The Cincinnati Bengals added extra fire power for quarterback Andy Dalton and the results are showing. Dalton already has an elite receiver in AJ Green, but the Bengals wanted more. In the offseason, offensive coordinator Jay Gruden began working an offensive scheme that featured two tight ends. The Bengals drafted for Notre Dame star Tyler Eifert to add with Jermaine Gresham. The trial and error process has worked out in the first two weeks.
Gruden said the real goal behind the new system is to make the team impossible to scout by the opposing coach. "We are just trying to make it hard for the poor coach on the other team to break us down. We might not be very effective, but we are making his life hard," Gruden said, via Cinicinnati.com.
So far the system has been extremely effective, especially for Andy Dalton. Gresham has 11 passes for 101 yards, while Eifert has eight catches for 113 yards. The two's total receptions are the most by any team in the NFL through two weeks. Dalton is loving it. 31.7 of his completions have gone to Gresham and Eifert. The only other team attempting to duplicate this system is New Orleans with Jimmy Graham. No other team has two tight ends both having recorded over 100 yards at this point in the year.
"It's hard for a defense to say, let's blitz it, let's play coverage, let's play base, or eight-man boxes," Gruden said. "It keeps them a little bit more vanilla then probably they want to be. We are still working with it and we are happy with where it is going."
The Bengals have been using the two tight ends on 71 percent for the first-down situations. The system is a nightmare for defensive coordinators considering the Bengals also have a strong wide receiving corps. Two tight ends and two receivers on the field opens things wide open for Dalton.
"We've got guys across the board who on any given day can do what they do," Gresham said. "It just happened to be my day the last game. That's normally my role and wanting to do it. I don't mind it. I've been blessed with a big body and try to put it to work."
Gruden says the team is all about spreading the wealth out. While that might be hurting Green's fantasy value, it is helping the Bengals run a strong offense. He believes Cincinnati is simply just now scratching the surface on what the offense is capable of.
