Is Andy Dalton the long term answer for the Cincinnati Bengals?

[Bengals1181]

[quote][b]Don't forget about Dalton:[/b] And here's what makes the Class of 2011 even better: As good as Newton has been this season, an argument can be made that Bengals second-round pick [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14012/andy-dalton"]Andy Dalton[/url] has been more valuable. For starters, Newton and the Panthers are 2-6, whereas Dalton and the Bengals are 6-2 -- with a big game at home Sunday versus the [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/pit/pittsburgh-steelers"]Pittsburgh Steelers[/url].
Dalton's completion percentage is 61.5, slightly higher than Newton's 60.6. Dalton has thrown 12 touchdown passes and seven interceptions, whereas Newton has thrown for 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Newton has emerged as a superstar from the get-go, accomplishing feats few thought he could. But Dalton has been nearly his equal and, some around the league have argued, every bit as impressive. The Panthers clearly hit paydirt with Newton. But it's starting to look as if the Bengals got the steal of the 2011 draft, picking a player who has led them to five straight wins and their longest win streak since 1988, the same season Cincinnati advanced to Super Bowl XXIII.[/quote]

[url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page/10spot-11week10/2011-nfl-draft-already-shaping-great-one-adam-schefter-10-spot"]http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/page/10spot-11week10/2011-nfl-draft-already-shaping-great-one-adam-schefter-10-spot[/url]

[oldschooler]

[size=6][b]An Understated Rookie Fuels a Bengals Makeover[/b][/size]

By JUDY BATTISTA
NEW YORK TIMES
Published: November 12, 2011


CINCINNATI — The wish list was prepared in March: a receiver, a quarterback, cornerbacks, linebackers, interior offensive linemen. After a season with only four victories and with a franchise quarterback intent on never returning, Coach Marvin Lewis could not be shy about all the parts the Cincinnati Bengals had to replace. It had been his job to relay to the front office that Carson Palmer would not play for them again, and now it was the Bengals’ job to find Palmer’s replacement.

On a scouting trip to Fort Worth on Good Friday, they did. There, on the football field at Texas Christian, Bengals coaches worked with Andy Dalton, running parts of the Bengals’ offense with him and some of his college teammates. The lockout was on and with off-season programs scuttled, the Bengals were conducting pre-emptive mini-camps of a sort, spending extra time installing a new offense with some of the quarterbacks they hoped would be available in the draft.

Ryan Mallet, a big talent with big off-the-field questions who eventually went to the New England Patriots in the third round, had impressed the Bengals’ owner, Mike Brown. But in repeated visits with Dalton, the coaches saw something the Bengals badly needed for a team that had a good, veteran defense but a young, brand-new offense: steadiness.

Dalton does not have the strongest arm or the most statuesque build, and some scouts still wonder if he will be able to throw deep passes into the wind during the winter. He is quiet and unassuming. His biggest boosters acknowledge he lacks the charisma that draws cameras. Even his red hair caused some to wonder about him; Dalton said he thought that had to be a joke, although he had been told once by a doctor that redheads bleed more.

But Dalton is smart, makes quick decisions, is accurate and can read a defense — a perfect fit for the West Coast offense the Bengals and their new offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden, run. And after leading his high school team in Katy, Tex., to the state final as a senior, and going 42-7 as a starter in college, he has proved to be unflappable. After a season in which Lewis admitted the Bengals were scorched by their misguided attempt to use big names like Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens to win games — “If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger,” he said — that was the antidote the Bengals sought.

“We spent more time with Andy than anybody,” Lewis said. “Andy knew as much about us as anybody did and what we were going to do offensively. It made you hold your breath. It just seemed like he got it. Like he really clicked. He got the ball in and out of his hands better than anybody.”

Apparently so. The Bengals are 6-2 and, for now, the top seed in the A.F.C. They are in the midst of their first five-game winning streak since 1988, when Boomer Esiason led them to the A.F.C. championship. Dalton has already engineered three fourth-quarter comebacks, and leads all rookie quarterbacks in completion percentage at 61.5 percent. Most improbably, on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bengals begin a four-week crucible of division games that could make them one of the most unlikely playoff teams of the season.

“I can’t believe they’re playing a meaningful game against the Steelers in the middle of the season,” Esiason said.

In recent years, the Bengals have been better known for disarray (plenty) than division titles (two since 2005). Players have been arrested and suspended, injured and jettisoned. They have demanded trades, threatened retirement and generally caused a scene. The history of the Bengals is so replete with missteps that when Palmer, a former Heisman Trophy winner, was drafted by the team in 2004, Esiason presented him with a helmet and said “Welcome to our dysfunctional family.”

The Bengals have been down so long that even a rebirth did not offer much hope. Just before this season began, Esiason jokingly welcomed Andrew Luck — the presumed top pick in next year’s draft, which would go to the worst N.F.L. team this season — to that same family.

“I don’t know all of the history,” Dalton said. “I know there have been some tough times here. When we played the Bills, someone told me, ‘You just came off a 10-game losing streak.’ I didn’t even know about it. Same thing with the Colts — it’s not our focus.”

He continued: “I think a lot of people wanted to make excuses for us: playing a rookie quarterback, Carson Palmer not back. That hasn’t fazed us. The most we heard from the Carson Palmer situation was people asking questions about it. It seemed like everybody had moved on. We’re a young team and we’re hungry.”

