O.C., California- Staffeln » When Andrew Luck gazes over Cincinnati's

defense Sunday www.thecoltsfootballauthentic.com , 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," 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 Indianapolis Colts T-Shirt , 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 2,544.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. There was plenty to like about the Patriots' defensive performance in the first half of their 38-24 victory over the Colts on Thursday night.The second half brought just as much to be concerned about.New England's gaps on the defensive side of the ball were both noticeable and troubling as the Patriots opened 1-2. The lack of a sustained pass rush combined with missed assignments in the secondary helped opponents average 26 points in the three games.The defense rebounded to give up just seven points in a 38-7 win over Miami Indianapolis Colts Hats , in which it forced a turnover and held the Dolphins to just 172 total yards.The Patriots were off to a similar start against the Colts on Thursday night, holding them to just three points in the first half and intercepting quarterback Andrew Luck.But the bad habits that befell the defense during the losing streak came back in the final 30 minutes as Indianapolis got within seven points following a pair of touchdown passes from Luck. Indianapolis finished the game with 439 total yards, the third team this season to eclipse 400 yards against New England.Linebacker coach Brian Flores said it is proof there's still room for improvement with a visit from Kansas City and quarterback Patrick Mahomes up next. Mahomes is the hottest quarterback in the NFL, throwing for 14 touchdowns and no interceptions in the unbeaten Chiefs' first four games."We want to be a tough, aggressive, fast team. There's always room for improvement in those areas," said Flores, who is handling play calling duties for the Patriots this season. "I think it's something we talk about every day. It's something we harp on. We want the guys to play fast. We want them to play free. We want them to play aggressive."I think we've gotten that at a more consistent level, but I think we're always looking for more."Injuries have been an issue for the defense this season, though it is getting close to full strength.Defensive end Trey Flowers and safety Patrick Chung both sat out Week 3 with concussions before returning against the Dolphins. Both combined on a sack against Indianapolis. Chung finished with 11 combined tackles and also had an interception.He said the next step for this group is finding consistency."That is huge; inconsistency is the worst thing you can have in football. We need to continue to be consistent, continue to play hard and execute," Chung said.That includes forcing turnovers. The defense had a season-high three against Indianapolis."Our job is to get the offense the ball; we were able to do that today and had a couple of big plays," Chung said. "Hopefully we are able to keep doing that."The turnovers were also a welcomed sign to coach Bill Belichick."I think defensively you take a lot of pride in those," he said. "That's really taking the ball away from the offense as opposed to them just giving it to you. We had a couple of plays like that. We had a couple of other opportunities that we didn't capitalize on, but it's always good when you take the ball away from the offense."