NFL Betting Focus: Cincinnati Bengals Defense

Leon Hall had 58 solo tackles and six interceptions in 2009.

Each year, the NFL betting preseason kicks off with the Hall of Fame Game played in Canton, OH the weekend of inductions. This season, the Cincinnati Bengals will duke it out with the Dallas Cowboys to officially start the 2010 campaign.

Today, we are analyzing the NFL odds by taking a look at the Bengals and how well their defense stacks up heading into the preseason.

Perhaps we should have taken the preseason as a bit of an omen from the Cincinnati defense last year. The unit was much maligned after a 2008 campaign in which it allowed 24.1 PPG. Save a poor effort against the St. Louis Rams in the third exhibition of the year (a 24-21 defeat), the Bengals played incredibly well, allowing just 20 total points in the other three preseason duels combined.

Part of what made the Bengals such an efficient defensive squad is how well the offense protected the pigskin. Their defense only had to be on the field for an average of just over 28 minutes per game.

The defensive line was full of sacks in the finale against the Indianapolis Colts, recording six in the game, which gave Cincinnati a total of 10 for the preseason. That same front four was stout against the rush in the exhibition campaign as well. The Bengals only allowed 3.6 YPC in the preseason and juts one rushing touchdown in the four games.

The secondary ended up being a very strong unit for the Bengals in the regular season, but it didn't record any interceptions against its preseason foes.

The team's leading tackler from a preseason ago, LB Abdul Hodge, is back and will be vying for more playing time when the games are for keeps. The former Iowa Hawkeye did play in all 16 regular season games last year, but he had more tackles in the preseason (15) than he did in the regular season (14).

Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer loved to use Hodge to bring extra pressure in blitz packages late in games when reserves were in. We can expect to see more of the same from the Cincy 'D' when the Bengals suit up against the Cowboys.

Defensive tackle Pat Sims was a monster, particularly in the game against the Colts. He picked up two sacks in the preseason finale last year and had three for the preseason. Sims started eight games last year for the Bengals and only picked up a half sack, but he clearly is going to be one to keep a very close eye on for the Cincinnati defense.

NFL Betting Odds

The battle for cornerback positions should be an interesting one for the Bengals. We already know that DB Leon Hall has a spot nailed down in the starting lineup after he shared the interception lead on the team last season with six. However, fellow DB Johnathan Joseph also had six picks and will be looking to hold off the troubled Adam Jones for the roster spot opposite Hall. Rookies Brandon Ghee out of Wake Forest and Johnny Sears from Eastern Michigan will both look to gain roster spots and playing time in the preseason.

Two very interesting rookies to keep an eye on will be DT Geno Atkins from Georgia and DE Carlos Dunlap from Florida. Both had a real tendency to find their ways to opposing quarterbacks in the rough and tumble SEC, and the two could team up to be a terror for backup signal callers in this preseason.

The Bengals did a great job of getting off the field on third down last preseason, keeping opposing teams to exactly a 40.0 percent conversion rate.

For the '09 regular season, there weren't many more impressive defenses than Cincinnati's. The Bengals ranked fourth in the league in total yardage at 301.4 YPG allowed and sixth in points at 18.2 PPG.

You can bet that head coach Marvin Lewis is going to be asking for, at bare minimum, a similar effort from his defense this year. The bar has been set high for the Bengals defense, but it should be able to persevere, particularly in the preseason.