OT: Andy Dalton released by Bengals
This is largely unrelated to Michigan football, but the Bengals released quarterback Andy Dalton. Now he's a free agent and could go a few places to a) be the starter or b) be a 1-year rental while teams sort out their QB situation. Ryan Tannehill went to Tennessee and found some success in a similar situation, pushing out starter Marcus Mariota, who's now with the Raiders.
Personally, I've been looking at Andy Dalton as the most likely replacement for Tom Brady in New England. I think Dalton is a pretty good quarterback who was saddled with a poorly run organization, in a similar fashion to Matt Stafford. So this could be the guy throwing passes to Devin Asiasi and leading the team with Chase Winovich, Josh Uche, and Michael Onwenu.
Regardless, it's a pretty odd situation to have Jameis Winston (just signed by the Saints for 1 year), Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Phillip Rivers, and Tom Brady all switching teams in one year.
Cam Newton will be the Patriots quarterback
I think Andy Dalton might be now, instead.
Honestly a bit surprised that the Pats didn't scoop up Jameis.
New Orleans has an interesting QB dynamic now with Hill, Winston and Brees.
Jameis? Fuck no would Belichick want him, fucking turned it over 45 times last season...not a Belichick guy!
I saw a stat that Winston has completed more completed passes to Saints players than Hill, even though Hill has been the backup QB for 3 years and Winston has never played for them. Crazy
He's not a good fit for their offense, IMO. They would have to completely scrap their system, and he's had shoulder and leg injuries. I wouldn't take Newton if I had the chance to bring in another quality quarterback.
EDIT: Coincidentally, Dalton and Newton have the exact same TD and INT percentage (4.6 and 2.7, respectively) for their careers.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:12 AM ^
Newton and Winston are both really interesting free agents at this point of their careers. You don't get former MVP QBs that aren't in their late 30s floating around every day, for one. Both guys have ridiculously high ceilings, still... and very "meh" floors.
Winston appears to be playing the long game in signing with New Orleans, rather than going to some team that could plug him in to a poor offensive situation as a stopgap. That seems smart. If it is true that his eye surgery actually improves his vision, maaaaaybe sitting for a year under Brees allows him to correct his tendency to throw passes to the other team.
It's not as simple as just seeing better, of course. Even if his eyesight was a real problem, he would have developed habits in the way he reads coverages and makes decisions that adapt to poor eyesight that would be hard to break. So the likeliest situation is that he remains a guy who can light it up (and he absolutely can) and also crash and burn. Kind of a more spectacular Scott Mitchell, really.
Cam is a big question mark because much of his game is based upon his ability to run, and nobody knows if that will be harmed by injuries or not. If he's not willing to be a backup for a year the way Winston is, he'll have a harder time finding a place that's a good fit. But there's a chance that he could be great again, so there will be a team somewhere that will want to roll the dice on it.
I don't think Cam is a good fit for the Pats offense either,* but then again, I don't think the Pats want a stopgap guy like Dalton that wins 8 games a year. They either want to break down and rebuild, which means sticking with the bad QBs on the roster, or give a shot to a guy that could be a franchise QB and actually build a winner around, like Cam.
*That's mostly due to how they build their passing game, though. The Patriots have a good history of a refined running game, and that wouldn't be all that hard to adapt to Newton if he remains a running threat. The bigger issue will be utilizing his arm talent, which is quite different from Tom Brady's.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:26 AM ^
You misspelled Aaron Rodgers.
April 30th, 2020 at 11:07 AM ^
I'm not out in Boston right now so I haven't been listening to sports radio or reading a bunch of NE stuff, but to the best of my knowledge they haven't even really kicked the tires. McDaniels has only ever succeeded with pocket QBs.
Their cap situation isn't great and they rely on a better passing QB than Newton is. He's had too many injuries and generally doesn't "fit" the BB mold play or personality wise.
Can he play DL???
I see Dalton ending up in New England as well, but I think Jacksonville is a dark horse. Dalton played the early part of his career under OC Jay Gruden when he had the same role in Cincinnati.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:03 AM ^
It's an interesting one, but it doesn't make much sense to me. You undermine Gardner Minshew (who played pretty well) that way by bringing in a 32-year-old starter. So which direction are you going to go as a team? Are you trying to win now or build for the future? I don't think they're capable of winning now with Dalton.
It makes more sense for New England, a team that is closer to winning it all but doesn't really know what it has in Stidham.
April 30th, 2020 at 11:04 AM ^
Meanwhile in Chicago everyone is wondering why they overpaid for Nick Foles instead of waiting out Dalton. Will be interesting to see how that one plays out.
April 30th, 2020 at 11:13 AM ^
Chicago's handling of the QB position is a crime against humanity. Stuck with Trubisky longer than they should have, and then... Foles? He had that good stint as a backup winning the Super Bowl, but everyone knew there would be more interesting guys available.
Chicago made the "win now" move to trade the farm for Khalil Mack less than two years ago. But they have made no effort to provide a workable QB solution to actually improve their offense, and they are going to reap the mediocrity that they deserve.
April 30th, 2020 at 11:27 AM ^
Nick Foles is this generations Jeff Hostetler.
April 30th, 2020 at 11:49 AM ^
Good analogy.
Still has a ways to go to catch the luckiest backup of all time, Earl Morrall.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:18 PM ^
I don't think Earl was lucky. he played really well when given his two opportunities with championship level teams, he was not just a caretaker. He should have started for the Lions over Milt Plum IMO.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:41 PM ^
(He played in two Super Bowls for the Colts, winning one, but he also played crucial games for the Dolphins and won two Super Bowls with them).