The business of burying history began in the off-season. Members of the offense got together several times — in California and in Cincinnati — to work out, with Dalton leading the way because he knew more of the offense than anybody. There was a lot of football and almost as much golf. When the players were in Cincinnati, left tackle Andrew Whitworth had five of those who did not yet have homes stay at his for two weeks.

The result was that players grew close without the influence of coaches, and when training camps did open in late July, there was little of the usual friction between rookies and veterans.


“Just being around him this summer, the humbleness he had about being good, he wasn’t beating his chest, like most rookies, thinking they are better than they are and not respecting what they’re coming in to,” Whitworth said of Dalton. “He had full respect for what he was about to do. I think sometimes, quietness is seen as weakness, and with him, I think his quietness is what makes him special. It’s because he’s poring through things, diving into his playbook. His quietness is because he’s working so hard and not worried about being flamboyant.”

Still, even Whitworth admits he is surprised at how quickly Dalton and the offense have progressed, particularly because Dalton is not merely playing the role of a game manager. He is averaging 32 pass attempts a game and he has 12 touchdown passes, helped by his fellow rookie, receiver A. J. Green, who has caught 40 passes for 599 yards and 5 of the touchdowns.

While the Bengals try only a few deep passes each game, Dalton’s accuracy has been exceptional, particularly for a rookie. According to statistics compiled by the Web site Pro Football Focus, Dalton is fifth among quarterbacks in accuracy at 72.4 percent, taking into account passes that have been dropped, intentionally thrown away or spiked. He has been blitzed on 86 dropbacks — a number that is almost certain to increase substantially against the Steelers. In such cases, he is 44 of 78, for a 56.4 percent completion rate, with three touchdowns and one interception.

Matt Williamson, a former scout who now works for ESPN and Scouts, Inc., said Dalton was much further ahead in his timing and anticipation than the Jets’ Mark Sanchez, who is in his third season.

“The more I’m playing, the better I’m seeing things,” Dalton said. “A lot of teams try to disguise coverages. I feel I’m getting a good read on what they’re doing, maybe if they’re blitzing, making checks at the line of scrimmage. I feel the more I’m out there, the better I’ll get at it.”

In the meantime, the Bengals seem to have taken on a bit of Dalton’s persona. He married in the off-season, and the Bengals are a quieter, more settled team than they have been in the past. There is no loud music in the locker room. There are no stars who command news media stakeouts. There is no drama.

“Every one of our guys practices; we do a team function, everybody is there,” Whitworth said. “There’s no I, me or look at me on this team. It’s a huge relief. This is my first year that I literally enjoy every single day leading up to a game.”

Still, the Bengals have seen optimism evaporate before. The schedule is about to become much tougher and because of their fast start, nobody will overlook them anymore. Mike McGlynn, a center and guard signed as a free agent this off-season, joked that the headline of a story about the team should be “Bungles Turn Into Bengals.” But those who have been through some of the Bengals’ bleakest seasons have taken on another Dalton trait: cautious optimism.

“Two thousand eight was an awful season; 2009 we were good,” safety Chris Crocker said. “Two thousand ten was an awful season; now we’re here again. You can’t jump the gun too soon. We haven’t won the division, we haven’t gone to the playoffs. We’re just 6-2. It’s a long season. We are very happy where we are right now. But I don’t think we’ve gotten through much yet.”




[url="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/sports/football/andy-dalton-rookie-quarterback-quietly-leads-bengals.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1"]http://www.nytimes.c...gewanted=1&_r=1[/url]

[Bengals1181]

[quote][b][size=5]Why Dalton is defying the odds[/size][/b]

[size=3]A couple of months ago, not many people would have bet on the Cincinnati Bengals being 6-2 and in first place in the AFC North at the midway point of the season.[/size]
[size=3]They might have been more inclined to be optimistic if they had thought Carson Palmer would be guiding the Bengals. But with Andy Dalton? A rookie picked in the second round? The fifth quarterback taken?[/size]

[size=3]Many scouts had Dalton pegged as a “system” guy coming out of Texas Christian. That means they thought he succeeded in college more because of the offense he played in than his abilities. They questioned his arm strength. Some people even wondered if he had the wrong hair color to win in the NFL.[/size]

[size=3]What everyone was missing, except for the Bengals, was his feel for the game. Isn’t that right, Marvin Lewis?[/size]

[size=1][size=3]“He doesn’t have the big arm strength Carson does,” Lewis told me. “He’s not 6-5. But he has a mind that’s very effective. He has an ability to release the football. He plays well with his lower body. He anticipates. He gets the ball in and out of his hands because how efficient he is with the rest of his body. He stays within the core of his body on all his throws. He has great, great spacing concepts of football. He understands the concepts. He has an innate understanding. He has an innateness of how guys line up, when they are leaving the huddle the wrong way. And he has an air about him, he can joke with guys, because he is so aware of what everyone is doing. With that, he’s ahead of his time.”[/size][/size]

[size=1][size=3]Before the draft, Lewis believed Dalton was prepared to play and play well early in his NFL career. They thought he had the preparation in college and the knowledge to make an early impact. It’s also helped Dalton that the Bengals have a new offense this year with Jay Gruden running the show.[/size][/size]

[size=1][size=3]“It’s not like he was coming in having to learn things other people already knew,” Lewis said. “The receivers and everyone else were learning with him.”[/size][/size]

