Inside the NFL
Stout defense turns Bengals around
A no-name defense has helped make the Cincinnati Bengals the surprise team of the NFL through the first half of the season.
The Bengals slowly have been accumulating talent on the defensive side, where they have not ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in eight years.
They have two former first-round picks playing at a Pro Bowl level in Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall. They have two studs at linebacker in Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga. Rivers was the ninth overall pick in 2008. Maualuga, an All-America from Southern California, lasted to the 38rd pick in April's draft. He has played strong as a rookie, adding toughness to the front seven.
The defensive line is bolstered by 645 pounds of beef up the middle. Domata Peko is a 325-pounder who is coming into his own in his fourth NFL season. He was a green, 21-year-old as a fourth-round pick out of Michigan State in 2006. Next to him at defensive tackle is 320-pound Pat Sims, a third-round pick from Auburn in 2008.
Those two thumpers have helped the Bengals rank a surprising second in the NFL against the run. They are 14th in yards allowed and fifth in points allowed.
Joseph and Hall are key to the run defense, too, because defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is not afraid to leave them on an island and bring an extra safety down to force the run. That guy is big-hitting former Cowboy Roy Williams. He's a liability in space, but the Bengals don't have to put him in space because of their shutdown corners.
Thanks to revitalized running back Cedric Benson, who ranks second in the league in rushing, the Bengals defense isn't wearing out, either. Cincinnati is eighth in the league in time of possession.
Pack O-line
It's interesting that Green Bay let raw prospect Jamon Meredith get away given its major struggles on the offensive line. Meredith was signed off the practice squad by the Bills.
The Pack was overrun by six sacks in losing at lowly Tampa Bay last week.
Green Bay is on pace to allow 74 sacks, which would break the club record of 60. It also would be the most in the NFL since Houston gave up 76 in 2002. The most sacks allowed in a season is 104 by the 1986 Philadelphia Eagles, who had Randall Cunningham at quarterback. Second is Arizona, which allowed 78 in 1997.
"No, I don't think it's as hideous as it looks," tackle Chad Clifton said last week. "But we definitely have some issues we have to deal with."
Clifton is back after missing four games with an injury. Right tackle Allen Barbre has struggled mightily. Darryn Colledge has struggled at left guard. Last year's right guard, Jason Spitz, is out for the year.
Today the Pack plays host to Dallas, which got five sacks in a 27-16 win at Lambeau last year.
Levi's debut
We will find out how much offensive tackle Levi Jones has left in the tank starting today. Jones makes his first start for Washington against Denver and will go against Broncos speed rusher Elvis Dumervil. Jones was a seven-year starter at left tackle for Cincinnati. His 2008 season was cut short six games early by a serious hamstring injury and he was cut by the Bengals in May. He got no offers until signing on Oct. 20.
The Redskins need him now because former Bill Mike Williams is out two to four weeks with ligament damage in his ankle. The Redskins' offensive struggles also are tied to the O-line. Left tackle Chris Samuels is out for the year. Stephon Heyer has started at left tackle the past three weeks but this week moves over into Williams' spot on the right side. Washington has allowed 17 sacks the past four games and gave up five in the first half to Atlanta last week.
"I can go in there and do what I have done in my career, which is pass-block exceptionally well and run-block a lot better than most," Jones said.
Brown out
Eric Mangini's position in Cleveland got more tenuous after Browns owner Randy Lerner said recently he wants a strong, credible, serious leader overseeing the team's decision-making. The presumption is that would mean a new team president, but that's not clear. The Browns rank 31st on offense and 32nd on defense.
Mangini swallowed his pride last week and re-inserted Brady Quinn as the starting QB. Derek Anderson was 1-4 as the starter (he beat the Bills) with a 36.3 passer rating, the lowest for a starting QB after eight weeks of a season since 1981. But by sitting Quinn the last five games, the Browns have boxed him out of $10.9 million in salary escalators and bonuses he would have received if he had played 70 percent of the offensive snaps this season. So enduring Anderson's struggles was a very cost-effective move.
A Viking's gift
Vikings safety Madieu Williams spent a day during his team's bye week at a health-care symposium at his alma mater, the University of Maryland. It inspired him so much that the next day he donated $2 million to the school to create the Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiatives. It will provide money for research and services in his native Sierra Leone, as well as Prince George's County, Md., where he was raised.
It's the largest donation to the school from an African-American alumnus and also the largest donation by someone that young. He's 28. Williams came to Maryland from Sierra Leone at age 9. He made the donation in the memory of his mother, who worked as a nurse and who died four years ago.
"I realized a vision of what my mom would have liked to do," Williams said. "She would have liked this."
Onside kicks
• The Rams today become the first team in NFL history to have three straight home games against undefeated opponents. Minnesota was 4-0 when it visited Oct. 11. Indianapolis was 5-0 on Oct. 25. New Orleans (8-0) visits today. "Who's in charge of scheduling around here?" coach Steve Spagnuolo joked.
• The Lions are 7-1 in the past two exhibition seasons but 1-23 the past two regular seasons.
• The Chiefs cut Larry Johnson just in time to prevent him from becoming the franchise's all-time leading rusher. He was 75 yards short of passing Priest Holmes, who gained 6,070 yards during 2001-07 in a Chiefs uniform. Johnson holds the club single-season record with 1,815 yards and finished with 5,996.
• The Raiders will have a fourth straight game blacked out this week.
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