Dalton, Unquestionable Leader

[Cincyfan78]

no QB prospect you'd be happy with would ever play here.
your like the little wimpy pimply kid who wants to dance with the homecoming queen, it ain't happening.

He's not "LIKE" the wimpy kid. He WAS the wimpy kid tugging at the Queen's dress for a dance.

 

[DanBengalfan]

and now he's almost married to her.

 

[Skinnyfats]

I'm more concerned about his ability to make throw accurate throws in tight windows.

That isn't his problem. His long ball accuracy is the issue.

 

[flamingrey]

That isn't his problem. His long ball accuracy is the issue.

They both are.

 

[Tubbs1518]

The "king" has spoken. Why bother arguing?

 

[cincygrad]

His completion percentage and YPA suggest he is not efficiently pushing the ball down field. He needs to improve both areas for the passing game to really improve.

He was also a rookie learning a new offense with very young receivers. There is a lot to like and a lot to improve on. Simple as that.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

In the middle of December, Dalton was ranked 6th in the NFL in passer rating in the NFL for Red zone. The toughest part of the field to throw in due to really tight windows.

Short to intermediate passes regardless of how tight the coverage is, no problem for Dalton. Deeper passes, accuracy is a concern because he has to throw sooner and anticiate quicker than stronger arm QB's. However, with his work in the offseason and willing to committ to making himself stronger, he has a leg up.

Not saying he is going to be a great as Drew Brees is, but the same comparisons were made about Brady and Brees when entering the league. They have both developed cannons for arms after a few years in the league. Just takes time to finish maturing and growing into your body, along with a commitment to get stronger. We will see how he progresses over time. Could not have asked for a better rookie QB with where we drafted. The only other QB in this draft even comparable to Dalton was Newton who took the league by storm. However, he went #1, so we had no chance at him, so be happy we got a young, talented, accurate leader for our offense for the next decade in the 2nd round. Boomer was a 2nd round pick I think, he turned out okay.

 

[flamingrey]

I disagree with that assessment. The redzone requires much quicker reads and more accurate throws as those windows close much quicker, but not necessarily more accurate throws in tighter windows.

Plain and simple, Dalton struggled against the better defenses in the league. All of them. One of the main reasons was his inability and possibly even lack of confidence to connect on those throws in tight windows (with 2 guys constantly in the close vicinity of his receivers) throughout the field.

Plus, in the redzone you're usually making shorter passes and relying on yac. It doesn't really fit the bill.

Edit:

Upon further research, the Bengals were 19th last season in making it into the redzone. Considering Dalton's up and down play against better and worse competition, it's obvious he struggled often getting the ball up and down the field, but especially against the better defenses. He needs to work on increasing accuracy in tighter windows which will help the team improve getting into the redzone.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

I disagree with that assessment. The redzone requires much quicker reads and more accurate throws as those windows close much quicker, but not necessarily more accurate throws in tighter windows.

Plain and simple, Dalton struggled against the better defenses in the league. All of them. One of the main reasons was his inability and possibly even lack of confidence to connect on those throws in tight windows (with 2 guys constantly in the close vicinity of his receivers) throughout the field.

Plus, in the redzone you're usually making shorter passes and relying on yac. It doesn't really fit the bill.

Edit:

Upon further research, the Bengals were 19th last season in making it into the redzone. Considering Dalton's up and down play against better and worse competition, it's obvious he struggled often getting the ball up and down the field, but especially against the better defenses. He needs to work on increasing accuracy in tighter windows which will help the team improve getting into the redzone.

I am sure he does, as do most QB's in this league. However, given the fact he was a 2nd round rookie with no real veteran WR, a porous line, a rookie OC basically, and no offseason drills to really prepare, I think even you have to admit, Dalton is well above the average learnign curve.

You are expecting him to step in and be as good as Palmer was in 2005, otherwise, he is a bust, or at least that is teh way it sort of sounds. I will not sit here and argue that Dalton has nothing to work on, because that would be a flat out lie, but where he is sitting and the performance he gave his rookie year, the cup is half full, not half empty.

 

[flamingrey]

I am sure he does, as do most QB's in this league. However, given the fact he was a 2nd round rookie with no real veteran WR, a porous line, a rookie OC basically, and no offseason drills to really prepare, I think even you have to admit, Dalton is well above the average learnign curve.

You are expecting him to step in and be as good as Palmer was in 2005, otherwise, he is a bust, or at least that is teh way it sort of sounds. I will not sit here and argue that Dalton has nothing to work on, because that would be a flat out lie, but where he is sitting and the performance he gave his rookie year, the cup is half full, not half empty.

I couldn't care less what his learning curve is or isn't. What I do know is last season he struggled with accuracy on the long ball and he struggled with accuracy in tight windows all over the field. Neither of those is a reflection of the talent on the field nor who's calling the plays; they're directly related to his own abilities. It is not good enough. He needs to improve drastically in both areas.

 

[Tubbs1518]

I couldn't care less what his learning curve is or isn't. What I do know is last season he struggled with accuracy on the long ball and he struggled with accuracy in tight windows all over the field. Neither of those is a reflection of the talent on the field nor who's calling the plays; they're directly related to his own abilities. It is not good enough. He needs to improve drastically in both areas.

Lol says the guy who loved Palmers pick 6 throwing ass.

 

[jwil007]

I couldn't care less what his learning curve is or isn't. What I do know is last season he struggled with accuracy on the long ball and he struggled with accuracy in tight windows all over the field. Neither of those is a reflection of the talent on the field nor who's calling the plays; they're directly related to his own abilities. It is not good enough. He needs to improve drastically in both areas.

Whats your prediction for Mr. Dalton? Sophmore slump?

 

[flamingrey]

I don't think Dalton will hit a sophomore slump per se. Sophomore slumps are generally an outcome of the learning curve for QB's being slower than that of NFL teams. Defenses catch up to QB's much faster than QB's do defenses with respect to all the different packages, disguises, etc they see. I don't expect too much of that with Dalton considering mentally he is/was far ahead of where you'd expect a rookie or 2nd year player to be.

Do I think teams will have a better taste of what to expect from this offense considering both the scheme and QB are now on tape, and hence will make things tougher this next season? Absolutely. But as I've harped on quite a bit, I don't believe that will be the deciding factor on the offense, rather Dalton's improvement making throws in tight windows against the stronger defenses, and to a lesser extent his accuracy and reads on longer throws.

 

[flamingrey]

Bengals' Andy Dalton off to slow start - AFC North Blog - ESPN

 

[cincygrad]

You gotta love the 24 hour news cycle -- The Bengals have had three practices and we're already writing articles about a 'slow' start!