08-29-2015, 11:13 AM
(08-29-2015, 08:53 AM)thegimp Wrote: I can't believe everyone is still debating Dalton every single day. He is an average quarterback. He is not elite. He is not going to put a team on his back and win a championship. He isn't terrible. He is incredibly inconsistent. If he were to play to the top of his ability more often, he would be a very serviceable starter. Until then, he will continue to be an average quarterback, not the worst, not the best.
The top of Dalton's ability we've seen was 2013, and that was better than being just a serviceable starter. If he played at that level or had that performance with fewer turnovers because of some gameplan change, he'd be more than an average QB as you're saying. Smith's early seasons were more inconsistent and overall, uglier, than Dalton's. But look at the immediate change to his potential and shown ability with the change of focus on offense; this isn't a thread to say Dalton would put anyone on his back. It is an observation of how a below-average Smith became a core piece to the offense because of the way Harbaugh didn't push Smith to be the guy who put the team on his back.
