Bengals must turn to McCarron if Dalton falters after OC change

The Bengals made their desperation to turn around a historically bad offense crystal clear with the decision Friday to fire offensive coordinator Ken Zampese after just two games, albeit two games in which Cincinnati failed to score a single touchdown.

The move wasn't surprising, and it was done with one thought in mind: buy time before more drastic measures must be taken, namely benching Andy Dalton in favor of AJ McCarron.

There's more than enough blame to go around in Cincinnati, and while Dalton looked like he'd taken a permanent leap forward in 2015, it appears like it was a mirage based on the first two weeks of 2017.

Dalton was downright abysmal against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1, throwing four interceptions. While he was "better" Thursday against the Houston Texans, it's because there's only one way to go after hitting rock bottom. He was wildly inaccurate, unable to compensate even slightly for the pressure allowed by his porous offensive line, and somehow forgot A.J. Green existed in the second half.

The change from Zampese to quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor should be viewed as a Hail Mary to save Dalton, who, despite Marvin Lewis proclaiming isn't in danger of losing his job, definitely is.

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While the Bengals front office's unfathomable decision to let their top two offensive linemen - guard Kevin Zeitler and left tackle Andrew Whitworth - walk in free agency can't be ignored, they have surrounded Dalton with an enviable array of weapons.

Green needs no introduction. Tyler Eifert and Brandon LaFell are solid options. Joe Mixon hasn't hit the ground running like the other rookie running backs, but it's due to his lack of touches and the stagnant playcalling rather than his talent, and those two issues should improve under Lazor. Gio Bernard and Jeremy Hill have ideal, starkly different skill sets to complement Mixon when he inevitably becomes the featured back. First-rounder John Ross looks like he needs time to adjust to the NFL level, but it's astounding the Bengals didn't make better use of maybe the league's fastest player against the Texans, and infuriating they went away from him after an early fumble (hey, Marvin, did you not watch Kareem Hunt?!).

It's inexcusable for an offense with these options to score just nine points in eight quarters. And while Zampese's uninspired game plans are at fault, the Bengals are this bad because of Dalton's limitations.

He's never been good at navigating a cluttered pocket, and he's been even worse at reading coverages in those situations. Dalton needs time to scan the field from a comfortable spot in order to make good decisions, and that simply won't happen this season with the state of the offense line.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

While probably not an upgrade, the Bengals won't have a choice but to turn to McCarron if they lose to the Green Bay Packers in Week 3, which, if we're being honest, is as close to a lock as you can get in the NFL. The fan backlash will simply be too much to for the Bengals not to make a change under center.

McCarron looked serviceable in 2015 when Dalton was injured, and the team has been reluctant to trade him, so they presumably have confidence in his abilities (or maybe a lack of faith in Dalton's).

McCarron hasn't shown any significant skills, but at this point, it's largely irrelevant. We know Dalton can't play well with this offensive line, so a roll of the dice on McCarron is the only play.

More importantly, McCarron will be a free agent in 2018, while Dalton's contract gives the Bengals an out after the season. The team would save around $14 million in cap space by cutting Dalton, according to spotrac.com, though the money saved would need to go to re-signing McCarron, who likely will demand - and get - Mike Glennon-type money.

Cincinnati needs to see if McCarron is capable of bridging the gap to the next era, or, even better, can be a long-term option.

However, after years of decent-to-good play, Dalton deserves one last shot following the change at offensive coordinator. But his leash should be short, very short.