Let’s compare these two stat lines.

First 3 career seasons: 85 TD, 58 INT, 12, 287 yards thrown, 60.4 completion %

First 3 career seasons: 80 TD, 49 INT, 11,360 yards thrown, 60.9 completion %

With his new major contract, Andy Dalton needs to live up to his potential in the upcoming season. By Navin75, via Wikimedia Commons

The bottom: Andy Dalton.

A little over 1,000 more yards thrown and nine more interceptions by the Manning are all that really separate  these two quarterbacks’ statistics through their first three seasons in the NFL.

The difference, or lack thereof, is pretty shocking to most once the names are provided — especially with what we now know Manning to be and have seen what Dalton hasn’t done come playoff time. Like Dalton, Peyton Manning was also 0-3 in his first three-playoff games. I’m not saying Andy Dalton is going to be the next Peyton Manning but the stats from their first three seasons are similar.

The Bengals recently re-signed Andy Dalton to a six-year, $116 million deal, and it has been heavily scrutinized. Dalton has played very poorly in each of his three-playoff games, so many question why the Bengals would re-sign him and also why they would invest so much money into him. What many people don’t realize is that Andy Dalton has been a very productive quarterback for the Bengals, bringing lots of stability to an otherwise unstable organization. Other than a few seasons in the 80s, the Cincinnati Bengals have historically been bad. Really bad. Dalton is the first quarterback to lead them to the playoffs three seasons in a row, including winning a division title in 2013. Every season his stats and the team’s record have improved, but all anyone remembers are the bad playoff games. I am not trying to give Dalton a pass for those games but you also have to remember that football is a team sport and Dalton didn’t lose the games on his own.

2011 vs. Texans: Lost 31-10, the whole team played bad including Dalton. Cincinnati’s defense gave up 153 yards and two touchdowns to Arian Foster.

2012 vs. Texans: Lost 19-13, the team didn’t show up yet again including Dalton. The Bengals’ D allowed 420 yards to Houston’s offense.

2013 vs. Chargers: Lost 27-10, the whole team didn’t show up in the second half. Lead 10-7 at halftime and if not for a Giovani Bernard fumble at the SD 3-yard line, the score would have been 17-7 at half.

While Dalton did have some part of the playoff loses, it isn’t and shouldn’t be solely on him. Dalton is only going to be starting his fourth NFL season and everyone acts as if he has been here for years and years failing every time. How many other NFL quarterbacks can say that they have made the playoffs as the starting quarterback in each of their first three seasons? The answer is only five, and Dalton is one of them. He is also just one of three quarterbacks in NFL history to have thrown for over 3,000 yards in each of his first three seasons, joining Cam Newton and Peyton Manning, and is just one of three to have passed for at least 20 touchdowns in each of his first three seasons, joining Manning and Dan Marino.

Offense coordinator Jay Gruden is out in Cincinnati and has been replaced by the more level-headed Hue Jackson. Jackson was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 2011 when he guided them to only their second non-losing season since 2002. Jackson will help Dalton and the Bengals have a much more balanced offensive attack, so I’ll expect Dalton and the Bengals to be even better in 2014. Dalton is still young and still can grow so lets wait to see how the next few seasons pan out before we condemn him as not being a “big time” quarterback.

Over the course of their franchise history, the Cincinnati Bengals have rarely been relevant in terms of the playoffs or winning seasons.

Lately though, the team has had a major turnaround making the playoffs in four of the last five seasons. This turnaround is largely credited to the offensive play of Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Green and quarterback, Andy Dalton.

In the three seasons the two have been on the Bengals, they have improved their record each season going 9-7, 10-6 and finally 11-5 this past season. Despite the regular season success they’ve had, the Bengals have failed to win a playoff game. In fact, the franchise hasn’t won a postseason game in almost 25 years.

Could 2014 finally be the year Andy Dalton leads the Bengals to a playoff win?  By emeybee (Own work) via Wikimedia Commons

The 2014-2015 season will mark the fourth year of the Dalton era. While the signal caller has played well during the regular season, he and the rest of his team have faltered come playoff time. The Bengals front office has shown general improvement in getting productive players onto the field. What success the Bengals have had can be attributed largely to the draft. The 2014 NFL Draft was no different as the Bengals drafted very well, yet again.

Draft Picks

The Bengals’ first pick (Round 1, 24th overall) was cornerback, Darqueze Dennard, aka “No Fly Zone,” from Michigan State who will most definitely shore-up their secondary. The defensive backfield has been the only thing keeping the Bengals from being a top-five defense.

In the second round (55th pick overall), the Black and Orange made a surprising selection by taking LSU running back Jeremy Hill. Hill’s combination of ground-and-pound style of running and speed will make for a great duo with Giovani Bernard. The Bengals’ entire draft can be seen here, but the most intriguing draft pick was the fifth-round selection of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron.

Coming into the draft it was speculated the Bengals would select a quarterback in case Dalton messed-up again in the postseason. McCarron won two titles while at Alabama and is considered one of the smartest and most accurate passers in the draft. The Bengals got a steal of a player at quarterback by selecting McCarron in the fifth round and he will play with a chip on his shoulder after dropping so low.

