defense Sunday https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Andrew-Luck-Jersey , he’ll see some of the league’s top pass rushers.Defensive tackle Geno Atkins often gets the interior push. Michael Johnson, Carlos Dunlap and Carl Lawson routinely bring the outside pressure.So with Luck making his first start in more than 20 months, the Cincinnati Bengals hope to make life miserable as the Colts quarterback re-acclimates himself to regular-season life in the NFL.“My biggest concern, they have a really good front seven,” Luck said. “It’s always a tough defense. Geno Atkins is a heck of a player, (Carlos) Dunlap on the edge, got guys that can cover. So it’s always a challenge.”Circumstances could make this season opener even more challenging for Indy.Longtime left tackle Anthony Castonzo missed the entire preseason with a hamstring injury and was limited in practice earlier this week. Denzelle Good, who appeared to be the favorite at right tackle, hasn’t played since hurting his left knee in the third preseason game.Then there’s rookie left guard Quenton Nelson, the No. 6 pick. He’s likely to draw the assignment on Atkins, and there’s no assurance second-year running back Marlon Mack will return from a hamstring injury that has kept him off the field since the preseason opener. If Mack can’t play, rookies Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines may be asked to help protect Luck, one of the league’s highest-paid players.No, it’s not an ideal start for a quarterback who missed the 2017 season while recovering from surgery on his throwing shoulder.But the Colts may not have a choice.“We will do everything we can do to neutralize the pass rush — no matter what five guys are up front,” new coach Frank Reich said. “And that will be No. 1 on the pass game agenda each week: How do you protect the passer?”The Bengals have other concerns after losing eight straight in Indy.They’re expecting to face a crowd eager to welcome back Luck and capable of making enough noise to slow down the pass rushers.“I think everybody there is going to be excited Josh Ferguson Jersey ,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “We know the kind of player that he is. I guess if you’re going to play Andrew Luck, you’d rather be playing him now than Week 12.”NEW STRIPESThe Bengals debut their redesigned offense under coordinator Bill Lazor after giving a few previews during the preseason. They made more of an effort to get big plays, something missing last season. Andy Dalton looked comfortable with the new playbook in his limited preseason time, completing 71 percent of his passes with four touchdowns, one interception — the receiver fell on his route — and a passer rating of 130.9.“I feel real comfortable with the way I played,” Dalton said.DOUBLE DOSELast year, in Philadelphia, Reich took advantage of a plethora of solid tight ends.Expect more of the same this season in Indy.The Colts signed free agent Eric Ebron, Detroit’s first-round pick in 2014, to help stretch the field as Pro Bowler Jack Doyle continues to exploit the middle. Indy also has former basketball player Eric Swoope and Ryan Hewitt, a former Bengal, on the roster. And all four could play Sunday.NEW O-LINEThe offensive line was the biggest issue in Cincinnati’s offense finishing last in the league in 2017.There’s only one returning starter — left guard Clint Boling — as the unit’s been overhauled.It’ll be the first time that left tackle Cordy Glenn, rookie center Billy Price, right guard Alex Redmond and right tackle Bobby Hart play together in a regular-season game.RECORD WATCHAdam Vinatieri’s 23rd NFL season could be the most remarkable of his career.The four-time Super Bowl champion needs seven field goals to break Morten Andersen’s record (565), five field goals from the 40-49-yard range to take over the top spot from Gary Anderson and 58 points to break Andersen’s mark of 2 T.J. Green Color Rush Jersey ,544.How has he done it? By keeping things in perspective.“You definitely want to start off on the right note,” he said. “We know how important it is, we know how much our owner wants to win this first game. We know how important it is to win at home in front of our home crowd, all the above.”NO BURFICTFor the fourth straight season, the Bengals will be without linebacker Vontaze Burfict at the outset.He missed the first six games of 2015 while recovering from a knee injury and has been suspended for the start of each of the past three.This time, Burfict will miss the first four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancers. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts figured Darius Leonard would emerge as a defensive playmaker one day.He skipped the learning curve.Two weeks into his rookie season, the weakside linebacker leads the NFL with 27 tackles, already has forced one fumble, recovered another, had a sack and provided a new, dynamic dimension in the Colts’ rebuilt defense.“When we came here, there were only one or two guys (at linebacker),” defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus said Tuesday.“He was kind of thrust into that position and we treated him as such. He’s grabbed that role, taken it and he’s done a good job with it.”Just how impressive has the 6-foot-2, 234-pound https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Matthias-Farley-Jersey , 23-year-old been?Leonard’s 18-tackle performance Sunday at Washington was the fifth-best grade by a linebacker since Eberflus implemented his points system in 1995.Some view Leonard’s immediate impact as a surprise, but he was pretty impressive in college.Leonard set the career record for tackles (394) at South Carolina State, a Football Championship Subdivision school largely overshadowed by the state’s more prominent programs at Clemson and South Carolina as well as Furman, the 1988 FCS national champions.Twice he was selected as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference defensive player of the year and Leonard got his nickname “Maniac” following a 19-tackle performance against Clemson in 2016.The knock on him going into the draft was he needed more size and strength to hold up in the NFL and time to make the transition from small-school star to NFL contributor.Colts general manager Chris Ballard saw it differently after watching Leonard for one week in Mobile, Alabama, in January.“You always want to watch the small school guys when you go to the Senior Bowl because now they’re facing the bigger competition,” Ballard said after making Leonard the first of Indy’s four second-round draft picks in April.“I thought he stood out. His speed, his athleticism, his ability to cover. When the four ‘backers went, we thought Darius was the fifth-best backer in the draft.”Leonard certainly has played like it.Despite missing all but one day of offseason workouts, Leonard returned to the field when the Colts’ rookies reported in late July and made a quick impression on the veterans.“I think it was pretty much the first time you saw it, the first practice of training camp when he caught the interception off of Andrew Luck,” second-year linebacker Anthony Walker said.“First of all, that’s a big-time quarterback there and that was a big-time play. We knew right there — that’s why we drafted him.”Leonard continued playing well during the preseason and his ability to stay healthy allowed him not only to win a starting job, but also the right to call the defensive signals in the huddle.So far Christine Michael Sr Jersey , he’s flashed the speed to make plays from sideline to sideline and deliver game-changing ones, too.But Leonard’s best attribute might be his attitude.He’s eager to clean up mistakes, remains humble and enjoys breaking down game tapes.That’s hardly a surprise from someone who helped decipher prep games so he could help coach players at his high school while he was in college.“I just work hard and just take coaching,” he said. “That’s the big thing, I take all the coaching I can get, follow all the details and do all the little things.”It’s made a huge difference in one of the league’s most inexperienced linebacker groups.Leonard, Walker and free-agent signee linebacker Najee Goode have combined for 12 NFL starts — exactly half coming during the first two weeks this season.And, so far, Leonard has been the star with back-to-back memorable performances that have surprised the doubters but nobody in the Colts’ locker room.“As a rookie, it’s hard to find someone like that — someone who prepares the way he prepares. The things that he does really sets him apart,” Walker said.“He’s miles ahead of where I was last year and just the confidence and stuff he plays with, he’s miles ahead of me.”