Highlighting Areas Where Andy Dalton, Bengals Must Improve Most in 2012-13

The Cincinnati Bengals ended the 2011 season with a surprising 9-7 record and a trip to the playoffs. That's quite the feat for a team many had written off in the preseason, considering how many changes the Bengals had undergone in the span of just a few months.

Gone were Chad Ochocinco, Terrell Owens and Carson Palmer on offense and Johnathan Joseph on defense. In the draft, the team brought on Andy Dalton to start at quarterback and A.J. Green to be his primary receiver.

It seemed as though first-year growing pains were in store for the Bengals; but alas, that was not the case.

That's not to say the Bengals did everything right in 2011, but they certainly took what could have easily been a terrible situation and made something positive out of it, something worth building upon. With just a few tweaks on both sides of the ball, the Bengals could be serious contenders within not just the AFC North but the entire NFL at large.

According to Football Outsiders, Dalton ranked 12th out of 47 eligible quarterbacks last season—above fellow rookie Cam Newton, above Palmer, whom he replaced, and above three of the four quarterbacks who started in the division last year (Seneca Wallace, Colt McCoy and Joe Flacco).

That's certainly an impressive start to what could become an excellent career for Dalton, but if he's going to add to those numbers this season, the Bengals will need to supply him with more receiving weapons.

Andre Caldwell left for the Denver Broncos and Jerome Simpson will be spending some time in jail—and likely see a league suspension—and is still a free agent, with no clear indication if the Bengals will bring him back on.

Green can't do it alone, nor can tight end Jermaine Gresham, nor can Andrew Hawkins (the only receiver of note beyond Green currently on the roster). The Bengals will need to use one of their two first-round draft picks to take one of the highest-rated receivers and might want to consider picking up another prospect later on to fill out their receiving corps.

One area that can also help Dalton's chances for another successful season is to increase the focus on the run game. Though the Bengals had the 11th-best passing offense last season, they ranked just 26th on the ground.

This season, the Bengals appear ready to take a running-back-by-committee approach, with the recently-signed BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Bernard Scott getting the heavy lifting and the team potentially bringing on a third, speedy back in order to build a well-balanced running attack.

Receivers who can block, receivers who can catch passes and receivers who can put up serious yardage and make third-down conversions when asked will not only make the Bengals' offense better as a whole, they will also allow Dalton to not have to carry the offense practically on his own.

The run game—and also the passing game—is only as good as the offensive line doing the protecting, and that's an area the Bengals will need to improve this offseason. Their line ranked 20th in the league last year, and it's quite possible a guard will be among their targets in the first two rounds of the draft in order to improve in that area.

A strong defense helps offenses from continually having to play from behind. The Bengals started 2011 well but began to fall off as injuries and wear and tear began to add up. Cincinnati's defense ended the season in the middle of the pack and only slightly better than they performed in 2010.

The Bengals need to build a more intense and intimidating defense. They have a glut of veterans on the roster but have few standouts on that side of the ball.

Again, the draft will be very useful for the Bengals' ability to snag players who can improve their pass rush and a cornerback worthy of replacing Johnathan Joseph. Bringing on another safety should also be a priority.

The Bengals have many of the components in place to continue on the path they forged last year; however, there are some key areas in which they must improve in order to not regress.

Simply improving the run game and adding another receiver and a talented cornerback should do wonders for the team in 2012. Dalton will also need to be careful not to be satisfied with his rookie performance and continue to strive for improvement.

Cincinnati has been up-and-down season after season in recent years; they need to prove that cycle is broken, and if they approach this year as they did the last, they very well could. The Bengals showed in 2011 that they are a good football team but, depending on how they do in the draft, they could become truly great.

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