Colin Cowherd: Bengals, Ravens have the AFC's two best rosters.......

[bengaldoug]

Said it on his show this morning.....considering his prior anti Bengals rants, I was floored...............

 

[flamingrey]

Too bad we also have the 7th-9th best QB's in the AFC.

 

[futballiscool]

The Steelers beat us 35-7 in important game December of last yr.

we might close the gap and surpass them this season, but I have to see it on the field first

 

[flamingrey]

The Steelers beat us 35-7 in important game December of last yr.

we might close the gap and surpass them this season, but I have to see it on the field first

Doubt it. Their offense is better and their defense is better.

 

[ckhokie]

I would say our draft and FA is good for 1 or 2 wins this year that I had not forseen, but looking at our schedule, our RB situation, QB situation, I still think its an 8-8, maybe 9-7 year.

 

[vancelot23]

I can't figure out why you people are so down on Dalton. FFS, what does he have to do? Throw for 3,000 yards and 20 TDs as a rookie w/ no training camp to speak of?? Oh wait.

 

[JBUCK66]

LOthefuckloud..........Every grade out I've seen gave us top marks, butNOOOOOOOOOOO....we've got the pied piper K-man leading a tearful tribe of crybabies cause they think they know something.........but.....of course, they just aren't happy unless they're bitching like 8th grade girls......

huh.....huh........whatcha think hombres?

 

[DanBengalfan]

We will finally have a winning season, unfortunately, the Mayans were right and the Bengals will never finish the season cuz we'll all be dead.

just kidding

 

[cincygrad]

I'm skeptical simply because this Marvin has not shown the ability to put together two solid seasons in a row. I like the talent on the team and am happy with the past few drafts -- Seems like we have some real football players on this roster. That said, learning how to beat the good teams is going to be no easy trick for this team. I suspect they'll still struggle against these teams which will make them a very average team.

BTW -- Cowherd loves to be provocative.

 

[bengaldoug]

I was just floored that Cowherd, who is known to be really hard on Mike Brown and the Bengals(and he admitted that as a preface to his comments) made such a statement. Any prediction of immediate success, or surpassing the Steelers or Ravens, is at least premature. We have to beat the good teams on the field first. Plus, there is still the Marvin factor to take into account.

 

[bengaldoug]

I'm skeptical simply because this Marvin has not shown the ability to put together two solid seasons in a row. I like the talent on the team and am happy with the past few drafts -- Seems like we have some real football players on this roster. That said, learning how to beat the good teams is going to be no easy trick for this team. I suspect they'll still struggle against these teams which will make them a very average team.

BTW -- Cowherd loves to be provocative.[/QUOTE]

Cowherd also loves laughing at the Bengals.

 

[cincygrad]

Don't get me wrong -- I find it surprising as well. Though I will say he seems to be high on Andy Dalton and he always has been. Maybe the worm is turning for him? Alternatively, maybe he's just learned to change positions every few years in order to stay fresh. He wouldn't be the first announcer to try this.

 

[flamingrey]

I can't figure out why you people are so down on Dalton. FFS, what does he have to do? Throw for 3,000 yards and 20 TDs as a rookie w/ no training camp to speak of?? Oh wait.

Nobody is "down" on Dalton per se.

This is a QB-driven league. The worse the QB, the better the rest of the team has to be to make up for it. The better the QB, the more leeway you have with the rest of the team. This is obvious. This is relevant within the context of this thread since it's about how the talent level of the overall team compared to other teams. And at this point in time, Dalton is probably ranked around 7th-9th in AFC. Therefore, the remainder of the team needs to be every bit as good as Cowherd thinks they are in order to have any kind of real "success" this season.

In no particular order, all the following AFC QB's are better than Dalton:

Manning
Brady
Roethlisberger
Schaub
Rivers
Hasselbeck
I won't even include Carson so as to not have the subject hijacked.

