12-21-2015, 12:40 AM
(12-21-2015, 12:26 AM)Matt_Crimson Wrote: Well to be fair, the 49ers aren't exactly a formidable team offensively. Yeah, defense got the job done today but they SHOULD have gotten the job done. They were playing against Blaine Gabbert who is nowhere near an elite passer. The fact that people want to praise the defense for "getting it done" for us against a terrible quarterback shows how much some Bengals fans don't want to give credit where it's due.I don't think it's a much about how McCarron looked than it is about how much the offense changes with him in there. McCarron did OK today in the role they gave him, but let's face it, the offense they rolled out there today is nowhere near the offense we see with Dalton at the helm. A Dalton led bengals team would have won by 30+ today, no doubt in my mind.
AJ McCarron deserves the praise. People didn't think we'd do good with him and he proved them wrong. Yes, McCarron played against a bad team, but it still doesnt negate the fact that people doubted him even though the 49ers were a bad team. McCarron looked good against a bad team, which is good for us. If he looked mediocre against a bad team then we would have a problem.
And I know we can't expect it to be the same in game one. But does anyone really expect it to be that much different if he does in fact have to play in the playoffs? Will it get a little better between now and then? Sure, more than likely. But will he lead this team the way Dalton was this season? Highly unlikely.
Granted, the Bengals may not win anything with Dalton but I tend to agree with the OP, without Dalton, this teams super bowl aspirations are nearly 100% shot.