[size=1][size=3]When training camp opened, Dalton actually knew more about the Bengals offense than any other player on the team. “He had more coaching from us than anyone by that point,” Lewis said. “We spent more time with him in all the draft preparation. We spent time together in Indianapolis at the combine, at his pro day, night before and the night after. The Thursday night before Good Friday, then Good Friday. Then we brought him to Cincinnati for a pre-draft visit. Then we brought him to town day after draft.”[/size][/size]

[size=1][size=3]Because the Bengals were starting from scratch offensively, they were able to build the offense around Dalton. Gruden put in what Dalton responded well to, no more, no less. “The way Jay envisions the offense, he does it through the eyes of the quarterback,” Lewis said. “That’s how it’s put together, that’s how it unfolds. It has helped quicken the pace of return on Andy. He is our offense.”[/size][/size]

[size=1][size=3]Dalton has a passer rating of 85. He has completed 61.5 percent of his passes. But what’s most impressive is his win total. He has won as many games as a starter as the rest of the rookie class of quarterbacks combined.[/size][/size]

[size=1][size=3]It is going to get more difficult for Dalton, probably starting Sunday. That’s when the Bengals host the Steelers and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, who is known for his ability to dissect inexperienced passers.[/size][/size]
[size=1][size=3]Dalton is likely to see some things Sunday that he’s never seen before. Then again, all season long he’s been seeing things he never saw before. And he’s been dealing with them pretty darned well.[/size][/quote][/size]

[size=1][url="http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/NFP-Sunday-Blitz-1827.html"]http://www.nationalf...Blitz-1827.html[/url][/size]

[oldschooler]

[b] [size=6]Andy Dalton on historic pace[/size][/b]

[b] [size=6]Bengals notebook: Has most TD passes by rookie through nine games[/size][/b]




Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton’s 14 touchdown passes through the first nine games lead all rookie quarterbacks this season and, according to Stats, Inc., are the most by any rookie quarterback through his team’s first nine games since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger.

Dan Marino (Miami, 1983) and Jim Plunkett (New England, 1971) held the previous mark with 13 touchdown passes.

Dalton has had at least one touchdown pass in every game this season with the exception of a 13-8 loss against San Francisco in Week 3.

Peyton Manning holds the record for most touchdown passes by a rookie with 26 in 1998 for Indianapolis. Manning and Marino each had 15 touchdown passes through their first 10 games.

Dalton’s 170 yards passing against the Steelers allowed him to surpass Greg Cook for the most passing yards by a rookie in franchise history. Cook had 1,854 in 1969. Dalton now has 1,866 yards.

[b]FAVORABLE IMPRESSION[/b]: Dalton and A.J. Green left a lasting and favorable impression on the Pittsburgh Steelers during Sunday’s 24-17 loss at Paul Brown Stadium.

The pair connected on a 36-yard touchdown in the first quarter to pull the Bengals within seven points, 14-7.

"He's a good quarterback,” said linebacker James Farrior about Dalton after the game. “He's a young guy with a lot of potential, a lot of upside and I think he held his own. He had a lot of poise. He's got a good pocket presence and got rid of the ball when he needed to. He didn't get rattled. A lot of young quarterbacks can get a little in awe of our defense and get confused but he did a good job on us.”

Dalton’s passer rating was 106.8 through three quarters largely based on two touchdown passes. It fell to 61.8 because of his two interceptions in the fourth quarter. The Steelers came into the game with 23 sacks but didn’t get to Dalton.

“He's quick, he's decisive and accurate,” said LeBeau. “He's going to get nothing but better. He's a good player.”

Green’s touchdown was his lone catch of the game. In two division games (also against Cleveland in the season opener) he has just two catches but both have been for touchdowns. Green leaped and caught the pass from Dalton against the Steelers over safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark.

Green suffered his injury on the play but head coach Marvin Lewis said he is expected to play this Sunday at Baltimore.

Cornerback Ike Taylor has had a long history of battles with Bengals wide receivers Chad Ochocinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh in his nine seasons.

“I like (Green). He’s going to be a stud,” said Taylor. “He’s already a stud in his rookie year and he’s not going to do nothing but get better.”

The teams play again on Dec. 4 in Pittsburgh.




(Click the link for the entire article)



[url="http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20111114/SPT02/311140053/"]http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20111114/SPT02/311140053/[/url]

[oldschooler]

[size=6][b]Michael Arace commentary: Dalton is a QB worth getting excited about[/b][/size]

By Michael Arace
The Columbus DispatchMonday November 14, 2011 6:30 AM


CINCINNATI — Greg Cook was a tall, chiseled athlete with a facile mind and a golden arm when he graduated from the University of Cincinnati to the Bengals in 1969. Under coach Paul Brown and assistant Bill Walsh, he was quickly molded into a prototype.

Walsh once said that if Cook had not been de-winged by a torn rotator cuff, an undiagnosed biceps tear and a succession of meatball surgeries, the West Coast offense — originally, the “ Cincinnati offense” — would have been built on the deep ball rather than the short pass. That’s how good Cook was.

We remember him today because another of his franchise rookie records has been surpassed by Andy Dalton — who is not as tall, chiseled or strong-armed, but is just as smart, and might be more accurate. At this point, he is the Bengals’ future.