It's an uphill battle. Sure there is reason to believe Dalton could at some point catch up to some of these guys, but on the flip side, there's plenty of evidence to suggest that while he started his rookie season better than most rookies, his learning curve isn't as high as a normal unseasoned QB.

 

[cincygrad]

In no particular order, all the following AFC QB's are better than Dalton:

Manning
Brady
Roethlisberger
Schaub
Rivers
Hasselbeck
I won't even include Carson so as to not have the subject hijacked.

It's an uphill battle. Sure there is reason to believe Dalton could at some point catch up to some of these guys, but on the flip side, there's plenty of evidence to suggest that while he started his rookie season better than most rookies, his learning curve isn't as high as a normal unseasoned QB.

Aren't you forgetting Freddie Flacco? I thought he was the best in the league.

I agree with the rest of your list except Hasselbeck -- 5 years ago I would have agreed. But given his recent injury issues I don't think he has much value anymore. Wouldn't be shocked to see him with the clipboard for much of the year.

 

[flamingrey]

Hasslebeck was kind of the place holder for the 2-3 QB's that a case could be made for (Flacco - personally not a fan, Hasselbeck, Cassel), but at the end of the day I could live with saying Dalton=Hasselbeck at this point. Their stats were almost identical even last season.

 

[cincygrad]

Of those that you listed, I think it's unlikely that Dalton comes close to the league of the first three..... Manning, Brady and Big Ben are proven, elite performers - Though I suppose the jury is still out on Manning's health. The other guys are interesting - Schaub is always impressive on paper, but his team went further once he was hurt. Hasselbeck is nearing the end. Rivers needs a bounce back year to get back to the elite group.

I see Dalton as a Brad Johnson type of quarterback and his upside is Rich Gannon. Both were players that were very reliable in running offenses for teams that built talent around them. Gannon was more special (see those MVP type years) in terms of athletic ability and overall accuracy.

 

[futballiscool]

"Schaub is always impressive on paper, but his team went further once he was hurt."

i'm not sure if that's fair to Schaub. The Texans were 7-3 with him as their starter, 3-3 without him at QB.. I think his presence makes them AFC favorites this season..


about the general discussion.. I have no issues with Dalton. he had a great rookie season and obviously has long term upside.
But there seems to be an anti Steeler hype this offseason. they were 12-4 with the #1 ranked scoring and yardage defense in the NFL. they're not going anywhere..

 

[cincygrad]

"Schaub is always impressive on paper, but his team went further once he was hurt."

i'm not sure if that's fair to Schaub. The Texans were 7-3 with him as their starter, 3-3 without him at QB.. I think his presence makes them AFC favorites this season..


about the general discussion.. I have no issues with Dalton. he had a great rookie season and obviously has long term upside.
But there seems to be an anti Steeler hype this offseason. they were 12-4 with the #1 ranked scoring and yardage defense in the NFL. they're not going anywhere..

Look closely -- Of those 7 games that Schaub won, he beat one winning team. That was an upset of the Steelers, where Schaub threw for a pedestrian 138 yards. The Texans were a team that were impressive due to Wade Phillips D and that zone-blocking running attack.

 

[cincygrad]

BTW -- You hear the same story about the Steelers every year. They're too old, etc. That 'old' defense, was the top rated D in the league last year. And before Ben's ankle injury they looked as good as anyone. I'm with you - I'll never count them out.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

It was Dalton's rookie year, he started every game, as a second rounder...in the toughest defensive division in football. He had no training camp, a rookie OC, a rookie WR, a RB that could not gain a single yard on 3rd and short. He lost his slot WR early, Simpson disappeared basically 13 games for the most part.

He was a pro-bowler through all that. I am not saying he is going to be the next Tom Brady or Payton Manning, but why can't he be a well above average QB after 2 or 3 years of experience and improved talent around him.

Not to mention, we probably had the two worst guards in all of the National Football league protecting him and allowing pressure right up in his face.