An opinion on Dalton

[walzav29]

http://stripehype.com/2012/05/22/like-all-nfl-draft-guys-cosell-hates-to-be-wrong/

[Sea Ray]

That's good for Dalton. He's heard this throughout his life. Gives him a little I told you so chip on his shoulder

[derekshank]

I didn't read your whole write-up. That's not a reflection on you... it's a reflection on the subject. I'm just not all that worried about Dalton's limitations... especially the one's that Cosell mentioned. Thanks for writing it - but I'm just not worried about it enough to seek out articles disputing it.

First of all, Dalton's arm may not be elite... but it is adequate. We've all seen him throw the deep ball (here's one and here's another) with plenty of velocity and good trajectory. If he had a limp noodle, this footage would not exist.

Dalton does have problems with his deep ball... I just don't think it's his arm strength. His problem is accuracy. He rarely hits the receiver in stride (often too deep, or the WR had to come back for it). He needs coaching and reps. Whether or not he successfully improves this area of his game is yet to be seen... but I'm just not buying what Cosell is selling here. Dalton's arm passes the eye test.

Secondly, even if Cosell is right... even if I'm way off... even if Gruden is forced to implement an offense that masks Dalton's weak arm... Simpson and Caldwell were not good fits. But Sanu, Shipley, Gresham, and Charles are the exact type of weapons you're looking for in an offense that relies on short accurate timing passes. Not to mention the fact that Dalton has a cheat code. Whatever deficiencies he has with his deep ball, AJ Green erases.

Add in the upgraded O-Line and RB corps, and I think it's all a moot point. Even if Dalton lacks the ability to consistently go deep, the Bengals are building a roster that will minimize those deficiencies.

[skyline]

Whatever deficiencies he has with his deep ball, AJ Green erases.

Yes. And I believe that Binns and Sanu are the same type of a receiver in the. They aren't as elite as Green, obviously, but they're both capable of jumping up over people or in traffic and coming down with the ball.

I actually liked it when Dalton threw it a tad short. No, it's not ideal, but I was completely confident that Green would catch it 9 times out of 10, while the cornerback would not.

[ArmyBengal]

I'd like to simply co-sign on Derek's post in this regard.

I think it's just easy to say the Bengals don't have a proven #2 WR, but I think as we get into camps and the preseason moves forward, people are going to be MUCH less concerned with that supposed issue. I just think the Bengals have done more than enough in that regard when considering the draft, those on the roster, and Shipley coming back off injury.

It may be early, but i'm already at a point to say, i'm really not concerned...

[redsbengalsbucks]

I'd like to simply co-sign on Derek's post in this regard.

I think it's just easy to say the Bengals don't have a proven #2 WR, but I think as we get into camps and the preseason moves forward, people are going to be MUCH less concerned with that supposed issue. I just think the Bengals have done more than enough in that regard when considering the draft, those on the roster, and Shipley coming back off injury.

It may be early, but i'm already at a point to say, i'm really not concerned...

I'm not concerned with that spot either, look at what New England did without a true #1 WR last season. If you take into account Gresham, Shipley and the new kids the Bengals are stacked.

[COB]

I have a two fold answer.

1. Playoffs! That's right, Andy Dalton made the playoffs in his first year. Since whenever I tried to talk up the Bengals in years past, people would just say "f**k potential, f**k the future, your team sucks", I'll just remind everyone what the measuring stick is. And Dalton's got a firm grip on that stick so far.

2. My knuckle game. That's right. If I see Greg Cosell, I'll punch him in the face.

[Earendil]

I think Dalton's accuracy problems downfield are related to footwork, not arm strength.