy on defense all the time. So someone wants to blame someone, you blame me."
Stone is just a year removed from lighting up the league with seven interceptions in Baltimore. Finding that player again could flip Cincinnati into the playoffs given how close these losses have been most of this season.
"When the ball's in the area, I do expect myself to go get it," Stone said. "I definitely have plays where I wish I could take back. Me, I probably had like one or two plays last game. So, it is what it is. All the media wants to do is I feel like, all the critics out there, they want to talk about all the bad things that happen but they ain't talk about none of the good things so that's what creates stories. So it is what it is."
The story is nearly written on the season, but not quite yet with playoff hope still dangling.
