Bengals news: Andy Dalton eager to learn new offense in Cincinnati

With the Cincinnati Bengals changing offensive coordinators, quarterback Andy Dalton is anxious to get back to work to learn the new offense.

Although the Cincinnati Bengals decided not to make any substantial changes to the coaching staff this offseason, they did make some minor tweaks by officially promoting Bill Lazor to offensive coordinator. It seems no one is more eager to learn the new playbook than quarterback Andy Dalton.

Needless to say, Dalton has had some experience in dealing with a number of coaching changes throughout his seven-year career. However, this is the first time he is expecting there to be some substantial differences in the new scheme, according to Geoff Hobson of the team's official website:

“When we’ve changed coordinators in the past, the offense and the scheme and everything has stayed pretty similar,” Dalton said. “I think this is going to feel a whole lot different than what we’ve done and the way we’ve done things.”

Dalton added that he is looking forward to the challenge of switching things up.

“The sense I’m getting is there is going to be a lot of change and a lot of learning, which is a good thing,” Dalton said. “I think it’s good to challenge yourself and kind of re-fresh yourself on what you’re doing. When you’re hearing the same thing for seven straight years, it can be mundane and you already know it. Now it’s new and fresh and I’m looking forward to it.

While making a scheme change in one offseason may seem like a tall task, it is one that was necessary given the state of the offense during the 2017 NFL season. The team's abysmal start even resulted in the firing of former offensive coordinator Ken Zampese just two games into the season which led to Lazor's promotion. Dalton wound up finishing the year throwing for 3,320 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing just 59.9 percent of his passes.

Although the offense saw little improvement throughout the rest of the campaign, there is still plenty of optimism for tremendous improvement given the number of weapons in this offense. However, it goes without saying that their success in the 2018 NFL season will rely solely on Dalton's performance.