Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer hasn’t seen much to like about his defense in the first two weeks and now he’ll get a new face to add to the mix in hopes of getting better results.
Of course, he’ll be losing one of the old faces to make that happen. Defensive end Jamaal Anderson has been placed on injured reserve as a result of a torn quadriceps that he suffered in the 34-27 win against the Browns last Sunday. Anderson, a 2007 first-round pick of the Falcons, signed with Cincinnati as a free agent this offseason to play a role in the team’s defensive line rotation. He had three tackles in the team’s first two games, but won’t play any more since he’s not eligible for recall during the 2012 season.
The Bengals announced that they have signed defensive lineman Wallace Gilberry to take Anderson’s place on the roster. Gilberry played with the Chiefs from 2008 to 2011 and got released by the Buccaneers last week when they shuffled their roster, shortly after he rejoined the team following an earlier release.
Gilberry isn’t going to fix all that ails the Bengals defense. He won’t even fix all that ails the defensive line. Getting Carlos Dunlap back in the lineup would be a step in the right direction in that front, but even that is just one piece of a larger puzzle the Bengals have to solve in the coming weeks.