Jay Gruden Says Andy Dalton Needs To Improve Every Part Of His Game
By Mike Dyce
Jan 5, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) attempts a pass against the Houston Texans during the third quarter of the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jay Gruden was a hot head coaching prospect this offseason but ultimately decided to return to Cincinnati as offensive coordinator of the Bengals. He went on WLW in Cincinnati to talk about the process of interviewing.
“It was a great process, really. It was exciting and it was flattering that these guys would even think to interview me,” Gruden said. “Says a lot about our offense and how far we’ve come and Coach Lewis and what people think around the league about what he’s done with this program.”
But if the offensive is thought of so highly, what does Andy Dalton need to do to take this team to the next level? Talent around him possibly? No, Gruden thinks he knows what Dalton needs to work on.
“Everything. There’s not one part of his game that he doesn’t need to improve,” Gruden said, via Sports Radio Interviews.
Scathing criticism for a guy you turned down head coaching opportunities to come back and coach.
“Hopefully some of our guys are working out with him and they’re throwing. But really, within the offseason, your arm strength, your strength, your footwork, basically your fundamentals of football. And obviously he needs to get better with his deep ball accuracy and touch, and there’s not really one part of his game that he can’t really improve upon. He has to get better in every phase — scramble ability, foot quickness, accuracy, deep accuracy, short, anticipation. He’s got a long way to go. He’s done some great things for a second-year quarterback, won a lot of games and thrown some good touchdown passes, but we feel like he has not come close to his potential. That’s our job to get it out of him. And he knows he’s gotta play better, and we all do.”
It doesn’t sound like he has a lot of confidence in Dalton.