Yesterday, Dalton pushed his season total for passing yards to 1,866, which is 12 more than Cook had 42 seasons ago. In the postgame debriefings in the bowels of Paul Brown Stadium, nobody mentioned Cook, which is not a shock. The Bengals lost to everyone’s AFC North rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and that was the bigger deal.

Dalton and the Bengals had won five in a row and made an unexpected surge to the top of the conference before they fell to the Steelers 24-17. The crowd numbered 63,262. Although the usual contingent of Black & Gold fans was on hand, the majority was clad in garish, orange-striped garb. Queen City folk are being inspired by Dalton, who has led three fourth-quarter comebacks and who has more touchdown passes (14) in his first nine games than any other rookie quarterback since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

Yesterday, after the Steelers (7-3) took a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter, Dalton got the Bengals (6-3) off the canvas with a 36-yard touchdown pass to rookie receiver A.J. Green. Later, in the third quarter, Dalton threw another touchdown pass — going backward, with James Harrison diving at his knees, he feathered a perfect ball to streaking tight end Jermaine Gresham in the corner of the end zone — and there was a burgeoning feeling that the Bengals were going to come from behind once again.

It did not come to pass.

“I missed some things, and I have to play better,” Dalton said. “I had two interceptions in good field position, and we had a chance to win coming down (in the fourth quarter). That is not acceptable.”

Dalton faced his most daunting challenge to date — namely, Dick LeBeau. Since LeBeau returned to coordinate the Pittsburgh defense in 2002, the Steelers are 13-1 against rookie quarterbacks. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette pointed out that the lone loss was sustained in the regular-season finale in Baltimore in 2007, a game in which Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and Harrison were rested.

Dalton fared better than most. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He was mistake-free until those two fourth-quarter picks. His team lost to the defending AFC champions, but he was not addled by the genius defense set before him. This was not a classic Bengals bungle.

“We didn’t play our best game, and we were in it the whole time,” Dalton said.

Bengals fans have become inured to haplessness and an Ochosyncratic lunacy. They are not trusting, and the tendency is to say “Here we go again” after the loss to the Steelers. But these are not your older brother’s Bengals, not with this defense — not with this rookie quarterback, who has contributed mightily to adjusting the aura about the place.

Who knows whether Dalton will be as good as Kenny Anderson, Boomer Esiason or Carson Palmer, or whether he’ll last longer than Cook. But he is aimed well. He is understated, unflappable and focused, and his teammates are following suit. That is a sea change, and it was not altered by this loss.

marace@dispatch.com





[url="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2011/11/14/dalton-a-qb-worth-getting-excited-about.html"]http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2011/11/14/dalton-a-qb-worth-getting-excited-about.html[/url]

[|SF2|]

I just hope Andy isn't throwing to TO and Laverneous Coles come week 12. The injury bug is starting to scare me. At least we don't have any Staph infections.

[coup000]

Can someone with ESPN insider post this article?

[url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story?id=7233275&_slug_=andy-dalton-cincinnati-bengals-impresses-losing-effort&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2fstory%3fid%3d7233275%26_slug_%3dandy-dalton-cincinnati-bengals-impresses-losing-effort"]http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story?id=7233275&_slug_=andy-dalton-cincinnati-bengals-impresses-losing-effort&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2fstory%3fid%3d7233275%26_slug_%3dandy-dalton-cincinnati-bengals-impresses-losing-effort[/url]

[USN Bengal]

[quote name='coup000' timestamp='1321377684' post='1062705']
Can someone with ESPN insider post this article?

[url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story?id=7233275&_slug_=andy-dalton-cincinnati-bengals-impresses-losing-effort&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnfl%2fstory%3fid%3d7233275%26_slug_%3dandy-dalton-cincinnati-bengals-impresses-losing-effort"]http://insider.espn....s-losing-effort[/url]
[/quote]

[b] Scouts Buzz: Week 10[/b]

[b] Bengals' Dalton impresses in losing effort; Giants appear to be fixing trouble spots[/b]

