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Bengals Passing Charts: Andy Dalton's Progression And How Bengals Use Their Top Two Weapons

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We're through the first quarter of the 2012 season and Andy Dalton and the Bengals passing offense has taken steps in becoming a league-wide threat. We'll look at Andy Dalton's continued progression and how Jay Gruden is using his most talented weapons; Green and Gresham.

By Joe Goodberry
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Sam Greenwood - Getty Images

Our first look is the past two games as a whole. In both games, Andy Dalton and A.J. Green torched the Redskins and Jaguars, respectively. The offense seemed to use every level of the field for the first time this season in Washington and it carried over to Jacksonville.

Andy Dalton vs. Redskins

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The majority of passes were focused on the right side and outside the numbers. Green was almost unstoppable this game and you can see where they kept targeting him outside of the numbers.

Andy Dalton vs. Jaguars

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The middle of the field was avoided in Jacksonville which surprised me because the Jaguars are supposed to have decent corners and their best coverage LB was out of the game. Again, Dalton was very accurate. On the deep right half, Dalton was exceptional as he targeted Green often in this area. Speaking of the deep ball...

Andy Dalton Weeks 1 & 2 - Passes over 10 yards

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Andy Dalton Weeks 3 & 4 - Passes over 10 yards

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Dalton has improved his 10+ accuracy from 43.5% in the first two weeks to 59.1% over the last two weeks. After throwing two interceptions the first two weeks, he hasn't thrown one past 10-yards in the last two weeks.

Andy Dalton 2012 Season: First Quarter Totals & Pass Distribution

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I was surprised to see the Bengals have attempted as many passes to the Short Left as they have the Short Right. It has felt like Dalton favors the right side but within 10-yards, but that isn't necessarily true. The deeper you go, obviously his accuracy declines, but it's still manageable in the intermediate area of 10-25 yards where Dalton is completing 58.1% of his passes. Deep is still concern because Dalton is only completing 21.4% of those passes and hasn't completed anything that isn't in the Deep Right portion.

Updating Jermaine Gresham's Targets

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Gresham has been targeted more these past two games and he's starting to get more passes over the middle and deep. He's currently on pace for 64 receptions in 2012. That would be a career high. Andy Dalton is 16 of 25 (64.0%) when throwing to Jermaine Gresham.

A.J. Green's Targets Through Four Weeks

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Obviously, Green has been the Bengals Offensive Player of the Year through the first quarter of 2012. You can see how much they move him around the field and give Green opportunities to catch passes all over. Green has caught 27 of his 39 targets (69.2%) with 3 Touchdowns.

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