Entering the year, the Bengals defensive unit looked to be much better. But the doubt remained whether they might be able to overcome a few of the deficiencies of the 2008 year’s team. Let’s break down the three essential facets as I see things.

The team hardly ever got to the quarterback in the 2008 year, and when they were able to, it ordinarily came from the linebacker position.

At some point in the game versus Denver on Sunday, the team registered three sacks, all of which came from the defensive front. DE Antwan Odom recorded two sacks, including one large one in the 4th quarter, which knocked the Broncos out of field goal position.

Jonathan Fanene had the other sack.

At the moment, I’d say the defensive line looks improved in the area of rushing the quarterback, but there’s room for much improvement. Much of that comes from the other end, Robert Geathers, but his inconsistency continues to be a problem.

In the preseason, the defensive line looked as if they were going to take it to the next level, with respect to defending the run. The signing of Tank Johnson was sure to help in this respect.

For the matchup against Denver, the run defense was fairly unexciting. There was nothing that stood out, although the defensive line did not yield any huge plays either. They surrendered an average of 3.8 yards per carry and 75 yards.

That is a step in the right direction, from a sheer yardage perspective. If you give up less than 100 yards on the ground, you’re giving your franchise an opportunity to win.

It might be great to see the yards per carry average come down to 3 or less, however. While Tank Johnson saw a fair amount of double coverage, he nevertheless made an influence with two tackles and adds a dose of nastiness to this line.

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