Confession of a Dalton Defender

[t3r3e3]

(05-26-2015, 11:43 AM)spazz70 Wrote: Same as above...Please name the QB to replace him...I will await your answer...I almost put money on it that Mariota and Winston do not have the success that Dalton has had and they were the 1 and 2 picks in this year's draft...Ohio State exposed Mariota as a one read QB that everyone knows never works in the NFL and Winston's head will probably explode in the next couple of years..

It's far too premature to say how Winston and Mariota will turn out. Winston appears to be a giant delta bravo, but he has a ton of receiving talent at his disposal in Tampa. Mariota thrashed everyone last year, including Florida State, before having one off game against Ohio State. Gruden, Jaws, and the other QB talking heads hold him in far higher esteem than you do.

As for Andy, you tossed out one of the most common refrains: Replace him with who? Thus, you insinuate that no one out there is better. In last year's draft, I was a fan of Bridgewater. He seems to be progressing well, especially in the disaster that was Minnesota's offense last year. As for guys on the street right now, obviously there aren't any. Next year's draft has some talents, including Connor Cook and several others. Someone would have to be a bridge to a draft pick, or push from within to take over. McCarron may well be that guy, but we don't know.

The thing you don't seem to understand is that moving on from Dalton likely won't be as painful as you believe. We're talking about a mid 20's ranked QB in the NFL who has never shown he could be relied on in the biggest moments. He has played better under Gruden, but the common theme is always turnover prone, late season decline, dumpster fire at the end. Say Andy moves on from here after 2016. Where will he reasonably have a chance to start outside of Houston, NYJ, Cleveland, Buffalo, and possibly Chicago if they can Cutler? Everyone else either has an established starter or a young guy they've invested in with far more upside. Philly maybe, but Andy doesn't fit the Kelly mold, and Bradford has superior tools, albeit with an injury risk. All of this smacks of a QB who is eminently replaceable by NFL standards. Ryan FitzPatrick and Dalton are basically the same guy. We've seen how teams have valued Fitzmagic.