'Red' Dalton tops AFC North in red zone

[oldschooler]

[size=6][b] 'Red' Dalton tops AFC North in red zone[/b][/size]

December, 16, 2011
By Jamison Hensley

Some have referred to the Bengals' rookie quarterback as Red Dalton because of his hair. But there is another reason to give that colorful nickname to [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14012/andy-dalton"]Andy Dalton[/url].

According to ESPN Stats & Information, Dalton is the best AFC North passer in the red zone. That’s right. The most inexperienced quarterback of the division is coming through in the most pressure-filled part of the field.

Dalton has thrown 13 touchdowns and no interceptions inside the 20-yard line for a QBR of 83.3, which ranks sixth in the NFL. In fact, Dalton is the only AFC North quarterback in the top half of the league in red-zone success.

The Steelers’ [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5536/ben-roethlisberger"]Ben Roethlisberger[/url] has thrown the most interceptions (three) in the division inside the red zone. The Ravens’ [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11252/joe-flacco"]Joe Flacco[/url] has the worst completion rate (35.1) of the division in there. And the Browns’ [url="http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13199/colt-mccoy"]Colt McCoy[/url] has by far the worst QBR (20.0) of the AFC North in that area.




[b] AFC North Red Zone Passing[/b]





Player

Comp.-Att.

Pct.

TD

INT

QBR

NFL Rank




Andy Dalton, Bengals

32-57

56.1

13

0

83.3

6th



Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

30-55

54.5

15

3

50.2

17th



Joe Flacco, Ravens

20-57

35.1

8

0

46.8

20th



Colt McCoy, Browns

22-41

53.7

9

2

20.0

27th



[url="http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/38089/red-dalton-tops-afc-north-in-red-zone"]http://espn.go.com/b...rth-in-red-zone[/url]

[cincity]

Big stat there... I don't think there has been even 1 TO.... It's the penalties that have killed us

(null)

[Jason]

Impressive he still ranks that high given our last 6 first and goal outcomes.

[|kennethmw|]

[quote name='Jason' timestamp='1324051858' post='1075491']Impressive he still ranks that high given our last 6 first and goal outcomes.[/quote]

Why? This rating looks like it's more reflective of a QB that understands when you get to the red zone, you make sure you at least get a chance for three. Not unagressive, as can be noted by the 13 td passes, but smart, as reflected in the zero INT's.