Cincinnati Bengals: To Sack, or Not To Sack: Part I

51 to 17.

Sounds like an early season college football score.  The sort of blow out Carson Palmer, Rey Maualuga, and Keith Rivers routinely experienced at USC.  Instead, it is a number that, more than any other, sums up the offensive and defensive ineptitude of the 2008 Cincinnati Bengals. 

They gave up 51 sacks. They got 17.

One more numerological summation: three.

As in three players tied for the lead with a pitiful three sacks a piece.  One player is a safety. One is no longer a Bengal.

If the venerable announcer’s cliché, “run the ball, stop the run” is a bit antiquated; “pressure the passer, protect the passer” could be its reincarnation.  In 2008, Cincinnati failed to heed that advice.

With hardly any contact allowed downfield, getting to the passer is your only surefire way of stopping a decent airborne attack.  Unfortunately for Cincinnati, their front seven has not produced consistent pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback in any year of Marvin Lewis’ tenure.

Not for lack of trying—Cincinnati has sought the talent. They drafted Odell Thurman and David Pollack.  They plucked John Thornton, Sam Adams, and Antwan Odom from free agency.

They signed Robert Geathers and Domata Peko to big contracts based on their early potential at getting to the passer.  For various reasons, none of these moves have produced a solid pass rush.

This offseason was no different.  The Bengals, yet again, addressed this recurring theme; this time with two specific moves.

The first was signing former Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Tank Johnson to see if he had anything left in the...uhh...Tank.  Tank’s last four years are the story of two different players. 

2005 and 2006 Tank had 8.5 sacks as a single gap tackle in the Bears 4-3 system playing next to fellow interior sack artist Tommie Harris.

Fast forward to 2007 and 2008: Tank played a two-gap nose tackle in the Cowboys 3-4 defense.  His sack numbers were nonexistent, and his reviews were bad.

In Cincinnati, Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer will look to maximize Tank’s pass rushing ability, playing him largely on passing downs and letting the stouter and younger Pat Sims and Domata Peko play on the early downs.

On third downs, Peko and Johnson will attempt to emulate the quicker dynamic that Johnson and Harris had in Chicago.

Tank will undoubtedly provide depth, but will he provide the zip to draw a double team on passing downs?  Can he still create sacks for himself and his other D-line mates? 

In the draft, Cincinnati snagged the physical beast Michael Johnson from Georgia Tech.  Draft pundits raved about grabbing the defensive end in the third round, and most repeated some nonsense about the “high talent, low motor” player.  Frankly, from everything I have seen, Johnson plays hard all the time. 

However, he is very thin and has trouble shedding a tackle once they get their mitts on him.

As with Tank, Cincinnati will limit Johnson’s early tasks to being a third down pass rushing specialist, even playing him as a stand up blitzing outside linebacker, so as to not let tackles immediately get their hands on his slender frame. 

Can these two additions make the necessary pass-rushing impact on the Bengals defense?  Maybe.  But likely not until Johnson gets half a season’s experience.

Where does this lack of pass rush leave Cincinnati?

It should leave them with a pretty solid, deep defense, that tackles well, covers well and does not give up too many big explosive plays down the field.

But where the lack of pass rush will rear its ugly head most often is in the two minute drills of opposing teams. 

Too often Cincinnati’s opponents will pick up field goals and touchdowns at the end of halves and games when everyone in the stadium knows they have to pass the ball.  

This is because without the pass rush, Cincinnati will be stuck deciding between soft zone coverage with little pressure, or a heavy and dangerous blitz which could get them popped for big yardage.

Now about that pass protection...