3 Areas Bengals QB Andy Dalton Still Needs to Drastically Improve Upon for 2012

John HickeyJan 8, 2012

It was in many ways a brilliant rookie season for Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton.

He should have been given time to grow into the role behind Carson Palmer, but when Palmer refused to play any more for the Bengals, it became a trial by fire for Dalton.

And what a season it was—3,398 yards passing, 20 touchdown passes thrown and nine wins for the Bengals, not to mention a playoff berth and a nod as an alternate for the Pro Bowl.

But the 31-10 loss to Houston showed that there remain a few areas of the game where Dalton needs to make significant progress.

Here’s our list.

3. Better Looks at the Defense

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The game Saturday turned on an interception thrown by Dalton and picked off by Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who managed to pluck the ball out of the air and return it 29 yards for a score.

Any time a lineman intercepts a pass in the NFL, you know it’s going to be a fluke.

Even so, the play brings into question the kind of downfield vision that Dalton has, because the ball should never have gotten to Watt as it did.

That’s particularly true when the ball is in your half of the field and there is less than a minute left in the first half.

2. Better Movement in and out of the Pocket

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The Texans sacked Dalton four times and had him running on other occasions.

For the most part, Dalton was good dodging the rush considering that he was a rookie.

Nevertheless, he needs to get better at stepping out of the pocket and stepping up when the situation calls for it.

1. Better Decisions on When and Where to Throw

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The three interceptions Dalton suffered Saturday against Houston matched his career worst.

He was only intercepted 13 times in 16 games, but he was streaky. He had seen these over the space of four games midseason and also had a three-game stretch with five interceptions.

There may well come a time when Dalton is a legitimate big game quarterback. To get there, he’s going to have to keep away from a multiple-interception game like this one.