(07-12-2015, 12:28 AM)BayouBengal Wrote: First off let me say that I don’t want this to turn into a Dalton thread. I’m not claiming AJ should replace Dalton this season, in fact I think it would be a mistake to put AJ in too soon. I do however want to make this thread before the preseason starts so that I can say told you so afterwards.
AJ McCarron is a future star and soon the rest of Cincy Jungle will be on board the hype train too. I watched every game AJ played in college and I just want to state now for the record that he will be great someday. He was already an NFL caliber signal caller his senior year at Alabama. He was like the college version of Payton Manning. He was known to read defenses and call the right audible in crucial situations and was often praised for his ability to hit his 3rd and 4th checkdowns on pro style timing routes. Although he never won the Heisman he was able to run plays in college that the redskins still can’t teach RGIII to run.
The average Bengal fan does not appreciate the steal that the organization got when they drafted AJ McCarron in the 5th round. For starters he was projected to go in the 2nd round in a draft class that was abnormally loaded with talented quarterbacks. See his draft projections in this article, his highest draft attributes where his intangibles, decision-making and ability to carry an offense when needed. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/profiles/aj-mccarron?id=2543497
His draft stock was only hurt by a couple of interviews and a slew of bad press surrounding those interviews. Basically he was described as “cocky” by some of the teams he met, yet this is exactly the kind of swagger the Bengals have stated they needed. Regardless of his attitude off the field, on game day he is a team player that leads with confidence and plays to his team’s strengths not his own. But that doesn’t mean that he isn’t ultra-competitive and eager to take things into his own hands and sling the ball around. His game manager label combined with his 5th round draft status caused people to overlook him. The truth is that AJ was relied on heavily at times to win for Alabama but he did win with such consistency that people assumed he must have been a product of his surroundings and tend to withhold the credit that he was due.
http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2014/05/reports_aj_mccarron_rubbed_tea.html
A Quote from analyst Charles Davis in the above article; “When people say he's surrounded by so much talent, he didn't have to do anything, I don't think that's totally the case," he said. "I plug in some game tape and you can't tell me Texas A&M this year he was surrounded by talent and they won the game and he was just along for the ride. I thought he made a lot of big time plays to get that done.”
Here’s the box score from that 2013 college shootout the article mentions. Alabama uncharacteristically relied on AJ’s arm to win against Johnny Manziel’s unpredictable football hijinks. Despite both QBs having big games AJ outperformed Johnny in every category that day. http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=332570245
People who didn’t watch college football don’t understand that Alabama relied on him to win games often. His tenure at Alabama coincided with the absolute height of SEC dominance in college football and there were a number of great teams that Alabama had to overcome. It can be argued that he was not a main factor in his first national championship as a starter but that could never be said of his second national championship. He made Notre Dame look like a high school team in the national championship and was still (literally) pushing his team to execute perfection despite their complete domination of ND. He outgunned a prolific Aaron Murray in another offensive shootout in the SEC championship the game before.
Basically he helped Alabama rise to the top of a tightly contested pack of national contenders that all just happened to play in the same division of the same conference. The SEC West became known as the “mini-NFL” at the time and this was a trial by fire that McCarron passed with flying colors.
Veteran players know that it takes more than raw talent to perform well at the QB position in the NFL. Another piece of evidence I will give in support of AJ’s football prowess is the comment by CB Pacman Jones. http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/07/the_difference_between_winning.html
Adam Jones saw McCarron’s intangibles first hand while running against him during camp and commented on his “it” factor. Pacman isn’t a former college teammate nor does he have any prior connection to AJ. There is no reason for Pacman to hype McCarron unless he believes it. So unlike many of the other comments made about AJ during OTAs this one is sure to have the least bias and it is coming from a seasoned veteran CB.
Though he might be like Andy in a lot of physical ways he is the polar opposite in terms of consistency and big game performances. This article gives a fair assessment of AJ’s primetime prowess.  http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/73817/take-two-big-game-aj-mccarron Though the authors disagreed on whether he was the best big-game quarterback of the era they both agreed he was consistently good. One writer argued, “But there’s not a better big-game quarterback in college football than McCarron, and he’s proved that time and time again. When the Crimson Tide have needed him most, he has almost always delivered, which is why coach Nick Saban has so much faith in McCarron. Saban has said repeatedly that McCarron doesn’t get the credit outside the program that he deserves. Then again, McCarron will gladly take rings over credit.”
So that pretty much sums up why I believe McCarron will start sometime in the near future. But I would be remiss if I didn’t point out his other characteristics that will make him a good franchise figure. If AJ ever assumed the role of Bengals franchise QB you could rest assured that he would know how to talk to the media and connect with fans. I will leave you with some examples of the press falling in love with McCarron (and not just his girlfriend who got plenty of press as well).
Starla’s story
http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls12/story/_/id/8812751/aj-mccarron-special-bond-starla-chapman-college-football
AJ Starr’s Story
http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2013/12/the_story_behind_aj_mccarron_h.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAHW44xVsVg

TLDR; AJ had a historic college career where he showed an NFL caliber ability to read defenses and make decisions. His tenure at Alabama exposed him to more media than the average college QB yet he always exhibited poise and proved himself to be a good teammate and leader. Though he is like Dalton in many ways he is the polar opposite in terms of his consistency and his propensity for stellar primetime performances.

(07-12-2015, 06:16 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I don't know if it's SEC hate, Alabama hate, Andy love, girlfriend hate, tattoos, or folks just don't like the guy. I think the closest to it I've sen is when we picked up Burfict.