[list]
[*][url="http://sendtofriend.espn.go.com/sendtofriend/SendToFriend?URL=http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7233275&title=Scouts%20Buzz:%20Week%2010&id=7233275"]Email[/url]
[*][url="http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=7233275&type=story"]Print[/url]
[*][url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/conversations/_/id/7233275/andy-dalton-cincinnati-bengals-impresses-losing-effort"]Comments[/url][url="http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/conversations/_/id/7233275/andy-dalton-cincinnati-bengals-impresses-losing-effort"]3[/url]
[/list][url="http://search.espn.go.com/matt-williamson/"][img]http://a.espncdn.com/i/columnists/Williamson_Matt_35.jpg[/img][/url] By Matt Williamson
Scouts Inc.
[url="http://search.espn.go.com/matt-williamson/"]Archive[/url]
[i]Each Monday, Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. breaks down games from the previous weekend. Today, he looks at the action in Week 10.[/i]
[b]Dalton shines in defeat:[/b] Sunday was a huge test for Bengals QB [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14012/andy-dalton"]Andy Dalton[/url]. Not only was he facing a very difficult Steelers defense to play against from both a mental and physical standpoint, but he had to deal with extreme winds at home. My biggest concern about Dalton going to the Bengals was how he would be able to navigate the weather late in the season. I didn't think his arm would be able to handle such conditions when I watched him at TCU, but he has thrown the ball better at this level than he did in college. The wind didn't seem to bother him or [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5536/ben-roethlisberger"]Ben Roethlisberger[/url], so I think the jury is still out on that.
Dalton had a well-thrown 36-yard touchdown to [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13983/aj-green"]A.J. Green[/url] while moving to his left, but Green was injured on that play, and losing his best weapon certainly hindered what Dalton was able to accomplish in the 24-17 loss. Overall, this day was impressive for the rookie quarterback, and his play on the field was superior to what his numbers would indicate. It should act as an excellent stepping stone to what could be a very promising career.
[b]Giants problems fixed?[/b] The Giants were unable to secure the victory in San Francisco in what turned out to be an excellent game. [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5526/eli-manning"]Eli Manning[/url] really stood out with some of the throws he made, but two aspects of the Giants really stood out to me -- their defense and pass protection. Both have been problem areas all season, but that simply was not the case Sunday.
San Francisco lost [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8479/frank-gore"]Frank Gore[/url], but even with a healthy Gore, the 49ers could do very little on the ground. The Niners have as good a front seven as you will find in the league -- and are loaded with high-end pass-rushers -- but New York's protection held up throughout the 27-20 loss.
There isn't usually much good to take from a loss and it surely was a long flight home across the country, but to me, these two turns of events are very favorable for the Giants. And these teams very well could meet again.
[b]What's ailing Atlanta's offense?[/b] Once WR [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13982/julio-jones"]Julio Jones[/url] left the game, Atlanta's pass offense fell apart in a 26-23 overtime loss to New Orleans. The Falcons' receivers certainly could have helped out their quarterback more as the game went along, but it is becoming more and more clear that Jones is the threat that opponents fear. The Falcons need to get way more from [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8442/roddy-white"]Roddy White[/url] than they did in this game -- and all season.
This is still an offense that doesn't take many chances, and one has to wonder why Atlanta didn't go with its no-huddle, hurry-up look more in this game. [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11237/matt-ryan"]Matt Ryan[/url] runs it well and it obviously kick-started a stagnant passing game late in regulation. The Saints' defense played a strong game and there were several questionable coaching decisions late in this game -- most of which were made out of fear of [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2580/drew-brees"]Drew Brees[/url]. But overall the Falcons' offensive performance just wasn't good enough.
[b]Praise for Seahawks:[/b] Call this a letdown game by the Ravens if you want. And obviously traveling across country is a very difficult thing to do -- especially playing in Seattle. But the Seahawks deserve a lot of credit for their 22-17 win. Their defense was physical and aggressive. And for whatever reason, the Ravens decided that handing the ball to [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11289/ray-rice"]Ray Rice[/url] was no longer a good idea, even though QB [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11252/joe-flacco"]Joe Flacco[/url] wasn't particularly sharp.
But the Seahawks got this victory despite losing WRs [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10488/sidney-rice"]Sidney Rice[/url] and [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14221/doug-baldwin"]Doug Baldwin[/url] and G [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14008/john-moffitt"]John Moffitt[/url] to injury. You wouldn't think this offense could overcome such losses against what might be the best defense in the NFL. And the Seahawks' defense was even more impressive than their offense, stiffening in the red zone and causing turnovers. Flacco & Co. will take a lot of heat for this loss, but let's give the home team a little credit here, too.
[b]Mangold a cut above:[/b] [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9615/nick-mangold"]Nick Mangold[/url] is the best offensive lineman in the NFL. This is a strange thing to say about a center, but Mangold is an absolute joy to watch play. He just does everything extremely well. Most centers are either stout, powerful and physical with the ability to match up against 3-4 nose tackle types, or they are light in the pants, extremely technically sound and very athletic to hit their targets on the move and get to the second level. Simply put, Mangold is both.
If you really want to know how valuable Mangold is to the Jets and how amazing this future Hall of Famer truly is, just go back and watch the few games he missed this year and see how New York's offense suffered.
[i]Scouts Inc. watches games, breaks down film and studies football from all angles for ESPN.com. Follow Matt Williamson on Twitter [url="http://twitter.com/#%21/WilliamsonNFL"]@WilliamsonNFL[/url][/i]

[cincity]

In a ad spot for SportsNation, Cowturd, called Andy the most underrated player in the NFL last night... I was like WTF?!?!?!

[Bengals1181]

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/CincyJungle"]CincyJungle[/url] [color=#999999][size=3]Josh Kirkendall[/size][/color]
[color=#999999][size=2]
[/size][/color]

[font=Arial,]
Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton is 4-1 as a starter on the road, posting 10 touchdowns and three interceptions for a passer rating of 93.3[/font]

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/CincyJungle/status/136658165939961857"]4 minutes ago[/url] [size=2][url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Favorite[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Retweet[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Reply[/b][/url][/size]

[JBandJoeyV]

[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1321417867' post='1062916']
[url="https://twitter.com/#!/CincyJungle"]CincyJungle[/url] [color=#999999][size=3]Josh Kirkendall[/size][/color]




Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton is 4-1 as a starter on the road, posting 10 touchdowns and three interceptions for a passer rating of 93.3

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/CincyJungle/status/136658165939961857"]4 minutes ago[/url] [size=2][url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Favorite[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Retweet[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Reply[/b][/url][/size]
[/quote]

Another big road game from him would be awesome. The more and more I think about it, the bigger this game is in my eyes.

