Cincinnati Bengals Desperately Need Geno Atkins to Return to Superstar Form

The Cincinnati Bengals had the fewest sacks of any NFL team last season.

A big reason for that was Geno Atkins. Atkins had suffered a torn ACL injury the previous year, and even though he returned in time for his second season, his performances weren't like before. The defensive tackle was still regaining his disruptiveness as the season progressed.

Atkins lodged just three sacks in 16 games after six in nine during the previous season.

Compounding Atkins' sluggish return from injury was Michael Johnson's departure. Johnson wasn't a stellar pass-rusher, but his absence wasn't filled by a younger player or an outside free agent. Without Johnson, the team's other defensive ends were overextended in their roles.

With Johnson and Atkins on the field in 2013, even while only getting nine games from the defensive tackle, the Bengals ranked 10th in sacks, with 43. For the Bengals to have an effective defense, they don't desperately need to rank that high in sack production.

They definitely can't afford to be among the league's worst, though.

Even though Johnson's return should elevate the Bengals rotation at defensive line back to an acceptable level, Atkins will remain the key to its success. He is the Bengals' most talented pass-rusher, and the only player on their defensive line opponents will fear enough to game-plan for.

That is, if he is playing like he did in 2013 and not in 2014.

During the preseason, Atkins had just one sack. He shared it with defensive end Wallace Gilberry, and it came on a play when Jameis Winston stumbled in his dropback. Despite that, Atkins has shown promising signs for this season.

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On that specific play, Atkins lined up at left defensive tackle. At the snap, he was isolated with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right guard. Being put in space with just one blocker ahead of him is where Atkins should expect to quickly penetrate the pocket.

With two shoulders to threaten, Atkins initially makes a hard step with his right foot while shimmying slightly with his upper body. The guard bought this hesitation step to give Atkins an outside lane to attack.

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Atkins got the guard to move his feet inside, while he shifted his weight to the outside. As he advanced downfield, the blocker attempted to reclaim positioning by extending an arm and punching Atkins to slow him down.

With his size and strength, Atkins was able to withstand that blow before knocking the blocker's arm away from his body.

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Winston began to stumble at this point of the play. Even though it gave Winston no opportunity to get rid of the ball quickly, Atkins had beaten his man so quickly that it was unlikely he would have been able to regardless.

The right guard is already in desperation mode, attempting to knock Atkins down from an impossible position.

This is the kind of play Atkins made more consistently in 2013 than in 2014. What changed in 2014 was his burst. His quick movement from a standing start after making the hesitation step inside was too fast for his opponent to mirror.

Although the sample size is small over the course of the preseason, there were a number of examples of Atkins' burst on show.

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Having a player of the size of Atkins—with the movement ability he boasts—makes it almost impossible for opposing offenses to match him with one interior offensive lineman. He constantly draws double-teams that make his teammates' jobs easier.

Therefore, Atkins can often flash his talent without being noticed. Bursting off the line is still valuable for disrupting the line, but doing it from the interior is more valuable for drawing blockers than getting to the quarterback.

Drawing more blockers will lead to sacks for the team, just not directly for Atkins as often as his talent suggests it should.

Even at the peak of his career, Atkins registered just 12.5 sacks in 16 regular-season games. As an edge-rusher, 12.5 sacks isn't a huge number, but it is when working from the inside. Interior pressure is hugely valuable in today's NFL because it's so difficult to create.

Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther spoke about this to Pete Prisco of CBS Sports:

"

The three-technique (Atkins' spot) is so important in our defense. When Geno is playing at a high level, it makes everybody else that much better. That's part of why we struggled last year.

He's our best player. He's come back in great shape. He's responded. When he came back in the spring, the quickness was back. You could see he was Geno again.

"

Guenther went on to effusively praise Atkins, claiming he was better than before the injury and was ruining practices that were taking place against the New York Giants at the time. It's a sentiment Bengals offensive lineman Kevin Zeitler backed up with his comments to Prisco:

"

He's back. If we can block Geno the way he's playing, we can block anybody. After the second workout with the New York Giants here this week, I talked some line play with Zeitler. I told him Atkins was killing the Giants, too.

That's good to know. It's not just us having problems.

"

Atkins is the Bengals' best player, Guenther wasn't wrong when he said that.

He is also the team's most important player outside of starting quarterback Andy Dalton. Even though the Bengals have a hugely talented secondary with a linebacking corps that will be strong if Vontaze Burfict is fully healthy, they clearly need him to be that protagonist as a pass-rusher upfront.

Margus Hunt's failures through his development and the inconsistencies of Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap as leading options mean that the Bengals aren't blessed with a variety of players who can consistently win one-on-one matchups upfront.

That's a major issue when you play in the AFC North and have a schedule that figures to feature many of the best passing offenses in the league.

In seven games next season, the Bengals will face passing offenses that ranked in the top 10 of Football Outsiders' metric to measure efficiency, DVOA, for last year. Included in those teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers, who ranked first overall, and the Baltimore Ravens, who ranked sixth.

Both of those teams will obviously be competing for the AFC North with the Bengals, so they will face each team on two occasions.

The Bengals are still a very talented roster. They may not be as talented as they have been in previous years, while Dalton's ability remains a hindrance until proved otherwise, but the franchise can compete in the AFC if Atkins returns to being an All Pro player.

Considering his career to this point, it isn't irrational to expect him to rather than simply hope.