How Hue Jackson improves Andy Dalton

Andy Dalton threw 51 passes in the playoff game against the Chargers. It does not take a genius to figure out that Dalton was asked to do too much. It is my opinion that Jay Gruden was not the right guy for this offense. He may have had the greatest game plans in the world, but if your offense is designed around players that may not be on your roster then you are not going to achieve much with it.

Geoff Hobson takes a look at what kind of throws Gruden expected from Dalton. He liked to work outside the numbers and down the sidelines. For a quarterback as accurate as Dalton, asking him to stretch his throws out and down the field was probably a mistake.

The kind of offense I expect Hue to install in Cincinnati would be a run heavy offense that adds crossing routes, slants, seam and pick plays. Asking a quarterback like Dalton to throw it 50+ times is a joke. Russell Wilson did not throw more than 25 times a game in the playoffs.

On this roster is an all world receiver, a strong number 2 and a couple of great tight ends. Add to that a line that is pretty good at blocking for the run and a young running back that can make a play anytime he touches the ball. What if the Bengals ran shorter plays, controlled the clock and rested their number 3 defense? This team may be a lot closer than we think. Add in a free agent and another good draft, and this team could be outstanding.

At the end of next season, maybe Dalton won't have the stats. But, if he was as accurate with higer percentage throws and wasn't asked to do as much for the offense, he could become a quarterback that all Bengals fans could get behind. Wouldn't that be nice?