We suppose we can find it within ourselves to forgive Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton if he were to experience a bad day. It's not like he's extracting confidence from a pool of NFL experience and it's not like this is his fifth straight week of practice. I mean you're a rookie quarterback, second day of practice trying to comprehend and execute an entirely new playbook with entirely new terminology. It would be an absolute shock if Dalton didn't struggle sometimes. Then again, that's what practice is there for. Better he struggle now than September.
And by most observations from those that attended Sunday's practice, he did have a bad day on Sunday. During his quick practice recap from Sunday evening, Joe Reedy wrote that Dalton struggled "to get into rhythm for most of the day and threw a Pick 6 to Korey Lindsey."
Former Bengals defensive tackle John Thornton observed during Sunday's practice.
"In one on one drills, he threw a few nice deep balls and one nice one to WR AJ Green, who beat DBs all day. But in team drills, when the speed picked up and decisions had to be made faster, his balls came up a little short. These things will get better with time, but the season is quickly approaching."
Bengals.com writer Geoff Hobson wrote that Dalton:
"didn't have as good a day Sunday as he did Saturday. He never got into a groove during the 11-on-11, which was more intense Sunday because of the shoulder pads, and came up short on a couple of deep balls. Gruden said there will be days like this, but he can't have too many. Wearing pads for the first time since the Rose Bowl, Dalton never looked comfortable."