I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but his biggest issue is that his mechanics absolutely break down under pressure sometimes. He'd be a pretty damn good QB if he could fix that. Might come with time, might not.
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There are times Dalton looks in over his head. He's not very good when a play breaks down and winds up taking sacks when throwing the ball away is the obvious move. He relies too heavily on AJ Green bailing him out at times....among other things.
But he does do a lot right, too, as has been said. I think for Dalton to be successful enough for the Bengals to be legit SB contenders, he needs a consistent running game, which the Bengals don't have right now. That's why it's easy to watch the Bengals play and think Dalton is the big issue. He's not the guy who's going to carry the team. But the Bengals haven't run the ball consistently well since he's been the QB. That's one thing they had for years until the last 2. They need that more than anything else if they're going to contend this year.
In terms of QBR last year, Andy Dalton was a better quarterback than Joe Flacco. Flacco won a Super Bowl. Eli Manning's first ring had a QBR worse than Dalton last season. Trent Dilfer was a mediocre QB for Baltimore. He won a Super Bowl. A few years ago, Ben Roethlisberger had a miserable season in 2008 (42.8 QBR) but won a Super Bowl. Brad Johnson won a ring for Tampa Bay.
The point here is that you truly do not need a great QB to win a Super Bowl, not as long as you have a great defense and a reliable running game.
I don't think Flacco is that good. I'd take Dalton over him. He's always had a good running game and a great defense.
The Bengals offensive line is having a great yr so far if you delve into the stat sites that explore those things. Andrew Whitworth is a huge improvement over Collins where run blocking is concerned. Gio Bernard sure looks like a difference maker to this point
And you said earlier in the thread how hysterical the posts were. :)
For the record, in today's pass happy NFL, there are three types of QB's:
1. Do everything QB's (Manning, Brady). These are the sure fire HOF QB's who make everybody around them better.
2. Read Option QB's (Kaepernick, Newton, RGIII). Create more with their legs and have the dual threat ability.
3. Game Manager QB's (Drew Brees and Matt Ryan). Above average to solid QB's who have an excellent supporting cast. They have to have so many toys on offense to be able to work with.
I think Dalton falls into the latter. He doesn't "suck" by any stretch, but he's an above average QB who needs to have weapons in order to be able to work.
I was just glad to see the Bengals win one in a fashion that they usually lose.
My family (all 10 of them) are coming in for the game in 2 weeks. They are going to be staying in Blue Ash but I live in Western Hills so I would think the smart thing for them to do is to pick me up at my place and head down to the game from there. I know Longworth Hall is a good place to park but are there others places to park down by the stadium. I don't think any of us want to walk a long ways since one of my sisters had double hip replacements in August and my mom has a couple of fake knees. How early should we get down there?
He's had weapons in place in New Orleans when he has done well. It's not a knock on Brees but I do think he is a great qb when he has pieces around him. Brees didn't have the same type of success in San Diego.
Peyton Manning is the type of QB you could put in Jacksonville and immediately make the offense better. I'm not sure about Brees.
Andy Dalton by no means is an elite QB. But in reality I think there are only a few of those in the league. There are guys like Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Rodgers who are truly elite QB's. Guys who can go to a team and turn them into contenders overnight. Then you have jumbled mess with the next 10 QB's or so. You want to take Eli, Ryan or Big Ben or one of the read option guys ahead of Dalton go ahead. I don't know that I would. Truthfully out of the 2nd tier QB's the only one I would probably pay up to take over Dalton is Luck. Granted there are better QB's but when you take into consideration money I don't think the difference is all that much.