Arguably the best thing about this past season was Andy Dalton elevating his game and delivering a MVP like performance and posting 100+ QB rating....and putting to bed (at least for the time being) the arguments about whether he could make the leap.

So a simple question...can he keep it going next year or was this a one off season with great weapons and an Offensive co-ordinator in Hue J who clearly knew how to put him in a better position to succeed?

For what its worth I'm going positive and saying he has a similar performance next year even with Hue gone and potentially MJ

Andy won't "unlearn" anything that he's picked up from any coach that has enhanced his development.  The only way that I see him having less than his best year ever, is if the Center position does not improve..

I really believe he will be at least as good as he was last year. I truly think he took that next step which I why I'm not all that worried out losing hue. I think Dalton is now good enough pre and post snap that he is the offense and we can get by with an average OC as long as Andy is healthy and has most of his weapons healthy.

I'll say slight dip. Everyone blames Hue's absense or the thumb, or both ("He just hasn't looked the same since Hue left/the thimb was broken"). Still, 90s rating is nothing to sneeze at.

I wasn't that big on Hue, so I voted improvement.

It will be an even bigger improvement if we draft DeRunnya Wilson (or someone similar) because he'll help in the Red Zone, as well as being another deep threat.
If we promote Zampese, I think it will be an a huge improvement for Andy because he'll better know Andy's strengths and weaknesses.

I assume Dalton will be paying another trip to House this off season?

Jackson gave Dalton the freedom to call audibles and adjust plays he didn't like. As long as Dalton continues working on his mechanics and the coaching staff continues to let him take control of his offense, I don't see much of a setback barring injuries to key guys (see 2014).

Hue to Zamp isn't a big deal because Andy was pretty much calling his own deal anyway.

This wasn't the case when it was Jay to Hue.

Andy has just grown up and now runs the offense.

Don't know why but i thought a few more people may be thinking he may suffer a setback and that this season was more an outlier.

Guess when you see what happened to Luck, Kaepernick, even RGIII there's always the possibility of regression but the continuity with Zamp and the surrounding cast around him is encouraging

Hue is an underrated loss for this team and for Andy but I am more concerned over the probable loss of Marvin Jones. I don't think Andy made this offense great but the surrounding pieces made him great. Don't get me wrong I think he is a very good QB but I just don't think he is an  elite QB.

(02-18-2016, 02:08 AM)J24 Wrote: Hue is an underrated loss for this team and for Andy but I am more concerned over the probable loss of Marvin Jones. I don't think Andy made this offense great but the surrounding pieces made him great. Don't get me wrong I think he is a very good QB but I just don't think he is an  elite QB.

But Jones can be replaced.  Problem is, we'd have to waste a draft pick or hope to land a FA.

If we lost AJ, then we might have a problem.

That said, Marvin is very valuable and I want him back, but he won't make or break Andy.

I'm expecting a slight dropoff this year due to worse tackle play than the team had last year. Andre Smith's play in a contract year is nothing to sneeze at. Ogbuhi or Fischer will probably not be as good as Smith right away.

There's also the question as to whether or not Whitworth can keep playing at the level he has been. The diminished tackle play will be further complicated if Marvin Jones chases a fat stack of cash elsewhere. It's a situation where certain spots have a good chance at being worse next year than they were this year. With any luck the team's drafted talent will emerge, or they will "hit" on some picks this year in order to pick up the slack.

He is due for a slight drop simply because his '15 performance was so extremely superior to the rest of his career. But I don't see him dropping out of the top 10. Not saying it will have anything to do with losing Hue. Just saying Andy will probably drop a bit based on historical trends of NFL QBs.

BTW if the trend continues it will take close to a 100 rating to even make the top 10.

I would hope'd he would improve...did great last year, just need that type of performance or better to compete again in this league next season. Anything can happen, and usually does to this team though.

I see Dalton having about the same season in 2016. He has matured to a better QB. However, if he gets injured, we can rely on AJ McCarron.

Meh. It's kind of hard to top a 106.2 passer rating. I don't think he'll slide back into the 80's though, and I still think he'll be a stud QB regardless.

(02-18-2016, 04:55 AM)BFritz21 Wrote: But Jones can be replaced.  Problem is, we'd have to waste a draft pick or hope to land a FA.

If we lost AJ, then we might have a problem.

That said, Marvin is very valuable and I want him back, but he won't make or break Andy.

 Make or break no but it could hinder him enough. Look receivers are not easy to replace as people seem to think. Ask flaco about losing Torrey Smith or Aaron Rodgers losing Jody Nelson. WRs are very important to QBs.

(02-21-2016, 04:28 AM)J24 Wrote:  Make or break no but it could hinder him enough. Look receivers are not easy to replace as people seem to think. Ask flaco about losing Torrey Smith or Aaron Rodgers losing Jody Nelson. WRs are very important to QBs.

While losing Hue may be felt, I don't think it will show in Andy's play negatively. If we lose both Jones and Sanu, I think Andy takes a hit in stats. To be sure, neither or even combined, were the sole reason behind Dalton's "improvement" in '15. But their impact on the entire offensive scheme should not be overlooked. There isn't a stat one can point to readily that identifies their contributions; it's a "you don't miss the water until the well runs dry" kind of thing for me. 

Developing chemistry and timing, with two replacement WR's well enough to divert defenses away from Green consistently, will not be a walk through the park. 

(02-18-2016, 12:12 AM)StLucieBengal Wrote: Hue to Zamp isn't a big deal because Andy was pretty much calling his own deal anyway.    

This wasn't the case when it was Jay to Hue.  

Andy has just grown up and now runs the offense.

This is correct. He checked is into a ridiculous amount of very successful plays. This is easy to overlook if you're a casual observer. We have a good one who may just end up great. 

(02-21-2016, 04:28 AM)J24 Wrote:  Make or break no but it could hinder him enough. Look receivers are not easy to replace as people seem to think. Ask flaco about losing Torrey Smith or Aaron Rodgers losing Jody Nelson. WRs are very important to QBs.

1. Nelson and Torrey were top targets for their teams. I guess you could argue that Torrey was a #2 with Steve Smith. Marvin Jones is a number 3 target.

2. Neither were properly replaced. The Packers lost Jordy close to the season, so the best option available was James Jones. The Ravens drafted Perriman, but he got injured. Then losing Steve Smith exacerbated the problem.

3. I don't think anyone is claiming it's "easy" to replace WRs. The Bengals can't just go out and sign any bottom tier FA and/or draft some 6th round WR and call it a day. If they lose MLJ, they need to address the loss seriously. Believe it or not though, there are around a dozen WR's set to hit FA that have been just as or nearly as productive as MLJ.

Listening to many MLJ fans on here, you'd think that MLJ is set to become a 1200 yard stud for any team he signs for, yet anyone we sign will be incapable of putting up 750 yards and 4 scores for us. If FA is really that useless, then I guess MLJ is destined to flop for whatever team he signs with.