Bengals Banter: Andy Dalton Poised for a Breakout 2013 Campaign
By Jason Marcum
May 29, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton throws a pass during organized team activities at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Sayre Bedinger of NFLMocks.com is oding a preview of every NFL team and who he believes each team’s breakout player will be, and for the Bengals, he went with Giovani Bernard, Mohamed Sanu and Andy Dalton:
"After a stellar rookie campaign in 2011 as a second round pick, Dalton followed it up with another big season in 2012, throwing for 3,669 yards and 27 touchdowns. So how has Dalton not broken out yet?Well, I want to see Dalton improve upon two major things–interceptions and 300 yard passing games. I know the last thing might be a little ticky tack on my part, but Dalton has just five 300 yard passing games so far in his NFL career. He also needs to bump up the completion percentage, which is a hair under 63 percent"
Speaking of Dalton, both he and offensive coordinator Jay Gruden believe there has been improvement with Dalton’s deep-ball accuracy, which has been his most consistent weakness in his first two NFL season:
"“The thing was the deep ball going into the spring. We wanted to work on timing and I think we’ve got a lot better,” Dalton says. “I think I’ve gotten better throwing the ball. I think the timing is there. Those are some things we definitely got better at.”"
"“We’ve thrown a lot of them. Some of them he probably wouldn’t have thrown in a game, but we’re just trying to work the trajectory and timing. I like how it’s coming,” Gruden says. “We’re calling quite a few of them just to get them on tape and getting the receivers running at the right angles so the quarterback can see them. Overall, I think Andy’s done a better job of throwing them, plus some really, really good ones. A.J. (Green) has made some plays, obviously, and we’re trying to get other guys involved.”"
When looking at the Bengals’ most important games of the 2012 season, Sean O’Donnell believes the Week 17 showdown against the Baltimore Ravens will be huge in terms of determining how well the team does this year:
"It is very possible that the winner of this game could take home the AFC North crown as well. The Bengals should be able to keep their personnel fresh due to the positional rotations that are utilized throughout the season. However, the Ravens are always a difficult opponent and one of the most physical teams in the NFL.The Bengals need to win this game — if not to secure a division title or playoff berth — then to create some momentum heading into the playoffs as they continue to search for that elusive postseason victory."
Former Bengals cheerleader and Kentucky high-school teacher Sarah Jones, who admitted to having a sexual relationship with former student Cody York, is now engaged with York. Jonesi 28, and York is 19, but the reported incident happened when York was 17.
Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed.