07-08-2015, 08:57 AM
(07-08-2015, 02:41 AM)J24 Wrote: How is it off base? Can you elaborate instead of just ignoring the point because it goes against your argument? In all honesty should Andy Dalton average 40 pass attempts in the playoffs? Joe Flaco averages 30 pass attempts during the playoffs, Big Ben averages 30 pass attempts in the playoffs, and Russell Wilson and averages 25 pass attempts per a game. We can all agree that those three guys are have been the most successful young playoff Qbs right? Well maybe it has to do with the fact that there not asked to carry their respective teams and the coaching staff puts less pressure him.
This may come as a shock, but when you're playing from behind you're going to throw more.
Take the San Diego game. 34 of Dalton's 51 attempts came in the 2nd half. You know what else came in the 2nd half? Being outscored 20-0, and playing from behind the final 25 minutes.
Simply saying he was forced to throw it 51 times, without any further explanation, doesn't really tell much of the story. The gameplan, at least relative to his workload, started out pretty conservatively. He was on pace for 34 attempts. Now imagine had we taken a big early lead and the situation was reversed, and we dialed it back and tried to run clock. Andy, with 17 attempts at the half, could very well have finished with under 30 attempts.
The fact of the matter is he's lost every single playoff game. Meaning, he's played with a 2nd half deficit in every single playoff game. In 3 of the 4 games we've lost by 16 or more points. (16, 17, 21) Think about that. Show a quarterback that's going to have a low amount of attempts in games like that and I'll show a you team that didn't even attempt to win.
So does the coaching staff and team actively gameplan to put more on Andy's shoulders in the playoffs or are the increased attempts simply explained by the fact these team is playing from behind in these games?
You mention Flacco and Sir Rapes A Lot. Again, look at the circumstances. The majority of their playoff games have been wins. Wins usually dictate sitting on the ball at some point. I would argue that if you pulled 4 random losses for them and pulled 4 wins for Andy you'd see the attempts flip flop in the others favor.
So I really think a tremendous amount of time is wasted even entertaining the idea that Andy is asked to do much. Asking him to throw a great deal when playing from behind is simply asking to try to win. Because if you're not throwing when you're down double digits in the 2nd half then you're not trying at all. And if you can't ask that of your quarterback then that speaks volumes.
When you're making excuses as to why your QB isn't good enough to handle an increased workload then I think you've really just agreed with his detractors, whether you realize it or not. Saying Andy isn't good enough to handle an elite workload, or whatever new excuse is used, really just means he's not good enough period.
