10-13-2015, 10:21 AM
(10-13-2015, 10:16 AM)WhoDeyWho Wrote: "New Andy Dalton". Meh. He's the same guy who has just gotten better. Other than 2014, he has gotten better every year! He probably wouldn't have regressed last year if he had healthy players and wasn't learning a new offense. That seemed like a more reasonable explanation for the downturn, than the guy just simply got worse (especially given the fact that just a year earlier, he broke most of the franchise single season passing records) but people who had their minds made up just kept with the narrative.I think the "new" part of Dalton is mental. I just saw a clip on SI where Peter King said players are telling him that Dalton is a true leader this year, that he was much more "passive" in previous years. You can see it on his face on game days. Remember when something used to go wrong and he would get that "aw shucks" look on his face and smile? That is gone, I have literally not seen it a single time this year. Changing the plays at the line, talking to the offense on the sidelines, the decision making, his demeanor during the game. I personally think he has taken a big step this year.
And as far as "reputation". I guess it depends on how you look at it. I saw Andy as the first Bengals QB ever to lead his team to 4 straight playoff games (made more impressive by the fact that it was in his first 4 seasons) vs Andy is the first Bengals QB to lose 4 straight playoff games.
Had we failed to make the playoffs for several years, perhaps I would have bought more into the pessimism. It's OK for young QBs to struggle a bit. Especially young QBs that play for a franchise that is known to gobble up and spit young QBs out never to be seen or heard from again.