[Bengals1181]

[quote]
[b] AFC North rookie watch[/b]
[font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]
[size=3]November, 16, 2011[/size][color=#DDDDDD][size=2][center]NOV 16[/center][/size][/color][/center]
9Where the top rookies in the division stand heading into the final seven games of the season: [/size][/font]
[color=#333333][size=3]

1. [b][url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13983/aj-green"]A.J. Green[/url][/b], wide receiver, Bengals: Green is the most athletically gifted rookie in the AFC North. If you don't believe this, go watch his 36-yard touchdown grab against Pittsburgh last Sunday. The fourth overall pick of the 2011 draft leads NFL rookies in receptions (41), receiving yards (635), receiving touchdowns (six) and highlight catches. The best compliment you can give is he makes catches when he isn't even open. He does need to cut down on his penalties and improve as a run blocker.
2. [b][url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14012/andy-dalton"]Andy Dalton[/url][/b], quarterback, Bengals: He wouldn't be the fifth quarterback taken if they held the draft today. Dalton won't wow anyone with his statistics or his arm strength. He just wins with poise and by knowing where to go with the ball. His ability to throw with pressure in his face was impressive last Sunday. Dalton, though, missed a major opportunity when he failed in the clutch against Pittsburgh. [/quote]

[url="http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/35812/afc-north-rookie-watch"]http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/35812/afc-north-rookie-watch[/url][/size][/color]

[Bengals1181]

[quote]

[b] Who's hot and not in red-zone passing[/b]

[size=3]November, 16, 2011[/size][center]
[size=3][size=3]By Jamison Hensley[/size][/size]

[/center][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3]When it comes to throwing in the red zone, the windows to hit wide receivers is smaller and the decision-making is quicker. The general rule is more experienced quarterbacks have greater success inside the 20-yard line than younger ones. [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3]That's not the case in the AFC North, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Bengals rookie quarterback [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14012/andy-dalton"]Andy Dalton[/url] has thrived the most in the red zone while the division's most experienced quarterback, the Steelers' [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5536/ben-roethlisberger"]Ben Roethlisberger[/url], has struggled the most there. [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3]Dalton has the second-highest QBR in the red zone, throwing 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. His 1-yard touchdown pass to [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13228/jermaine-gresham"]Jermaine Gresham[/url] while fading backward showed how he could make a tough throw with pressure barreling down on him. [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3]Roethlisberger, who ranks 19th in red-zone passing, has thrown just as many touchdowns inside the 20 as Dalton (11) but he has thrown three interceptions in that area. He's the only starting quarterback in the division who has been picked off in the red zone this season. [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3]>[/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3][b] Passing In The Red Zone[/b][/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3] Quarterback Comp. Att. Yards Pct. TDs Int. QBR [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3]Andy Dalton, Bengals 26 42 189 61.9 11 0 94.7 [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3][url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13199/colt-mccoy"]Colt McCoy[/url], Browns 17 27 112 63.0 7 0 54.7 [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3][url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11252/joe-flacco"]Joe Flacco[/url], Ravens 14 43 127 32.6 5 0 46.5 [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][size=3][color=#333333][size=3]Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers 23 45 172 51.1 11 3 42.3 [/size][/color][/size][/left][left][i]Source: ESPN Stats & Information[/i]
[size=3][color=#333333][size=3][/quote][/size][/color][/size]

[size=3][color=#333333][size=3][url="http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/35818/whos-hot-and-not-in-red-zone-passing"]http://espn.go.com/b...ed-zone-passing[/url][/size][/color][/size]


[/left]

[Bengals1181]

[quote]
[b] QB power rankings: Gulf between Rodgers and peers widens[/b]



[b] [b]7. Andy Dalton, Bengals:[/b] Too high you say? Maybe, at least in terms of the stats and resume. But a rookie that can step in and lead the Bengals, of all teams, to a 6-3 start gets plenty of extra credit.[/b]

[/quote]

[url="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/11/qb-power-rankings-gulf-between-rodgers-and-peers-widens/1?csp=34sports&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomNfl-TopStories+%28Sports+-+NFL+-+Top+Stories%29"]http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/11/qb-power-rankings-gulf-between-rodgers-and-peers-widens/1?csp=34sports&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UsatodaycomNfl-TopStories+%28Sports+-+NFL+-+Top+Stories%29[/url]

[oldschooler]

[size=6][b]How 'bout Them Bengals?[/b][/size]
[size=6][b]A franchise QB surrounded by young playmakers, with high draft picks aplenty awaiting: Does Cincinnati remind you of anyone?[/b][/size]
DAMON HACK


Pittsburgh linebacker Larry Foote fancies himself as an NFL general-manager-in-waiting, with the evaluation of college quarterbacks his specialty. Last April, as he watched Cam Newton, Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder each fly off the board by the 12th pick of the draft, Foote had his eye on the redhead from TCU. Much to Foote's chagrin, Andy Dalton found a home in the AFC North, when Cincinnati selected him with the 35th pick. "I watched him in the Rose Bowl, I watched highlights of him, and I knew he was going to be a good quarterback," Foote said after the Steelers held off Dalton and the Bengals in a 24--17 victory on Sunday in Cincinnati. "I knew he was going to be better than those guys who went before him."

While the Steelers and the Ravens have dominated the division in the last decade, Cincinnati is on the verge of a breakthrough. Looking for a comparison? In 1989 the Cowboys drafted a franchise quarterback (Troy Aikman) and followed that up with a blockbuster deal that cost them their best-known player (Herschel Walker) but would bring back the high draft picks that set up the team for a decade.