(07-12-2015, 09:07 PM)Awful Llama Wrote: Some of it may be Andy devotion, but the majority of it strikes me as being the Alabama/SEC thing.  If every single thing about this kid were exactly the same except that he had attended UCLA or Colorado instead, then I trully believe most of the vitriol would disappear.

(07-12-2015, 06:16 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Don't think that's it. Bengal fans have been optimistic about a number of draft choices and others brought in here to possibly be backup QB (LaFevre, Scott, Wilson, ect..). The "hate" for AJ was almost immediate. I wish we still had access to the draft day thread. I was amazed at the rush of "he'll never be anything" posts.

I don't know if it's SEC hate, Alabama hate, Andy love, girlfriend hate, tattoos, or folks just don't like the guy. I think the closest to it I've sen is when we picked up Burfict.

(07-12-2015, 09:22 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: Why can't it just be that people don't like his skillset? 

(07-12-2015, 10:04 PM)bfine32 Wrote: IDK, but it is something more than that.

What is the big difference between his skillset and our current starting QB?

Most see a very similar skillset.

(07-12-2015, 09:22 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: That's not true.
Many of the people who dislike McCarron disliked Hundley from UCLA.

Why can't it just be that people don't like his skillset?

(07-12-2015, 10:58 PM)fredtoast Wrote: If they had the same skill set McCarron would not have lasted until late in the fifth round when Andy was taken very early in the second round.

(07-12-2015, 10:04 PM)bfine32 Wrote: IDK, but it is something more than that.

What is the big difference between his skillset and our current starting QB?

Most see a very similar skillset.

(07-12-2015, 12:01 PM)fredtoast Wrote: But if you go back and look at the original question I think you will agree that Dalton's performance at the end of the '14 season was not bad enough to get him benched.

He looked bad in the playoff games, but he had no receivers and threw zero interceptions.

And going back to game 12 (like you did) he only had two games with a passer rating under 80 despite playing the Steelers twice in addition to two top 8 pass defenses (Texans, Broncos).

That is not bad enough to get him benched.
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Agree totally Fred , I don't think it wil get him benched. They can and should get rid of him he plays as bad,all year (god forbid) that he played in 14. Myself if he can play way he was in 13, I feel that would be acceptable. With all weapons he has it would be good year. 


I think everyone here wants to improve our QB play.  I don't think anyone would complain if McCarron outplayed Dalton.  Most of the people who are accused of being "blind Dalton homers" are actually just Bengal fans.  So they would also support McCarron if he was the starter.  And on the other hand most of the people who are accused of being "Dalton haters" are actually just haters who would be ripping down McCarron if he didn't win the Super Bowl his first season as our starting QB. 
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I myself would like to see better qb play. From Dalton or AJ. If Dalton , is our starting qb all year. GO 
DALTON !!! God forbid Dalton, goes down. I will pull for AJ, if AJ wins the an spot. I don't see that happening, but I would pull for AJ to succeed. We are Bengals fans,pull for our team no matter whose at the helm!! Just mi opinion!
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(07-12-2015, 09:31 AM)EatonFan Wrote: Pac 10 – 6

SEC – 6
Big 10 – 5
ACC – 5

Other conferences have 3 or less.

(07-12-2015, 11:29 AM)2MinutesHate Wrote: Weeks 12, 14 & 17 (especially this week) are at/near the end of the season in my opinion.  He did have the great game against Denver though.

You'll just have to accept that some people on the board here believe we could or should improve at the QB position.    This is a thread about AJ McCarron and the possibility of him becoming a starting QB.  We are simply exploring that possibility here, given the fact that he plays for the Bengals.  No harm, no foul really.  There really is no right or wrong answer.

(07-13-2015, 12:06 AM)2MinutesHate Wrote: Regardless of what side if the fence you're on as far as dalton goes,  it's exciting that bengal coaches and players such as a. Jones are speaking so highly of AJ.    Is not too often that your starters rave about the 2nd string QB.  Who knows?  Maybe, just maybe we have something here.  

God Damn,  we sure do deserve it, don't we?

(07-12-2015, 10:01 PM)Johnny Cupcakes Wrote: Good college QB, for sure, but I want to see him play a bit in the NFL first before I declare him a future star.

(07-12-2015, 12:01 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I think everyone here wants to improve our QB play.  I don't think anyone would complain if McCarron outplayed Dalton.  Most of the people who are accused of being "blind Dalton homers" are actually just Bengal fans.  So they would also support McCarron if he was the starter.  And on the other hand most of the people who are accused of being "Dalton haters" are actually just haters who would be ripping down McCarron if he didn't win the Super Bowl his first season as our starting QB. 

(07-12-2015, 10:58 PM)fredtoast Wrote: If they had the same skill set McCarron would not have lasted until late in the fifth round when Andy was taken very early in the second round.

Other than that I am guessing that Greg McElroy has a lot to do with Bengals fans distrust of McCarron.  Personally I think McCarron is a lot better than McElroy, but I can understand why a lot of people that didn't watch them play oin college would think they were similar.

(07-13-2015, 02:52 AM)Wyche Wrote: .......but when we compared the two Mc's stats in the years they started on the old board, they were very similar.  I watch quite a bit of SEC football, I just wasn't that impressed with him........not that I watched every Bama game, mind you.  I certainly don't wish him any ill will, but your McElroy scenario is the issue with me.  He may be a little better than Greg, but is that really saying anything?