End of the "Dalton Scale"?

[Whatever]

(05-27-2015, 03:16 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Only in the regular season.  Andy wins in the regular season.  Andy went 10-6, Andy went 11-5.  Andy won 40 games in 4 years, Andy made into the playoffs 4 years in a row, etc.  But the same people who say these things are the first to point out the team lost the playoff games, the team played bad, Andy didn't lose it on is own the team did.

When the team wins it becomes an individual stat.  When they lose everyone is reminded it's a team game.  Funny how that works.

I don't know, I see a number of people (and it's dwindling each and every year) going out of their way to convince themselves that this guy is better than he really is.  I see many of the same people pick and choose certain criteria only when it fits their agenda.  I see these same people go out of their way to diminish accomplishment of others.

Why?  Anyone who knows anything about the game knows this kid is average at best.  Take all the stats, and throw them out the windows.  His INT's, TD's, good stats, bad stats, throw them aside.  Just watch the guy play, he's just not that good.  Yes, Trent Dilfer won a ring (15 years ago).  But unless we build a time machine and field a historically great defense, AND Andy has a great playoff run it's going to be harder to win with him.   Can it be done, sure.  Does that mean the QB position isn't a concern?  Certainly not.  I mean, the Bulls won a bunch of rings with an old Bill Cartwright at center, that doesn't mean the current Milwaukee Bucks shouldn't be concerned with their post play.  It's two decades later and they don't have Michael Jordan.

Andy Dalton needs to play much better for us to compete for a ring.  Period.  End of story.  Him and all his regular season wins means dick when trying to validate that statement.

Being fair, there are tons of Dalton detractors that give the team all the credit for winning enough games to make the playoffs every year, but place the blame for not winning in the playoffs almost solely on Dalton. I have never been a fan of the fictitious "QB W/L" statistic, but if people are going to apply it, they should apply it evenly, no matter which side of the argument they are on.

Reality is, Dalton perhaps more than any other QB in the NFL is not judged on his own merits. His supporters will build him up due to the fear of another "Lost Decade" with a glass is half full mentality. Dalton is good enough to get the team in the playoffs, and you have to make it to win. His detractors view the glass as half empty, and hold 20+ years of playoff futility against him, with every playoff failure being a cruel reminder of the failures of those that came before him.

There is a false perception surrounding Dalton that his supporting cast puts him on their back, and carries him. If you take a QBR of 80 as being "average", then Dalton played "poorly" and had to be carried by the team in 4 of the Bengals' 10 victories last year[Titans 68.9, Jaguars 79.1, Buccaneers 60.6, Browns 53.6]. By the same token, however, in 4 of the Bengals' 7 losses or ties, Dalton played well, but the team around him did not play well enough to win[Patriots 117.4, Panthers 93.5, Steelers 128.8 & 83.7]. In reality, the players around him simply made up what they gave away. If they were, in fact, carrying Dalton, then the club should have had 2-3 more wins, a first round bye, and a playoff game at home with AJ and Gresham.

Dalton is by no stretch elite, but the fact remains that the odds of acquiring a QB better than he currently is are very slim. In reality, Dalton's biggest flaw is consistency. He produced a QBR of 90 or better in 7 games last year, but a QBR below 70 in 6. The odds are Dalton becoming more consistent with time and eliminating more of those atrocious performances are far greater than the Bengals cutting bait and landing the next Andrew Luck in the draft.