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Frank Victores/Associated Press

Zac Taylor has taken over for Marvin Lewis, who held the head coaching position for 16 years. Taylor made the jump after spending 2018 as the quarterbacks coach for the Rams, which raises some concerns for the offense, especially with a signal-caller who has a cloudy short-term future.

Bengals owner Mike Brown said he won't discuss an extension with quarterback Andy Dalton until he earns it, per Fletcher Page of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "I think it's a good year for [Dalton] to show like he can, like we think he will. After he re-establishes himself, we would want to get together with him and see if we can extend it."

Dalton has two years left on his deal without any dead money owed for the remainder of his contract, per Spotrac. It's fair that Brown wants to see the 31-year-old signal-caller mesh with the new coaching staff before ironing out an extension.

Dalton has been average over the last two seasons, falling short of 3,400 passing yards with 25 or fewer touchdowns in each term. He's played with A.J. Green for his entire career, but the Bengals' passing attack ranked top-10 in yards once with the tandem. Tight end Tyler Eifert hasn't played more than eight games in a season since 2015. Wideout Tyler Boyd has to build upon his best season in a new system.

Offensively, the Bengals have too many what-ifs, uncertainties and a recent history of mediocrity. Lou Anarumo served as a defensive play-caller in an interim role with the Miami Dolphins in 2015; that's his only coordinator experience in the NFL. He's tasked with flipping the league's 30th scoring defense (28.4 points allowed per game) and 32nd defense overall (413.6 yards allowed per game) into a solid unit.

Amid a regime shift, Cincinnati's season could run off the rails, especially if Dalton doesn't come out strong.

New coaches usually want to mold a roster in their vision, and the AFC North is a competitive division. The Cleveland Browns' expectations are on the rise, and Ben Roethlisberger is still under center in Pittsburgh. The Bengals will also play against the Patriots and the Rams, and they open the season on the road in Seattle.

2018 Results: 6-10

Prediction: 5-11