CINCINNATI -- When Margus Hunt was selected in the second round last year, most people knew that it was going to be a developmental season for him with the hopes that he would make a sizable leap in year two.
After his work in the preseason, you could say that Hunt is beginning to meet expectations.
The defensive end had three sacks and five tackles in the Bengals 35-7 win over the Colts in Thursday night's preseason finale at Paul Brown Stadium. Hunt also had four tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries.
"He's continued to strive and push harder to be better. He should dominate in a game like this, and he did," head coach Marvin Lewis said. "That's the confidence he needs. It gives him the opportunity to critique himself. It's real life snaps and he gets to finish the rushes.
"A lot of guys can do good things in practice, but you have to go out and finish the rush. That's how you build your repertoire of moves."
Last season at this time Hunt was swimming in learning proper technique and what it took to play defensive line in the NFL. Most guys have a tough time even when they have been playing the game since age 8. Hunt's first experience with football was as a freshman at SMU.
Hunt was inactive for six of the first seven games last year. In the 10 games where he saw action, Hunt had four tackles and half a sack. There were a couple times when Hunt was close to getting a sack, but he would miss or be a step too slow.
Now that Hunt is better with technique and knows where to line up, it is more reaction than thinking.
In the first three preseason games, he had six tackles and a sack. Against Indianapolis, Hunt dominated Colts right tackle Matt Hall as both teams sat out almost all of their starters. On the opening drive of the third quarter and with the Colts facing third-and-2 from the Indy 28, Hunt was untouched as he sacked Chandler Harnish.
"There was just the relief of finish certain plays that I didn't last year. I got to the point where I could've, should've or would've finished the sack and I didn't," Hunt said. "It is just more relief of that progress than anything else."
Hunt will be an important part of the Bengals defensive line rotation this year that has been one of the best for the past couple seasons. They can go 7-8 deep and often wear down opponents. The return of All-Pro tackle Geno Atkins, who missed the second half of last season with a knee injury, will also be huge.
Hunt wasn't the only second-round pick who got lots of playing time. With most of the starters getting the night off, Jeremy Hill, who was the 55th overall pick in this year's draft, got a lot of touches. Hill had 20 carries for 90 yards along with six receptions for 70 yards.
Jason Campbell, who had struggled for most of the preseason, showed improvement. Campbell played the first half and was 13 for 16 for 123 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Hewitt in the second quarter. Tyler Wilson played the second half and had a 50-yard touchdown pass to Cobi Hamilton in the fourth quarter to make it 28-0.
In the third quarter, Dane Sanzenbacher had a punt return TD for the second straight year (77 yards) and safety Danieal Manning, who is fighting for a roster spot, had a 33-yard Pick Six.
After Da'Rick Rogers scored on a 7-yard TD pass from Harnish, James Wilder capped the scoring with a 2-yard TD run.
The Bengals lost their first two preseason games but won the final two. At 2-2, this is the sixth time in seven years they have finish at or above .500.
Now that the preseason is over, the Bengals will make their final cuts to get to the 53-man roster limit by Saturday and then prepare for the Sept. 7 opener at Baltimore.
Said Lewis about the preseason: "It's a body of work. It's the opportunity to evaluate new players, and we have been able to do that. I'm relieved that we were able to get through without a major injury. We have to keep our heads down and keep working."