As in the case of Aikman, Dalton has immediate weapons at his disposal—including rookie receiver A.J. Green (fourth pick overall) and second-year tight end Jermaine Gresham—and is supported by a defense that ranks fifth in yards allowed. And the haul the Bengals received last month when they shipped semiretired quarterback Carson Palmer to Oakland (a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-round pick that could become a first in '13) has positioned the franchise to be a long-term threat.

"When they lost Carson Palmer, you thought these guys would be done for the year, but Andy Dalton has stepped up," Foote says. "The last guy I've seen do it [as a rookie quarterback] was Ben Roethlisberger."

The Steelers' QB was so intrigued by Dalton that he spent part of the game dissecting the rookie's play with backups Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich. "He'd make a nice throw, and someone would go, 'Ooooh, that was a good one,'" Roethlisberger says. "He's the new guy on the scene. He spins the ball really well, and he seems really cerebral. I think he's playing the best of all the rookie quarterbacks."

What makes Dalton so good? "Standing up in the pocket, making good reads, getting the ball out quick," says Pittsburgh defensive end Brett Keisel. Indeed, on Dalton's second TD (a one-yarder to Gresham), he threw accurately while getting hit.

After the game, Roethlisberger met Dalton on the field, congratulated him on his first nine games and told him he'd see him when the teams play again on Dec. 4. The story of the final two months in the division will be how two proud-but-aging teams in Pittsburgh and Baltimore fare in the face of this new upstart.

FOLLOW @si_damonhack




http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1192208/index.htm

[JC]

This guy kicks so much ass.

[img]http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/316905_10150416025433416_90555643415_8519997_434779221_n.jpg[/img]

[Bengals1181]

great interview with Greg Cosell about Dalton

[url="http://video.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nbc-sports/45404276#null"]http://video.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nbc-sports/45404276#null[/url]

[CTBengalsFan]

[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1321998790' post='1066350']
great interview with Greg Cosell about Dalton

[url="http://video.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nbc-sports/45404276#null"]http://video.nbcspor...s/45404276#null[/url]
[/quote]

Great video.

Dalton is our guy.

[img]http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/entries/icons/original/000/002/686/Deal_with_it_dog_gif.gif?1280645041[/img]

[BengalBacker]

Anyone who missed this, I recommend watching the first 5 minutes. I think it's spot on with Dalton. I think what he can do, far outweighs what he can't do.

[oldschooler]

[size=6][b]Bengals' Dalton outperforming all other rookies[/b][/size]


The first time I met Andy Dalton was outside of TCU coach Gary Patterson's office. We talked sunscreen.

I had been waiting for an interview. Dalton had been waiting for what Patterson himself admits was probably a lecture on not screwing up. We were talking about being redheaded and its inherent challenges, and I have to admit I never once thought, "This is a future stud NFL quarterback."

Don't get me wrong, I liked the kid. He was unfailingly smart.

Dalton just seemed small. He had been lightly recruited. And he had a little interception problem back then.

"We had to institute the Andy Dalton rule," Patterson said when we talked Monday. "If he threw a pick, he was out. He went from throwing a couple of picks a game to throwing two interceptions in his last five games. That is the thing with Andy, you tell him what he needs to fix and he fixes it. His thing has been gradual improvement all the way along."

This approach is exactly how the redheaded kid from the small university in Fort Worth, Texas ended up as the starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals this season. It is why he is the best rookie quarterback in the NFL at the moment.

Better than Cam Newton, better than Blaine Gabbert, better than a certain second-year quarterback in Denver.

This is not a column about Newton or Tim Tebow. They require mentioning only because this NFL season began in a fog of Newton hype and has been cannibalized by Tebow-mania. No other young quarterbacks exist. It is neither's fault. My media brethren had the anointing oil out for Newton after his 400-plus yards passing in Week 1 and had used just about every ounce by the time his Panthers almost beat New Orleans in Week 5. And Tebow, by virtue of being a polarizing Evangelical Christian with an unorthodox throwing motion, has all of us debating him, his ability, and the worthiness of his W's ad nauseum.

We again confuse what is good talk with what is good. Because neither Newton nor Tebow is the best young quarterback going right now.

It is Dalton. The kid has made a career out of being thrown into situations and performing way better than anybody anticipated.

"We had no choice when we started him either," Patterson told me. "He was not even No. 1 in spring. Then come fall, he was kind of thrown into the situation. People were kind of wondering 'How are you going to do this? Can you do this?' He grew into the situation. He was so determined, all he cared about was being better."

It ended four years later with the Horned Frogs going undefeated and beating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. It was everything nobody thought he could do.

Sunday's Bengals game was the first Patterson had been able to really watch Dalton this season. What he saw reminded him so much of what he did at TCU. He plays for those around him. He plays within himself. He gives his team a chance.

"Trust me," Patterson said, "this kid will be good."

This probably seems like a weird thing to say after back-to-back Bengals losses. It is especially odd timing considering Dalton threw three picks Sunday against Baltimore. But it is actually what makes it the best time.

The Bengals were in both games. Their second-round draft pick playing in only his 10th NFL game gave them a chance to win against two of the best defenses in the AFC. He was not afraid. He was not shaken. And this is what Dalton has been doing all year long.

