07-09-2015, 02:29 PM
(07-08-2015, 02:34 PM)PDub80 Wrote: I agree with a lot of this, with the exception of coaching still being a problem. I like where the coaches are at today. Doesn't mean it was worth it and they shouldn't have been fired after 2010, but reality is that they have been pretty good since then.
You're right on the Browns and Ravens for sure!
I think his problem is that he still has it in him to hit a low level of play. It isn't how high he can play that I think effects the Bengals. It is the low rut he can get into on any random week that seems to find him more often than not. He needs to progress past being capable of that level of screwing up.
The team has been winning more consistently on a year to year basis, but the choking problem that has been a theme during Marv's entire tenure is still there.
I forgot just how good Dalton was against the Ravens last year, so really the only division team he's had problems with recently is the Browns.
When Dalton is on, he can play on a Drew Brees-level. We've witnessed this with all the times he's been nominated for POW or FedEx air awards. It would be nice to see Dalton raise his floor, but saying that his floor "finds him more often than not" isn't really accurate. Looking over the game logs, Dalton only had 4 bad games last year. Some would want to include the Titans game, but I think he played well that day. Gio bobbled a solid pass that was intercepted, and that really hurt Dalton's rating, but Dalton looked crisp that day.
Anti-Andy folks love pointing out the 2.0 game over and over again, but that game was clearly a fluke. The 2nd lowest rating of Andy's career was a 40.8 rating against the 49ers way back in the 3rd game of his career. So the 2.0 game isn't something we're going to see often. I doubt he'll ever have a game that bad again in his career. All QB's have games with passer ratings in the 40's, 50's and 60's.
If Dalton could throw a few less INT's and win some playoff games, I'd be perfectly content with him. Unfortunately, I think he will always be on the high end with his INT% and I don't see a playoff win happening with the coaches we have in place. We'll see.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
