So here are the possibilities for what is about to happen.

Finley plays lights out throwing to back up WRS on an offense with one of the worst run games in league history behind pass protection that has been allowing the third most sacks in the league. Result?  Everyone is thrilled.

Finley looks much worse than Dalton.  Result?  Pretty much everyone agrees we have to devote resources to finding a new QB in the offseason,

But here is the third option. I think it is the most probable.  Finley struggles in this offense but shows a few flashes.  Result?  Civil war among the fans.  Some will support him.  A lot of the "anyone but Dalton" crowd have invested a good bit in pumping up Finley.  They will have to stand behind their words and support him.  They will rave about his ability and claim he has what it takes to be a great NFL QB if we could just fix the O-line, playcalling, etc.  Others will argue that Finley has many weaknesses that caused him to fall to the fourth round and that we should give up on him and move on to another QB.  Others will just say that you have to give any QB more than 8 games his rookie season to see what he has.  They will say we should roll with Finley next year while using our resources to fix other problems around him and then get a QB the next offseason if he fails.

Personally I liked what I saw from Finley in preseason, but I have learned that I can't tell much about players from preseason games.  Coaches may be able to make judgements based on the nuances and details they can recognize, but preseason games are useless to me when evaluating players.  (And based on the history of these boards that seems to be the same for everyone else here.)  But I know it will be hard for me to judge Ryan based on the situation he is being thrown into.  It would be an amazing break if we were to have found our future QB with a fourth round pick.  So that is what I hope has happened, but what I mostly expect is another year of circular arguments based more on pre-concieved notions that what we will actually see on the field.

Hopefully Finley can lead this team to 5 playoff appearances in 9 years (7 years if you just count the years he played majority of the season).

Hate Dalton if you want, but those are some big shoes to fill around here.

The journey starts vs Baltimore.

And we are probably in for civil war on this board regardless. For the Dalton haters (and the sake of the team success), hopefully this investment doesn't end up like their investment in McCarron and Driskel. They don't have the best eye for qb's. I think that's been established.

I have wanted to move on from Dalton for years but I don’t have much faith that Finley is the answer. I think we have to invest a high pick there and I doubt that Finley will change my mind.

Wait..You mean it's not yet established that Finley is destined to be the single greatest QB to ever play in the NFL for years to come? I find this simply astonishing.. 
Just close your eyes and imagine it. It shall come to pass undoubtedly.. 

(11-01-2019, 10:42 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Finley looks much worse than Dalton.  Result?  Pretty much everyone agrees we have to devote resources to finding a new QB in the offseason,

This is a big concern of mine. I struggle to think that you can accurately evaluate any QB under these conditions (Oline, run game, new coaches, the list goes on....) and we become obsessed with fixing a QB issue and lose focus on the other glaring problems that are potentially influencing the QB issue.

Basically I'm worried that we'll boil down the horrible offense into a single problem and not fix the system as a whole.

Finley gets AJ back so that should help him in 2019, something AD was missing.

I wish him luck, but tough for any QB to look great behind an average to poor OL with no running game.

But. obviously AD now wants out so we need an option(s) for 2020 so see if it needs to be our 1st round pick or if we can have Finley be our guy.

Sweeps off the Bandwagon. WhoDey

I can hear the “Let’s try Jake Dolegala!” chant starting already.

(11-01-2019, 12:14 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: I can hear the “Let’s try Jake Dolegala!” chant starting already.

I'm sick of seeing Cryin' Thinley get beat up behind this line, we need a real strong hunk o' man meat like Jake Dolegala back there!

The question I have is if Finley comes in and completely stinks up the joint for a few games, do they throw Dalton back in there or do they shuffle the depth chart around and give Dolegala a go?

(11-01-2019, 12:01 PM)BengalsBong Wrote: Sweeps off the Bandwagon. WhoDey

Backs it out of A J McCarron's garage.

(11-01-2019, 12:34 PM)Big Boss Wrote: The question I have is if Finley comes in and completely stinks up the joint for a few games, do they throw Dalton back in there or do they shuffle the depth chart around and give Dolegala a go?

I'd wager the plan is to keep Finley in there no matter what, but if he completely melts down or gets hurt I can see them just going back to Dalton.  

I think the worst outcome would be Finley being up and down the rest of this year but the Bengals thinking Finley can eventually develop into a starter and therefore not bother to take a QB early. To me, Finley has an 8-game tryout to knock it out of the park or a QB is being drafted early.

(11-01-2019, 12:14 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: I can hear the “Let’s try Jake Dolegala!” chant starting already.

That's way too many syllables for a chant.
Do-le-ga-la is about as much as you can do for a chant.

(11-01-2019, 11:07 AM)R3stangs Wrote: This is a big concern of mine. I struggle to think that you can accurately evaluate any QB under these conditions (Oline, run game, new coaches, the list goes on....) and we become obsessed with fixing a QB issue and lose focus on the other glaring problems that are potentially influencing the QB issue.

Basically I'm worried that we'll boil down the horrible offense into a single problem and not fix the system as a whole.

I see your point and I think others will agree

(11-01-2019, 10:42 AM)fredtoast Wrote:  Others will just say that you have to give any QB more than 8 games his rookie season to see what he has.  They will say we should roll with Finley next year while using our resources to fix other problems around him and then get a QB the next offseason if he fails.

Poor o-line and no run game. I think teams are gonna tee off on Finley and blitz the hell out of him. He does seem to have better pocket presence than Dalton but unless he is Lamar Jackson or Russel Wilson, no way he is escaping the heat that’s about to brought on him.

I agree I think we may see some flashes but I would also expect no less than 3 sacks a game with possible INT. They can shuffle any QB back there they want but until they address the o-line nothing will change.....NOTHING.

(11-01-2019, 11:07 AM)R3stangs Wrote: This is a big concern of mine. I struggle to think that you can accurately evaluate any QB under these conditions (Oline, run game, new coaches, the list goes on....) and we become obsessed with fixing a QB issue and lose focus on the other glaring problems that are potentially influencing the QB issue.

Basically I'm worried that we'll boil down the horrible offense into a single problem and not fix the system as a whole.

We seem to be getting hit from a bunch of directions with PR.

1 ) The stat that shows the team has traditionally been terrible without Green and mediocre with him.
-So IF Green is the reason for the poor play, why not let Dalton keep being the QB when Green gets healthy?

2 ) The offensive line injuries/retirements

3 ) I've seen no justification for the defense.

(11-01-2019, 12:48 PM)thompson19osu Wrote: Poor o-line and no run game. I think teams are gonna tee off on Finley and blitz the hell out of him. He does seem to have better pocket presence than Dalton but unless he is Lamar Jackson or Russel Wilson, no way he is escaping the heat that’s about to brought on him.

I agree I think we may see some flashes but I would also expect no less than 3 sacks a game with possible INT. They can shuffle any QB back there they want but until they address the o-line nothing will change.....NOTHING.

I do think one thing Finley has going for him is that he hasn't faced that heat for 3-4 years. Dalton has and it's in his head and it's ruined his mechanics.

The Dalton Gang will critique Finley's every move and not even take into account the horrible line and other excuses they constantly crowed about when it came to Andy. The roles will be reversed and the Dalton Gang will become the Whinners they say they hate.It ain't gonna be pretty!!!

Who is this Finley you speak of? Are you talking about Ryan Bradybreesmahommes?