The Bengals are working on quickening the time Andy Dalton drops back in the pocket, as well as his ability to throw the deep ball.
"We got it where we need to get it," said QBs coach Ken Zampese. "It's better than it was and we just have to get used to the timing of live guys running. With the OTAs we get more chances to keep working on it." Football Outsiders pinned Dalton with 17 coverage sacks last season, and he posted the fourth-lowest QB rating among AFC passers on passes over 20 yards in the air. It's a make or break year for the third-year quarterback.

Football Outsiders charted Andy Dalton with taking 17 coverage sacks last season.
That was the highest total in the league. The Bengals' line "allowed" 46 sacks last season, which was the seventh-most, but Dalton's propensity to hold onto the ball contributed greatly to that. The Bengals have a strong group of blockers, and our own Evan Silva ranked them ninth in his offensive line rankings.

Speaking in a Tuesday radio interview, Bengals OC Jay Gruden conceded Andy Dalton has "a long way to go."
"He's done some great things for a second-year quarterback. ... But we feel like he has not come close to his potential," Gruden said. "That's our job to get it out of him. And he knows he's gotta play better." Gruden specifically mentioned Dalton's touch and deep-ball accuracy as things he must improve. Dalton's weak arm makes the latter unlikely to get better.

The Bengals may be looking for a young quarterback in the draft this year to replace impending free agent Bruce Gradkowski as Andy Dalton's backup.
Cincinnati isn't trying to use an early-round pick on a signal caller to push Dalton, but they could be interested in snagging a competent quarterback in the mid rounds similar to what the Redskins did last year using a fourth-round pick on Kirk Cousins. Dalton's rookie contract runs through 2014.

Bengals OC Jay Gruden brushed off concerns over Andy Dalton's late-season fade, expressing confidence in him as the quarterback of the future.
"I think Andy is the guy. If you compare his two-year stats to Drew Brees and the other great quarterbacks now, I think you'd be surprised what he's done his first two years," Gruden said. "Obviously he has shown some flaws he has to work on, but every other quarterback in their first two years in the league has shown that." While Dalton entered the league with doubts about his physical limitations, it's a growing concern that he's grown more hesitant and regressed mentally.

Andy Dalton completed 14-of-30 passes for 127 yards and an interception in the Bengals' 19-13 Wild Card Round loss to the Texans.
He was as bad as the stats suggest. Dalton played this game scared, afraid to pull the trigger and uncomfortable in the pocket. He finally started to find a fourth-quarter rhythm only to badly overshoot A.J. Green on a bomb attempt with Cincinnati down 19-13 and under four minutes left. Green had separation; it was just a bad -- and ultimately season-ending -- throw by Dalton. Dalton's final fantasy stats placed him 12th among quarterbacks, but he has never played well against top defenses and seems to be running into a brick wall in terms of development. Due to Dalton's talent limitations, we wouldn't expect him to make much if any of a 2013 leap.