05-25-2018, 07:46 PM
(05-25-2018, 05:51 PM)CornerBlitz Wrote: Don't any if you find it a even a little strange that nobody else agrees with you outside of Bengal Land? Do you really think everyone is just a Dalton hater? I've heard the "groupthink" theory and I suppose that holds some merit but almost everyone i talk to in real life and every expert has Dalton pegged where i have him.
Their is pretty solid consensus on the type of QB he is except for some fans of his.
Well I know you guys think I'm just a fanboy, but I don't like Dalton because I think he's a good dude or I like his faux hawk. I like him because I think he's been a net positive for the football team I care about. Why don't most (not all) members of national sports media like him?
I think it's pretty simple.
1. When AJ Green was drafted, he was viewed as the gem of that draft class for us, while Dalton was (IIRC) the 5th QB off the board, going with the 35th pick. He wasn't seen as a "sexy" prospect. Meh arm. Meh size. Meh athletic ability. Red hair. So when he started to have success, it was instantly attributed to having AJ Green. Was there some truth to that? Of course having Green helped him. Was it fair to give all the credit to AJ? I don't think so, but that's how things went.
2. Sports media always falls in love with newer guys. Winston and Mariota have been rated above Dalton. Are they really better? How? What about Dak and Carr? Meh. They all kinda come to earth.
3. The playoff losses and performance. When Dalton started dropping duds in the playoffs, all the people who thought he was an average-at-best prospect thought they'd found the smoking gun. There's the proof that he's just an average QB elevated by his teammates. The problem with this is that choking has been an issue for the Bengals as long as Merv has been the HC. Our other 3 QB's have a combined 59.6 rating in the playoffs with an 0-3 record.
There hasn't been any difference, CB. So until I see Dalton skunk it up for a different HC, all the evidence leads me to believe the problem lies elsewhere.
Back to the "experts" though. The guys whose opinion is no better than yours or mine, they just went to school for journalism and have a gift for writing or talking. There really is group think there. Narratives are set, and once they're set, not many are going to go against the narrative, lest they be labeled a "hot take" artist.
The only way to change these narratives is to win. Usually a championship. Romo never overcame his narrative. Flacco did temporarily, and that really shut the media up for awhile. If I'm being 100% with you, I don't think Dalton will ever get rid of the narrative, because I don't think he or Marv are going anywhere. Dalton's entire career will likely be wasted in Cincy, and we'll never know if he was truly a choker, or just another symptom of Marv's inability to get his guys up for big games.
It's truly frustrating.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
