Thank you Andy

[*SHRacerX*]

(04-30-2020, 04:41 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Andy Dalton is my all time favorite Cincinnati Bengal.  I can't lie.  Yes, off the field he's a saint and he has a beautiful family, etc. but let's look at all he did on the field.  Few people know this but Andy Dalton and AJ Green are the 12th most prolific quarterback and wide receiver duo in NFL history with respect to touchdowns.  Think about that for a minute.  Twelfth.  In NFL history.  That's crazy.

As a rookie with a shortened off-season Andy took the Bengals to the playoffs.  He did it again for the next four years, compiling a 52-28 record over that period.  If anyone has a list of all the NFL quarterbacks who led their teams to five straight playoff appearances please publish it on here; I bet it's a very short list.  Did Andy struggle in the playoffs?  Sure he did -- but so did the entire team.  Winning is a team effort and unfortunately so is losing.

Think of all the good times:  Beating Carson as a Raider.  Beating Brady in the rain at Paul Brown Stadium.  The unbelievable last three minutes of the game in Miami just last season.  The ultimate Raven killer.  Cleveland's worst nightmare.  The strike to Tyler Boyd to beat the Ravens.  Getting his head torn off by Ndamukong Suh and yelling, "Oh yeah?  That didn't hurt!  You can't hurt me!" at Suh.  Six touchdown passes against the Jets.  The phenomenal fourth quarter comeback against the Seahawks.  Catching a touchdown pass from Mohamed Sanu against the Titans.  The touchdown pass with the flip into the end zone by Jerome Simpson.  Holding every Bengal quarterback record except one.  That's a fine list of accomplishments for a humble second round pick from TCU who lasted longer as a starter in the NFL than every other quarterback taken in the 2011 draft.

Wherever Andy Dalton goes I'm going to follow with great interest.  I won't become a fan of his new team but I'll always be a fan of him.

This.  Couldn't have said it better myself.  Dalton wasn't perfect, but like I always said:  When he is protected, he is a surgeon.  Sadly, his career was derailed by the loss of Whit and Zeitler that had turds drafted to replace.  What Dalton did his first five years should be what we remember, and how he took over a team considered by many to go 0-16 to the playoffs his rookie season.

Dalton is one of the last of a seemingly dying breed.  The pocket QB.  Since Wilson and Mahommes came in and set the league on fire, pocket QBs are seemingly just a thing of the past.  Heck, even Tom fricking Brady was signed for $25 million this year.  Before you say age, that guy looks like he is 30 years old and hasn't taken the pounding of, say, Piggy.

Look at Jacob Eason:  Huge, tall, pocket QB with a rocket arm.  Almost went undrafted.  Jordan Love?  Drafted in the first round by the Packers, who have Aaron Rogers (dumbasses).  

Andy has decent mobility, but I fear that NFL teams would rather spend on a mobile QB than a good offensive line.  

I still have no idea what Jacksonville is thinking other than just flat out tanking for Lawrence.

New England makes all the sense in the world, and he could sign for cheap and have the opportunity to start.

Thank you, Andy, for all you did for the Bengals and the City of Cincinnati.  It is deeply disturbing that a thank you thread to you has all but 7 replies, but an insult thread has 9 pages of replies.  Hopefully, they are people defending you.  Regardless, you always handled yourself with class and, frankly, you deserved better than you got here.