After two ugly losses and an offense that can't get out of its own way, Cincinnati Bengals fans would be forgiven for thinking it's the 1990s all over again.
Back then, the Bengals were the running joke of the NFL, so much so that when NFL Network did a countdown of the 10 worst teams of all time, they couldn't decide between the multitude of entries from the Cincinnati Bengals in the 1990s and chose all of them as their fourth-worst team ever.
But these Bengals are supposed to be different. These weren't supposed to be the sad-sack Bengals of David Klingler, Akili Smith, and Ki-Jana Carter.
These Bengals had developed a snarl and several solid weapons, such as A.J. Green, Giovani Bernard, and Andy Dalton. No, they still haven't won a playoff game since 1990, but the Bengals have become a solid franchise in recent years and seemed like they'd challenge for an AFC North title.
Instead, they're 0-2, they have yet to score a touchdown in 2017 and they're out an offensive coordinator after firing Ken Zampese following their 13-9 loss a Houston Texans team that had looked punchless in their first game of the season. Their problems go even deeper than that, as A.J. Green is openly complaining about not getting the ball enough in their two losses. With a trip to Green Bay next on the schedule, the Bengals have to get things turned around in a hurry.
Is Andy Dalton the answer for the Cincinnati Bengals?
On the surface, this would seem to be a ridiculous question. Since taking over the Bengals in 2011, Andy Dalton has helped keep Cincinnati in the thick of the AFC North race nearly every year. In his first five years, he led the Bengals to a winning record all five times, a mark that would have earned him a statue if he played for the 1990s Bengals.
He even seemed to have cleaned up his interception habit in 2015, as he tossed a career-low seven that season against 25 touchdowns.
But the Cincinnati Bengals nosedived to 6-9-1 last year, and fairly or not, Dalton has borne much of the blame. His struggles in night games and playoff games are well documented, and he's already thrown half as many interceptions (four) in 2017 as he did in 16 games in 2016.
Clearly, the Bengals can't be paying $16 million for a lack of production from their quarterback. If he can't improve quickly, it might be time for them to move on, and thanks to the structure of his contract, they can do that after the season without incurring much of a cap penalty.
If not Dalton, who do the Cincinnati Bengals need?
The struggles are terrible timing for Andy Dalton and the Bengals because any team that's having offensive problems right now is going to hear two words from the peanut gallery: Colin Kaepernick.
As long as Colin Kaepernick remains unemployed, people are going to be asking why he doesn't have a job and what team he could help at quarterback. But despite his talent, the Bengals probably aren't going to be the team that signs him.
He's a radical departure from the Bengals' style of having their quarterback win with his throws rather than his legs. Besides, even if Cincinnati decides that Dalton isn't the answer, it's not like coach Marvin Lewis doesn't have a backup quarterback he can turn to in an attempt to save the season.
The Bengals have had A.J. McCarron waiting in the wings since drafting him in 2014, and in the seven games he's played in his brief career, he's shown flashes of NFL ability. Plus, he's a restricted free agent next season, and the Bengals set an asking price of at least a first-round draft pick for teams looking to trade for him. As talented as Kaepernick is, there's no way that the Bengals are bringing him in over someone who knows the Cincinnati offense and has proven that he at least deserves a chance to show what he can do.
For now, the Bengals are still Andy Dalton's team. But he doesn't have much time left to get things turned around. If the Bengals keep struggling, they're going to find themselves out of playoff contention rather quickly, and at that point, there would be little reason not to turn to McCarron.