This is why he is the best rookie quarterback. This is why he probably should be the offensive rookie of the year.

Too often we do "best of" lists comprised of whoever is having the best statistical season on a good team or whoever has been hyped lately. This is true especially in the NFL. What football needs is the baseball equivalent of Wins Above Replacement (WAR) -- a statistic that measures a player's value in terms of wins above a player that could step in and replace them. Because -- and I have absolutely zero metrics to back this up -- I am pretty sure former Cincinnati stalwart Carson Palmer would not be doing better than Dalton.

I will go so far as to say Dalton is why the Bengals are where they are.

Palmer is a talented quarterback who had slowly been worn down by the realities of playing for the Bengals. He believed they do things on the cheap -- scouting, free agency, everything. They were running a foster program for wayward NFLers for a time, and Palmer had given up on being able to win there. He decided he would rather not play at all than play there. He eventually decided the Bengals had problems that made the Raiders look well-managed.

That outcome was not known when the Bengals decided to take Dalton in the second round in April's draft. He was insurance. The kid is starting not because anybody thought he was the best option but because he was the only option. The Cincinnati Bengals had nobody else, so they started Dalton.

It was the worst possible situation to throw a young quarterback into.

"I was worried for him a little," Patterson admitted. "Just look at the history of rookie quarterbacks. It is hard to do."

Patterson credits Marvin Lewis and the Bengals staff for the people they have put around Dalton, like wide receiver A.J. Green and a competent defense. He also credits Dalton for doing what he always does -- embrace the challenge, know what he does not know and learn.

A lot of talented NFL players have worn Bengals uniforms over the past two decades, and all of them lost. If Dalton changes this, it dwarfs anything he ever did at TCU. Nor will it surprise me.

I stopped being amazed by Andy Dalton a long time ago. It is everybody else's turn now.

"The other guys have numbers. But he makes some great throws," Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger told reporters after Pittsburgh just barely beat Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago. "He is playing the best out of all the rookie quarterbacks."

That Newton would crash under the weight of expectation and Carolina Panther ineptitude was inevitable, as it was for the Vikings' Christian Ponder and the Jaguars’ Gabbert. Rookie years are tricky for quarterbacks, and hype complicates the already difficult.

Dalton has no such complications, which is probably why he is the best of the rookie quarterbacks. I just hope he is still wearing sunscreen.





[url="http://www.foxsportsohio.com/11/22/11/Bengals-Dalton-outperforming-all-other-r/landing_bengals.html?blockID=610116&feedID=3665"]http://www.foxsportsohio.com/11/22/11/Bengals-Dalton-outperforming-all-other-r/landing_bengals.html?blockID=610116&feedID=3665[/url]

[Bengals1181]

[quote][b]BENGALS[/b]: After watching film, offensive coordinator Jay Gruden came away more impressed with [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14012/andy-dalton"]Andy Dalton[/url] despite the rookie quarterback's three interceptions and a second consecutive loss to an AFC North team, according to [url="http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Live-and-learn/7e9b5aba-096f-4846-882b-264a090436e3"]Bengals.com[/url]. “He had a [heck] of a game. Three mistakes and all three of them I can live with,” Gruden told the website. “He did a great job. For the most part having to come from behind and throw that many times ... he kept us in it. They tried to rattle him and blitz him and he stood in there like a champ.” [b]Hensley's slant[/b]: Gruden isn't the only one who was impressed. Once Dalton eliminates his second-half mistakes, he's going to give these defenses fits for years to come. What I've been most impressed with Dalton is his anticipation when making throws. He doesn't look like a rookie with that awareness. As Ravens coach John Harbaugh said after the game: "He's a guy we're going to have to learn to deal with."[/quote]

[url="http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/36300/wake-up-call-steelers-talk-with-goodell"]http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/36300/wake-up-call-steelers-talk-with-goodell[/url]

[walzav31]

Yes. The guy is a stud. He does it all. His arm is plenty strong enough and he has moxie. I'm dying to see him in the Steeler/Raven rematches. Now that he knows what to expect.

[Bengals1181]

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/LanceMcAlister"]LanceMcAlister[/url] [color=#999999][size=3]Lance McAlister[/size][/color]
[color=#999999][size=2]
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[font=Arial,]
Andy Dalton with Colin Cowherd at 11:15 on ESPN Radio[/font]

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/LanceMcAlister/status/139366032199524356"]55 seconds ago[/url] [size=2][url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Favorite[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Retweet[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Reply[/b][/url][/size]

[Bengals1181]

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/LanceMcAlister"]LanceMcAlister[/url] [color=#999999][size=3]Lance McAlister[/size][/color]




Andy Dalton next on ESPN Radio

[url="https://twitter.com/#!/LanceMcAlister/status/139375447153721345"]1 minute ago[/url] [size=2][url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Favorite[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Retweet[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Reply[/b][/url][/size]


audio link:
[url="http://www.iheart.com/#/live/1697/?autoplay=true"]http://www.iheart.co.../?autoplay=true[/url]

[TheBeaverHunter]

Dalton's choice of glasses is really the first major weakness I have seen. Who still wears thin black metal frames....come on dude.


Also, I wish we would pass more. We have proven the first part of the season that we can't run the ball effectively. We need to put the ball in our play makers' hands,,,Dalton, Green, Gresham, Simpson.