Name 3 players who have to have career years to insure playoff return.

[Brownshoe]

(07-26-2017, 12:49 PM)sixxfan26 Wrote: JUST 3 players having a "career year" does not equate to a team making it to the playoffs. So we can spend all day coming up with these "3 player lists" that don't mean jack squat, or we can talk about 3 pieces that truly have an impact on this team winning or losing.

To me, you can really only argue on one player. The QB. And I don't mean Andy Dalton. I mean ANY QB. What I'm saying is this: if your QB is playing like garbage, you're most likely not going to end up a playoff contender. Even the best defensive units will get worn down after spending too much time on the field due to QB incompetency and be unable to overcome the woes of the offense. Flip side of this is: if the QB is playing exceptionally well, ie making the right audibles, making all the right throws, tossing 3-4 TD's per game, the odds are more in your favor to win more games and land a playoff berth. So to me, the highest impact player has got to be QB, and in our case, Mr. Dalton.

But, if I must come up with 2 other players that will impact this team, I still say that no other single player can make that great of an impact. I would have to choose 2 "units" instead.

Next up would be special teams, hands down. This unit is taken for granted all too often. This is a game of inches and field position is CRITICAL with a capital C.  FG's, XP's... we've seen how missing those can result in losing close games. Good blocking combined with decent punt/kick returns are vital. Punting the ball well, putting the opposition in a pickle is equally as vital.

Lastly, I would choose defense. Simply stated, if the defense as a whole isn't stopping the opposition from scoring more points than your team, you cannot win football games. No further detail needed. It's a no brainer.

So QB, special teams, & defense. In my mind, THESE have the most impact on wins, losses, and playoff chances.

I think that Dalton, special teams, and the defense will all play very well next year. I don't think too many people will disagree that Dalton has played very well since the start of 2015. With the addition of Mixon and Ross on offense, and our weapons staying relatively healthy Dalton will light the league up this year IMO. We have had one of the better special teams in the league the past few years (other than last year), and our defense plays really well almost every year. I think 2014 was the only year our defense was outside of the top 10 in points allowed since 2011 (they were 12).