Andy Dalton got his first start on Friday for the Cincinnati Bengals, going 11 of 15 for 69 yards in his debut, as the Bengals were unable to get the ball into the endzone in their first preseason outing.
Andy Dalton came prepared ready to compete by staying focused on football during the lockout. ProPlayerInsiders caught up with him before the training camp opened, he said he was “doing the best I can, trying to stay in shape and throwing a lot, so when we can go in and play, I’ll be ready.”
He also made an effort to work on timing with his new teammates, “I’ve reached out [to the] guys and we’re going to be throwing together, so we’ll have that going for us.”
Still the Bengals offense will have a few growing pains this season. With the retirement of Palmer and the trade of Chad Ochocinco to New England, the offense has a lot of new faces. The team rebuilt through the draft, taking highly touted wide receiver A.J. Green in the first round and Dalton in the second round. Green caught 4 passes for 29 yards in the opener.
In addition, the Bengals made an interesting pick up by signing undrafted rookie wide receiver Bart Johnson, who played with Dalton for three and a half years at Texas Christian. During their time together, they connected for 85 receptions and 9 TDS. Given all the new faces on the offenses, the history between Dalton may give Johnson an inside track to securing a position with the team.
As an undrafted rookie, Johnson came in with limited expectations, “I come into training camp and I feel like it’s my true freshman year of college again. Little fish in a big pond. Trying to get used to NFL speed, NFL defenses, and he comes in just like he does. Takes it in full stride.”
Johnson has known Dalton for years, and he has been very impressed with how well Dalton is adapting to the transition to the NFL. “It seems like he’s been in the league for five years. It’s pretty crazy, how he handles himself,” Johnson said before Wednesday’s practice at Georgetown College.
Dalton has had an impressive training camp, although Monday he looked a bit more like a rookie, where his accuracy and decision making were off. While that’s to be expected from time to time of a rookie surrounded by new players, but Dalton wasn’t allowing himself any excuses, “It didn’t sit well with me; I’m a perfectionist.”
“We watched it (Tuesday) morning. I saw the things I need to get better. Make better decisions and I feel like I did that. I eased my mind a little bit. Take what I did yesterday and get better from it. Sometimes my drop is too deep. Sometimes it’s learning how to put the ball on one side or the other. Little things like that are easy corrections I can make.”
When Dalton was asked about his predecessors, longtime Bengals QBs Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason and Carson Palmer, his response was, “Those guys were here a long time. I hope to be here just as long.” That’s what the Bengals fans are hoping to see as well.
