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CINCINNATI -- If the Cincinnati Bengals have looked far less rattled inside their defensive huddle the last two weeks, there's a good reason why. Rey Maualuga is back. One of the team's most veteran players, the sixth-year linebacker's presence on the field alone has been a calming influence on the unit, his teammates and coaches have said. For four weeks, when Maualuga was shelved due to a serious hamstring injury, the Bengals didn't appear to have the same energy, focus and direction. Around the same time, fellow linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Emmanuel Lamur were in and out of the lineup as injuries unexpectedly ransacked the defense. The injuries forced players who had never started a game on defense to get the first true snaps of their careers. "A few times when wasn't there, it was kind of hectic in terms of, well, I don't know, we just didn't have the composure," safety George Iloka said of Maualuga. "But when vets like him and playmakers like Vontaze are in there, it's like everything is going to be OK no matter what happens." Seven straight games earlier this season -- including three Maualuga was part of -- the Bengals allowed opponents to rush for 100 yards or more. That streak was halted two weeks ago at New Orleans when Maualuga made his post-hamstring injury debut -- an injury that coach Marvin Lewis on Wednesday said healed about a month faster than expected. Maualuga only recorded three tackles, including one key stop on the fourth down of an early goal-line stand, but his sound run-stop background helped direct teammates to flow into other gaps they had been missing in the games before. A week later, his penetration on a run blitz helped push back the Texans' offensive line as it tried to block a stretch run close to its own end zone. The push Maualuga created helped defensive tackle Geno Atkins chase Houston's Alfred Blue across the goal line, where he tackled him for a safety. Suddenly, the run defense problem the Bengals had has started fading. The Saints rushed for 75 yards while the Texans last week had only 64. "Certainly having Rey back, he understands the systems and the checks," defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said. "The communication is a lot smoother." It hasn't only been in the huddle and the run game where Maualuga's presence has been felt. The Bengals have seen it in the passing game, too. At Houston, he gave the Bengals some momentum coming out of halftime, intercepting Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett on the first play of the third quarter. The Bengals' offense responded to the turnover by scoring a touchdown six plays later. "As I keep trying to describe, linebackers back the line. Your job is to shed a block, make a tackle," Lewis said. "Rey's done a great job of that. He's really grown in that area over the time. He's so doggone physical. The thing that he has also done is mentally, he's so advanced that way of understanding what we need to get done up front, and any kind of adjustment to things, and being able to make that adjustment." When Iloka was asked to describe the Maualuga he's seen the last last two weeks, he used three words. "Cool, calm, collect."
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