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Hardly 30 days after seemingly ending the Andy Dalton era, the Cincinanti Bengals have gone right back to him in the hopes of salvaging at least one win on the season.
This comes after weeks of Zac Taylor and Co. shouting from the rooftops about long-term evaluation and rookie Ryan Finley getting the full eight games to show what he’s got.
But the experiment is over after three dreadful games, the point of the change registering as simple — win.
“Yeah, we just want to win. That veteran presence he has will certainly be helpful through all the things we’ve been experiencing so far on offense,” Taylor told the media.
Which is a nice sentiment, ignoring the fact the Bengals have opened up a massive lead in the race for the 2020 draft’s top pick. It also waves aside the fact Dalton was 0-8 before getting yanked, completing just 60.4 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions.
One could argue the Bengals perhaps win one of the last two games with Dalton in there. The 17-10 loss to Oakland and 16-10 loss to Pittsburgh were putrid affairs, though the running game and defensive line showed signs of life.
Does anything change from here if Dalton somehow manages a win or two? Is a victory over the four-win New York Jets, or a takedown Cleveland in one of two matchups or a triumph over two-win Miami worth anything at all?
The answer is of course no. But Bengals fans are right to perhaps feel a bit of deja vu. It wasn’t too long ago a bad, bad team rallied late in the season and impressed the front office enough to give Marvin Lewis another season. Could Dalton do the same?
Knowing Dalton, the relationship with the team isn’t past the point of no return. He got benched and wanted a trade yes, but his upstanding character isn’t a secret.
It should go without saying, but the pick at first overall, provided the team stays there, should be a quarterback 10 times out of 10. It’s the most important position in sports and getting the guy of their choice isn’t something the Bengals will be able to do again. It also largely removes the ability to make a stupendous gaffe — no Billy Price or John Ross over Patrick Mahomes this time.
Given the jerky, almost erratic actions of this staff and front office lately, it’s hard to get a guaranteed read on what the plans are for the 2020 draft. But it’s understandable if fans have gone from worrying about earning the top pick to worrying about whether the team will actually take a quarterback.
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