09-28-2015, 10:26 AM
(09-28-2015, 10:08 AM)BengalChris Wrote: We've seen that before. It's a long season and it's way too early to elevate Dalton into the top 10 QBs in the league, let alone the top 5. For one, he's gotta show up for the whole season and then in the playoffs. In the first 4 years he didn't do either of those.
2013 was Dalton's best statistical year, but even then 3.4% of his pass attempts were intercepted. That's a high number. In his rookie year 2.5% were intercepted, which is a decent number. His INT % has gotten worse every single year through last year. It's at an exceptional 1.1% for 2015 so far.
This year, so far, all of his numbers have improved substantially and his pocket presence has improved even more. Let's all hope it continues. The next seven games presents the team with a tough stretch. KC, Seattle, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland (Thursday Night), Houston (Monday Night) and Arizona.
The Arizona game is one that could be flexed to Sunday night. If both teams are in first place wouldn't be surprised at this. That would make 3 prime time games in a row.
That's a pretty brutal stretch of defenses. It's unrealistic to expect Dalton (or any QB) to maintain this MVP level play through that stretch. Lets just hope that Dalton doesn't have any true stinkers (50ish passer rating or below).
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.