NFL: Breaking down the 2015 Cincinnati Bengals

Quarterback

Starter: Andy Dalton

Backups: A.J. McCarron, Josh Johnson, Terrelle Pryor

There is, of course, no doubt about the starting quarterback. Nor should there be. Over the last few years, Dalton has played well under center during the season and the fact that the Bengals have been as successful as they have been, while not all because of him, certainly speaks well to his abilities to run this offense.

Dalton has also never missed game in his four-year career.

Last season saw a regression in his totals after a career-high in several categories in 2013. Dalton went from throwing for 4,296 yards in 2013 to 3,398 in 2014—dropping off almost 1,000 yards in a single season. Part of that was absolutely because of A.J. Green’s injury issues but Dalton threw significantly few passes (482 last season compared to 586 in 2013) which led to fewer completions (309 vs. 363) although a higher completion percentage.

Somewhere between those two yardage totals lies what he is likely capable of averaging, so the yardage isn’t a concern. What could be an issue is the fall in touchdown totals. While 2013’s total of 33 wasn’t that much more than the year before (27) a drop to 19 is disturbing, especially when you don’t get a corresponding drop in interceptions (from 19 to 17).

Dalton did spend a lot of time this offseason with quarterbacks ‘guru’ Tom House, per Bengals.com reporter Geoff Hobson. That should help with mechanics as well as turnovers. As with the yardage, I don’t think last season was indicative of Dalton overall, but it is an area he needs to improve upon.

Nobody behind Dalton is really a threat to his starting job.

Of the group, A.J. McCarron looks the best and Hobson has also reported that he looks god enough that the team might only keep him on behind Dalton. McCarron was sidelined last season with a shoulder issue, but like Dalton, worked with House to improve his mechanics. He has a lot of upside but temper expectations you might have by realizing he has never thrown a pass in the NFL, even in preseason.

Both Josh Johnson and Terrelle Pryor could stick, but if the reports on McCarron are true, the Bengals will probably add depth somewhere else. As we mentioned above, it’s not like Dalton misses starts.

I am a big Josh Johnson fan but even I have to admit that if he had something to show us at the pro level, he would have. Both he and Pryor are mobile quarterbacks with decent arms, but neither is incredibly accurate and both struggle under center overall.

I think we’ll see Dalton and McCarron on the roster at the end of summer and that’s all.

The key here remains getting more out of Dalton. He’ll probably bounce back from last year but the only way the franchise will truly feel he has taken a step forward is by exceling and winning in the playoffs.

Next: Running Backs