Outlook on the 2014-2015 season

The Bengals won the AFC North division in 2013-14, but repeating won’t be an easy task. The Ravens, Browns and Steelers all improved their teams from a season ago and the Bengals play a tough schedule. Their October could be considered the month of death for the Bengals as they play at New England, at home against Carolina, at Indianapolis and finally home against Baltimore. Despite it being early in the season, that month could determine the Bengals’ fate as it pits them against three top teams in the AFC.

Although the Bengals play a tough schedule, they are playing it for a reason and that is because they are a good team. Based on whom they play and where they play the games, my prediction for the Bengals is an 11-5 record for the second straight year. They have their bye week early-on in the season (week 4) so the end of the season will be a grind, but maybe this is the year that they finally win a playoff game for the first time since 1990.

After yet another postseason loss, the Cincinnati Bengals extended their streak of consecutive seasons without a playoff win to an NFL-leading 23 years. Coming into the 2013 NFL season, the Bengals had very high hopes for a long season after building a talented team over the last few years. Adding veteran linebacker James Harrison to an already athletic and physical defense seemed to make the Bengals one of the best defenses in all the NFL. Coming off an 10-6 record from 2012, Bengals fans like me expected them to win their division and make a run at the Super Bowl.

Andy Dalton will receive much criticism and scrutiny this coming offseason after another poor playoff performance. By Navin75 (Flickr: QB Andy Dalton), via Wikimedia Commons

They would have a home playoff game for the first time since 2009 against the San Diego Chargers who just barely snuck into the playoffs after finishing the year on a high note. Cincinnati posted an 8-0 record at home during the regular season so it seemed as if the Chargers would be no match for the Bengals at “The Jungle”, especially since the Bengals had gone into San Diego and beat the Chargers on the road just a few weeks ago. But the Chargers outscore the Bengals 20-0 at the end of the game to advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.

It was a very disappointing loss for a team with such high expectations. Many will put the blame on quarterback Andy Dalton after posting another below-average playoff performance. His stature as the Bengals quarterback is now in question and I, for one, don’t understand. While I will agree that he needs to play better in the playoffs, he has led his team to the playoffs three consecutive years for the first time in franchise history. During each of his first three seasons, he has improved his statistics and his team’s record. For some reason we expect these young quarterbacks to come into the NFL and win a Super Bowl immediately. It takes time and everyone needs to calm down about Dalton.

The loss to the Chargers wasn’t all Daltons fault either. If Giovani Bernard wouldn’t have fumbled the ball at the four yard-line and if the offensive line would have decided to show up then it might have been a much different game. Peyton Manning didn’t win a playoff game until his fifth NFL season and look at him now. Sure, Dalton will need to improve his play, but he is currently on a very talented team that will break through. Fans just needs to be patient. Nobody likes to be patient when it comes to an NFL quarterback but with Dalton we need to be. He is a very good quarterback but is still young and I expect him to prove all his doubters wrong next season.

A.J. Green and the Bengals went out this weekend in the first round of the NFL Playoffs. By Navin75 (Flickr: WR AJ Green) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

This team has a solid core. Andy Dalton lead this year’s offense with 27 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and passed for 3,669 yards. Second year receiver and pro-bowler A.J. Green had 97 receptions for 1,350 yards and 11 touchdowns. Newly signed running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis led the running attack with 1,094 yards with six touchdowns. The under-rated defense set the sack record for the franchise and was led by Defensive Tackle and pro-bowler Geno Atkins (12.5 sacks).

The season started bleak for the Bengals, embarrassed by division rival Baltimore in the first game of the season on Monday Night Football. After week 9, the team sat at 3-5 with losses to the Browns and Dolphins and the prospects for even making the playoffs were not good.

Surprisingly the Bengals shocked the NFL and beat down the Giants, 31-13 in week 10. After the inspiring win over the Super Bowl champs, the Bengals went on to win six of their next seven games. They even beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the playoff-clincher. They were no longer the so-called “Bungles.”

The Bengals were locked into the sixth and final playoff seed in the AFC, despite tying the AFC North champion Ravens with a record of 10-6 and ended up playing the Texans in the first round. The Texans had been struggling and any team was better than the red-hot Broncos or the playoff proven Patriots. Despite the decent matchup, the Bengals lost again in the playoffs. They had a chance with a 3^rd and 11 possession with under three minutes to play but quarterback Andy Dalton over-threw receiver A.J. Green in the end zone, a play that would have given the Bengals a 20-19 lead.

While Cincinnati didn’t advance in the playoffs yet again, the season did show that as the combination of Dalton and Green grow, along with the strong young defense, the Bengals will be a force to reckon with in the future. The Bengals gained tremendous experience and poise by turning their season around when everyone thought they were done and finally beating the Steelers on the road. It would have been nice to cap off this season with a playoff win, but the Bengals should be happy with making the playoffs right now.

That being said, how much longer can that be the standard? Hopefully next season this young up-and-coming team will come back with a hunger for success and if they do, this team is built to win, I believe for a long time.