Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis Pleased Carlos Dunlap's Growth

Marvin Lewis tends to be an old-school coach, and one of the tenants that he believes in: you play how you practice. If a player does not practice with the type of effort and intensity that Marvin would like to be shown on Sundays, they aren't likely to earn a lot of playing time. This was especially true of defensive end Carlos Dunlap last year. Before his dominating run with 9.5 quarterback sacks in the last eight games of the season, Dunlap scarcely saw the field and when he did, he failed to make an impact. His lack of playing time and success on the field, was, in Marvin's eyes due to his lackluster practice habits. Dunlap appears to have matured, recently earning praise from Marvin himself.

When asked to elaborate on Dunlaps progress by Paul Dehner Jr at CBS Sports, Marvin had this to say, "It's no secret I wasn't always pleased with Carlos' practice effort. But I think we have turned a real corner here maturity-wise. He has become a real leader out there in how to practice and do things right."

With t he Bengals defense being counted on to carry an extremely young and inexperienced offense, it's good to see Domata Peko, Rey Maualuga and now Carlos Dunlap stepping into that role.

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