I saw the story go by last week where Hue Jackson was saying he didn’t do enough to help develop Andy Dalton successful. Dalton threw 33 touchdowns in 2013 but slipped to only 19 last year, with some real clunker games – particularly a Thursday night loss at home against Cleveland.

"I don't think I did a good enough job of getting him to where I think he needs to be," the offensive coordinator said in a meeting with the media in Cincinnati. "That's one of my biggest responsibilities in my mind this upcoming year."

It’s an important point, I think. There’s the lingering question of whether Dalton can ever develop into a top-10 quarterback. Will he ever be good enough to get Cincinnati over the hump? He’s 0-4 in playoff games, and there’s the sense that he’ll never be anything more than maybe one of the top 20 quarterbacks in the game – a decent starter, but not good enough to ever get to a Super Bowl.

But Dalton is only part of the equation. There’s his ability/talent, and there’s also how he’s utilized – Cincinnati’s offensive system.

Dalton finished with 895 fewer passing yards and 14 fewer touchdowns. Most of that wasn’t through any fault of his own but changes in Cincinnati’s offense. Injuries to Tyler Eifert, Marvin Jones and A.J. Green (for a few games) didn’t help, and he averaged over 6 fewer passes per game.

I was just tabulating the numbers for activity inside the 10, and the differences between 2013 and 2014 are startling. Dalton got to do a lot more with Jay Gruden running that offense.

Bengals inside 10, 2013: 34 running plays (13 TD), 39 pass plays (13 TD)

Bengals inside 10, 2014: 43 running plays (14 TD), 18 pass plays (6 TD)

The 18 pass plays in 2014 (around the end zone) were fewer than any other team, and less than half as many as in 2013. Not a big surprise, therefore, when Dalton’s touchdowns in that part of the field dropped from 13 to 6.

Dalton in 2013 completed 20 of 36 inside the 10, with 13 TDs, 3 sacks and 3 interceptions. (The 3 interceptions were a league high).

In 2014, Dalton improved in interceptions and sacks (none of either) but went only 10 of 18 in that part of the field, with 6 TDs and a 2-point conversion. His completion percentage was exactly the same (56 percent).

—Ian Allan