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Issues for Andy Dalton, Bengals begin on third down


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Issues for Andy Dalton, Bengals begin on third down
October, 19, 2014
Oct 19
8:50
PM ET
By Coley Harvey | ESPN.com

INDIANAPOLIS -- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton dropped back 42 times Sunday afternoon against the Indianapolis Colts' aggressive, feisty and relentless pressure-focused defense.
 

nfl_a_dalt1_cr_300x200.jpg
AP Photo/AJ MastAndy Dalton and the Bengals only notched one of 13 third downs against Indianapolis.

 

On those 42 dropbacks, he attempted 38 passes.

Of those attempts, nine of the balls that left Dalton's right hand were either batted down at the line of scrimmage or broken up downfield by a member of the Colts' secondary.

More than half those deflected passes came on third downs, scenarios Cincinnati successfully converted just once out of 13 tries. Far too often those failed third downs left Dalton and the Bengals with the same empty feeling. Far too often Dalton, the Bengals' newly paid multimillion-dollar quarterback, walked back to the sideline with a puzzled look on his face.

It was a look that suggested confusion and bewilderment; two emotions that had seldom been evident this season from any player in offensive coordinator Hue Jackson's scheme.

"We got beat in every part of it offensively," Dalton said. "We were terrible on third down and so you put that together and you get a game like we had [Sunday].

"We felt like we had a good plan coming in, but at the end of the day, you have to execute it."

The Bengals had trouble executing for myriad reasons, chief among them: the constant attack the offensive line received. The unit was unable to prevent a barrage of pressures from a Colts' defense that has thrived with that style of play. Entering Sunday's game, Indianapolis had sent five or more pass-rushers on 86 plays this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That's 20 plays more than the league average of 66 in which defenses have sent five or more players to rush quarterbacks.
 

Along with the Colts' pressure, Cincinnati's receivers weren't able to get open quickly enough for Dalton to try to find them without forcing passes. When his passes weren't getting deflected, they often were shorter screens, still thrown with an Indianapolis defender lurking nearby. How short were Dalton's passes? Per passing attempt, the Bengals averaged 3.3 yards.

"They played man-to-man and they were able to disrupt us in our routes and disrupt the timing of everything," Mohamed Sanu said. "They weren't very handsy or anything. They just played really well in coverage."

The five pass break-ups the Colts had on third down were a strong indication of just how tight of coverage they were playing. When it mattered most, they weren't allowing the Bengals to get anything.

By converting only one of 13 third downs, the Bengals put their defense in a bind, too. Unable to sustain drives, Cincinnati's offense contributed to its defense being on the field for almost 40 minutes of the 60-minute game. Again, the team wasn't in sync.

Sanu believed the Bengals' third-down woes actually started before the offense even got in those situations. Difficulty generating yards on first and second down put the Bengals in too many third-and-long situations, he said. On 10 of Cincinnati's 13 third downs, the Bengals needed more than six yards to get a first down.

"It's kind of tough when you don't get positive yards on first down. We can't start that way," Sanu said. "You've got to get positive yards to stay within our game plan and be able to execute it."

 

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/12378/bengals-andy-dalton-mohamed-sanu-third-down-execute

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