"The Bengals went into last season with new quarterbacks on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Everyone was aware of rookie Andy Dalton's success, despite his learning curve.

Rey Maualuga went through his share of ups and downs as well in his first season as the middle linebacker. It's the position where he excelled in college at Southern California, but Maualuga is far from a finished player at the NFL level after spending his first two seasons on the outside.

For a Bengals' defense that ranked in the top 10 in both yards and points allowed, that's a good thing, to steal a line from coach Marvin Lewis.

But if the defense – and the team as a whole – is going to improve upon last season's accomplishments, its quarterback will have to play better.

A sprained ankle suffered in practice three days before the game against Indianapolis on Oct. 16 kept Maualuga out of the lineup for a month; three games plus the bye week."