Class Act Dalton

[Shake n Blake]

(12-07-2017, 11:59 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: One thing you have to understand about my perspective...it's very hard (for anyone) to say what Dalton could have/should have done differently because all we have is what he did. With hindsight and the all 22, it's easy for anyone to point out what he could have done. 

The only thing i can throw out there is, he didn't get it done with what he did. Backing up for a second--speaking specifically about that last sack--can you tell me you're happy with his pocket awareness? That's probably the biggest thing about my "criticism". Wison, Ben, Brady, Brees, Rodgers and even a few newer quarterbacks move around and manipulate the pocket, buying more time for a play to develop. That is what allows them to make a play to keep a drive alive. Unfortunately, Dalton is pretty bad at this. Most times he jets out of the pocket and the first thing out of my mouth is "here comes the throw away". To be fair, the Bengals receivers seem to be equally unable to move around and give him any options. But setting that aside, he simply can't manipulate the pocket for any appreciable amount of time to allow anyone to try and get open.

I don't feel a need to give examples of how i'm not someone that usually bashes him. If someone doesn't know my history regarding him and how i've spent hours crunching numbers and giving examples of how he's a pretty good QB, i'm just like "whatev". 

My bottom line is, I, you, everyone watches game after game of QBs that find a way to keep a play alive or make a throw or tuck it and run in a crucial situation that results in a game won. Dalton just isn't the type of QB who can do that. 

On that particular sack, yes I think if Dalton goes to his left, he could've bought another second. It's just tough for me to kill Dalton over that one play, when any of those drops could've kept a drive going and maybe you're looking at Dalton differently right now. Nevermind the line falling apart at the end or Gio's penalty. If LaFell and Green don't have a pair of drops each, suddenly Dalton is "clutch" right there.

But of course, as usual, our choking isn't limited to 1-2 players, but the entire team. Defense giving up 20 in 2nd half. 4 crucial drops from Green/LaFell, penalty on Gio, line suddenly can't hold it down, and if you desperately want to include Andy, you can say he had poor awareness in the pocket on that final play.

I guess I'm seeing Andy as the very least of those problems, and if the receivers catch the dang ball, he's a hero. That was maybe the best game by a Bengals QB vs the Steelers during the Marvin era, and we're harping on the QB. I can't get past that. He deserved a W for his performance. He outplayed Piggy.