Bengals lose their star on defense

In last night's overtime loss to the Miami Dolphins, the Cincinnati Bengals lost their best player on defense. According to several websites, including www.nfl.com and www.cbssports.com,  All-Pro defensive tackle Geno Atkins suffered a torn ACL which would result in him being placed on season ending injured reserve. About two months ago he signed a five-year extension worth $55 million. The 25-year old Atkins is one of the very best at his position and through nine games has recorded 20 tackles and 6 sacks. This is a huge blow to a Bengals' defense that's already seen starting cornerback Leon Hall land on injured reserve and is currently without starting middle linebacker Rey Maualuga who is sidelined with a concussion. I think Atkins is a better pass-rusher than any other defensive tackle in the league and that's the part of his game that the Cinci defense is going to miss the most. There are currently two players behind Atkins on the depth chart; Devon Stills and Brandon Thompson, drafted by the Bengals in the second and third-rounds of the 2012 draft, respectively. The only problem is that neither is an effective pass-rusher. To make up for this loss, I think we could see defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer slide defensive end Carlos Dunlap inside on obvious passing downs to boost the interior pass-rush, and Wallace Gilberry would come in and play Dunlap's usual end position. And if head coach Marvin Lewis chooses to work out a few free agents (which is likely), there are a few notable defensive linemen out there; Jay Ratliff, Lawrence Jackson, Juqua Parker, Justin Francis, and Marcus Spears, to name a few. Either way, the loss of Atkins is going to hurt this defense immensely, particularly in getting the quarterback.