How bad are things for the winless Cincinnati Bengals?
Former starting quarterback Andy Dalton worked with the scout team last week in an effort to help the defense prep for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.
It didn’t exactly work.
“He’s been a pro. He’s been great. It’s a difficult personal situation for him,” offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “It’s not how he saw this going. But neither did we. But it’s kind of where we’re at and he’s embraced the role and he’s done everything we’ve asked. He’s a true professional in that regard and we all appreciate that from him. I know Ryan appreciates that from him…”
The sentiment Dalton has been a huge help for rookie starter Ryan Finley is great — anyone who has tracked Dalton’s career knew he would step in and handle it with professionalism.
But the results on the field didn’t look good. The Bengals got dropped in 49-13 fashion while that defense Dalton helped prep surrendred 223 yards and three touchdowns to Jackson through the air, as well as 65 yards and a score (9.3 average) on the ground.
Dalton was known for running a good read offense in college and running when asked. But nobody is emulating Jackson.
Even despite Dalton’s best efforts as he likely suits up for his final games as a member of the team, this defense simply doesn’t seem to be moving the needle in the right direction. Some opponents like Jackson will merely highlight it more than others.
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