ICYMI: Andy Dalton & Mohamed Sanu Ready for Offense to take the Next Step
By Jason Marcum
Jan 5, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton gestures before the AFC wild card playoff game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback Andy Dalton struggled mightily to help his offense score consistently enough down the stretch of last season, as the Bengals finished just one game shy of an AFC North crown, and lost a heartbreaking playoff game to Houston after Dalton could’t get his offense into the endzone, but now he expects Cincinnati to take the next step after his team focused heavily on improving the offense in this year’s draft with the additions of Tyler Eifert and Giovani Bernard.
"Well, there shouldn’t be any excuses. With the players we already have and adding these guys is just going to make the offense better. So I expect us to take the next step. I expect us to improve from where we were last year."
While all the focus is on this year’s draft class, last year’s class looked like a very promising one midway through the 2012 season when the Bengals reeled off 4-straight wins and were scoring 30+ points per game as rookie receiver Mohamed Sanu burst onto the scene. But a broken foot ended his season, and the offense took a huge hit when it came to punching it into the endzone vs. settling for field goals.
Sanu is now is fully recovered and running routes as he prepares for year-2, and will be an integral piece of what hopes to be an AFC North Champion Bengals team.
"My body feels great. Now it’s just a matter of getting back out there and ready to play. I’m already 100 percent (healed). Now I’m just getting to the point where I want to be as far as being in shape and getting ready for the OTAs and the season. Just each game, each week you get a little more comfortable. It’s definitely a good feeling to know I can help the offense out and to know I was getting playing time and I was effective.”"
Sanu caught 16 passes for 154 yards with four touchdowns in nine games last season before breaking his foot, but most of those came in three games vs. the New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, and Oakland Raiders.
If the thought of a healthy Sanu to go alongside All-Pro A.J. Green, Pro Bowler Jermaine Gresham, and the newly-drafted Eifert doesn’t get you stoked for next season, then I frankly don’t know what will.
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