01-06-2016, 03:45 AM
In my opinion, Dalton and McCarron face a difficult situation concerning the playoff picture.
Since we know McCarron is the starter this week this brings up a problem.
If McCarron beats the Steelers in the playoffs, then this means McCarron will have won the first Bengals playoff game since 1991. It will also mean that McCarron will have 1-uped Dalton in that regard. It will also beg the question of whether we continue to keep McCarron as the starter or bring back Dalton...... Which is where the dilemmas begin.
Scenario #1: If we keep McCarron in and McCarron then loses the next game (After beating the Steelers) people will have the leverage of saying that the only reason McCarron won a playoff game in the first place is because he played against the Steelers. The coaches will then of course have to take the blame for keeping McCarron as the starter instead of putting Dalton in since Dalton will have been perceived as the better choice.
Scenario #1.1: If we start Dalton after McCarron beats the Steelers and Dalton loses the next playoff game, Dalton will continue to be known as the guy who couldn't win playoff games and that McCarron should have started over him. OR my previous point will come back into play and people will say McCarron wouldn't have won the previous game if he had to face the team Dalton lost to in the 2nd round instead of the "weak" Steelers.
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Now.... lets say scenario #1 happens and McCarron beats the Steelers and we decide to keep McCarron as our quarterback BUT he wins the next game.
Scenario #2: If McCarron wins the next game after that (which would be against the Patriots) then he will have 1-uped Dalton again and will have put us into a bigger problem because now the coaches will have to decide whether to stay with McCarron for the remainder of the playoffs at this point or ultimately switch to Dalton for the conference championship round. If McCarron loses against the Patriots, then he will either be praised for his one playoff win or scoffed at for just beating the Steelers.
Scenario #2.1: If McCarron wins the next game (against the Patriots) but we start Dalton for the conference championships and Dalton loses, then my previous point comes back into play and Dalton will be seen as the guy who can't win playoff games..... except this time McCarron will have beaten both the Steelers and Patriots in the playoffs, which will put him over Dalton in media and some fans eyes.
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Now.... lets say scenario #2 happens and McCarron remains the starter and beats the Patriots and remains the starter after that. Oh..... my..... god...
Scenario #3: So now McCarron has just beaten both the Steelers and the Patriots..... and THEN goes on and wins the conference championship against whoever. Now he has 3 playoff wins to Dalton's 0 and is at the doorstep of the Superbowl. They have to decide to either go for it with McCarron or put in Dalton. If McCarron loses the conference championship then he will still be over Dalton in the sense that he's won two playoff games.
Scenario 3.1: If McCaron beats the Steelers and the Patriots and wins the conference championship, but we decide to start Dalton for the superbowl, Dalton has no choice but to win. He CANNOT, I repeat CANNOT lose the superbowl after McCarron just won 3 playoff games straight. If he does, he will go down not only as the guy that hasn't won a playoff game but also as the guy that didn't win the superbowl and ruined the Bengals success story and the coaches would be hated. Dalton's starting job as a whole may even be in jeopardy.
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Basically the only way Dalton comes out of this unscathed is if he stays out of the playoffs completely and lets McCarron lead the team OR he starts after McCarron beats the Steelers and goes on to beat the Patriots himself. If Dalton loses to the Patriots then as I said before, he will still be known as Mr. Playoff loser in addition to people saying McCarron faced a "weak" team aka the Steelers.
The only way McCarron comes unscathed out of this is if he beats the Steelers and sits out the rest of the playoffs OR if he beats both the Steelers and the Patriots. After that it doesn't matter if he loses the conference championship or the superbowl because he will have solidified himself as a contender.
Since we know McCarron is the starter this week this brings up a problem.
If McCarron beats the Steelers in the playoffs, then this means McCarron will have won the first Bengals playoff game since 1991. It will also mean that McCarron will have 1-uped Dalton in that regard. It will also beg the question of whether we continue to keep McCarron as the starter or bring back Dalton...... Which is where the dilemmas begin.
Scenario #1: If we keep McCarron in and McCarron then loses the next game (After beating the Steelers) people will have the leverage of saying that the only reason McCarron won a playoff game in the first place is because he played against the Steelers. The coaches will then of course have to take the blame for keeping McCarron as the starter instead of putting Dalton in since Dalton will have been perceived as the better choice.
Scenario #1.1: If we start Dalton after McCarron beats the Steelers and Dalton loses the next playoff game, Dalton will continue to be known as the guy who couldn't win playoff games and that McCarron should have started over him. OR my previous point will come back into play and people will say McCarron wouldn't have won the previous game if he had to face the team Dalton lost to in the 2nd round instead of the "weak" Steelers.
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Now.... lets say scenario #1 happens and McCarron beats the Steelers and we decide to keep McCarron as our quarterback BUT he wins the next game.
Scenario #2: If McCarron wins the next game after that (which would be against the Patriots) then he will have 1-uped Dalton again and will have put us into a bigger problem because now the coaches will have to decide whether to stay with McCarron for the remainder of the playoffs at this point or ultimately switch to Dalton for the conference championship round. If McCarron loses against the Patriots, then he will either be praised for his one playoff win or scoffed at for just beating the Steelers.
Scenario #2.1: If McCarron wins the next game (against the Patriots) but we start Dalton for the conference championships and Dalton loses, then my previous point comes back into play and Dalton will be seen as the guy who can't win playoff games..... except this time McCarron will have beaten both the Steelers and Patriots in the playoffs, which will put him over Dalton in media and some fans eyes.
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Now.... lets say scenario #2 happens and McCarron remains the starter and beats the Patriots and remains the starter after that. Oh..... my..... god...
Scenario #3: So now McCarron has just beaten both the Steelers and the Patriots..... and THEN goes on and wins the conference championship against whoever. Now he has 3 playoff wins to Dalton's 0 and is at the doorstep of the Superbowl. They have to decide to either go for it with McCarron or put in Dalton. If McCarron loses the conference championship then he will still be over Dalton in the sense that he's won two playoff games.
Scenario 3.1: If McCaron beats the Steelers and the Patriots and wins the conference championship, but we decide to start Dalton for the superbowl, Dalton has no choice but to win. He CANNOT, I repeat CANNOT lose the superbowl after McCarron just won 3 playoff games straight. If he does, he will go down not only as the guy that hasn't won a playoff game but also as the guy that didn't win the superbowl and ruined the Bengals success story and the coaches would be hated. Dalton's starting job as a whole may even be in jeopardy.
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Basically the only way Dalton comes out of this unscathed is if he stays out of the playoffs completely and lets McCarron lead the team OR he starts after McCarron beats the Steelers and goes on to beat the Patriots himself. If Dalton loses to the Patriots then as I said before, he will still be known as Mr. Playoff loser in addition to people saying McCarron faced a "weak" team aka the Steelers.
The only way McCarron comes unscathed out of this is if he beats the Steelers and sits out the rest of the playoffs OR if he beats both the Steelers and the Patriots. After that it doesn't matter if he loses the conference championship or the superbowl because he will have solidified himself as a contender.
