{The Ultimate ANDY DALTON Mega Thread}

[Shake n Blake]

(11-11-2015, 10:08 AM)djs7685 Wrote: I wasn't worried that he didn't have a total cannon arm, but the "zip" on some routes didn't seem to be there before and also the touch pass that we've seen more of in 2015 and deep accuracy have just been fantastic compared to what they were before. You don't HAVE to have all of those things to be an elite QB, but they certainly help, and if Andy keeps it up they'll help him get into that category.

I consider his past issues in the pocket to be part of his skill set, and that was one of, if not THE biggest thing keeping me from believing that he would have a good shot at being a top QB in the league.

Like you said, he's definitely a smart guy, so I didn't question him much there, but I'm glad to see that he fixed some of the glaring issues that I always had an issue with throughout his professional career. I can't say that I've been one of his huge supporters and fanboys, but I can definitely say that I'm happy that he's doing what he is right now. I've always hoped he would improve and I've always been rooting for him (no matter who the Bengals QB is, I'll root for the guy), I just didn't think he was going to turn it on like this. He's playing some excellent football.

I see. When I think of "skill set", I'm thinking of physical skills. The pocket stuff was mental, and any mental part of a QB's game can be worked on and improved. We've now seen that first hand. Of course, I don't think anyone believed the improvement would be so drastic and sudden. I predicted a 90+ rating but the dude is sitting at 111.0. It sure has been fun to watch.

As for his arm, I've always thought he showed plenty of arm to make all the necessary throws. When he floated balls or lacked zip, it was usually a mechanical issue. Usually the problem was that he would anticipate pressure that wasn't there, he'd ditch the pocket prematurely, and that would lead to a breakdown in his mechanics (failure to set his feet was a big problem).