His luck wasn't due to his skill level or lack thereof; I doubt he gets those jobs if he was a bad player. But when you play behind Unitas and Griese and they get hurt and you wind up winning championships with those teams, that's pretty fortuitous. Kind of like Robert Horry, whom nobody would mistake for the key player for any of the three franchises with whom he won titles, but was important and made critical plays nonetheless (argh Sheed!).
April 30th, 2020 at 10:17 PM ^
The Bears' roster is really good, I could see them contending for the NFC North title in 2020.
Just today, they signed Ted Ginn, Jr. and Tashaun Gipson, two reliable veterans.
Foles is a significant upgrade over Trubisky, too.
Do you see Belichick's pride, not wanting to share credit with Brady, being his downfall similar to Jerry Jones with Jimmy Johnson?
I feel for Dalton. He’s a guy who is a legitimate NFL starter but in the bottom tier. At times looked like he might take a step up but was never able to do it. Then they draft Burrows, and the only question is when they got rid of Dalton.
Andy Dalton - okay quarterback, great nickname "Red Rifle".
Remember when TCU was group of five team and Dalton took them to an undefeated season in 2010 out of the MWC as a mid major football team? I wonder how College Football would be different if the Mountain West was able to keep their top teams. Lost Utah in 2010 and TCU in 2011 (Boise St. joined in 2011).
April 30th, 2020 at 10:08 AM ^
I always thought it would make sense for the big xii to add Boise and BYU. Maybe the travel costs are too much for all that.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:50 PM ^
Originally I thought Houston and BYU. Boise is insanely far from West Virginia. BYU has the not playing on Sunday issue too.
If the Big XII wants to stay viable once the television contracts are up for renewal, they’re going to have to poach teams like Houston, UCF, USF, Cincinnati, Memphis, SMU, or maybe Boise
Will that help them stay viable? Since 10 team conferences can have conference title games now, they can take Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers and Penn State off our hands and we can go back to a 10-member conference.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:19 AM ^
An odd fact about his organization: they are, well, the Bengals. But they also made the playoffs every year but one from 2009 through 2015.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:21 AM ^
He will probably go to Jacksonville to be with his old offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden. And he would have better WR weapons too.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:26 AM ^
If Dalton goes to New England, who is he going to throw to. Sanu is average at best, Gage took over for him in Atlanta and had more success. Edelman is getting older and his chemistry with Brady is what made him. Harry looked lost last year. The lack of receivers is why Brady wanted out.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:29 AM ^
Bill Belichick so far is ignoring the best possible available option: Shea.
Right, Pony Conqueror?
April 30th, 2020 at 10:54 AM ^
Shea stole my girl. I don't wanna talk about it.
April 30th, 2020 at 10:32 AM ^
Ginger quarterbacks get no respect.
So...You're saying Oakland is in play?
April 30th, 2020 at 10:46 AM ^
As of a fan of another team in New England's division, I just assume Belichick will sign him and the Patriots will win 12+ games. I have about the same level of BPONE towards New England in the NFL that I have to OSU
April 30th, 2020 at 10:48 AM ^
How'd you think my Sparty crush would react if she found out that I'm still a virgin?
April 30th, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
Dalton is a good fit for Pats
Newton is "me first" and not a fit
April 30th, 2020 at 11:06 AM ^
Not sure if I agree about Newton being me-first. I do agree that his style doesn't mesh with the short-pass offense the Pats like. Newton, if healthy, seems like a guy you'd want in a Ravens style offense. The problem is that his broken body might be what Lamar Jackson is headed toward in that offense in a couple years.
April 30th, 2020 at 11:14 AM ^
What evidence do you have that Newton is "me first?"
April 30th, 2020 at 11:58 AM ^
the excessive celebrations, spends a lot of time buying hats for his pressers. Just seems like the opposite of what the Pats go for.
Not very good evidence I guess. Just seems like the opposite of my two current favorites, Brady and Watson.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:46 PM ^
A superman celebration isn't really that remarkable, certainly nothing particularly worse than, say, Gronk's massive football spikes (which I enjoy). And Brady is hardly fashion-illiterate.
This is the franchise that has become the lifeline for guys like Randy Moss, Corey Dillon, even Antonio Brown for a game. I don't think Belichek cares what hats Newton wears to press conferences.
What matters is the work the guy puts in.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:23 PM ^
The whole not trying to dive on his own fumble in the Super Bowl with his team only down 6 in the 4th quarter was a pretty bad look.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:56 PM ^
Yeah, this picture looks pretty bad but the video makes it far, far worse!
I'd say it would be him repeatedly referring to himself as an "entertainer" instead of a football player. That would be my first clue.
April 30th, 2020 at 11:53 AM ^
Having watched Dalton, he needs to go to a dome team. I always thought he gave the Bengals a chance to win as long as game time conditions included:
Temperature between 70-77 F
Wind below 3 mph
Humidity under 40%
Field conditions totally dry
If all of the above conditions were met, the Bengals had about a 60-40 chance of winning at home.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:22 PM ^
That's a bold move, Cotton. Let's see if it works out. They drafted a really good college QB, then dumped their suitable veteran prior to the new guy even joining the team.
April 30th, 2020 at 12:51 PM ^
Dalton led the Bengals to five straight playoffs. If he doesn’t get injured they beat Pittsburgh in 15 (they even win without him if Burifect doesn’t try to decapitate AB). He’s a good QB. And I would take him over Jameis and Cam at this point
I hope the Steelers pick him up as insurance to Big Ben. Ben has some injury history and Rudolph is not the answer.
He could be the back up that leads the team with Bush, Kinnnel, Wormley and Gentry.
This feels like the most logical destination. Ben can't have that many years left and you have JuJu and James Conner on offense. This would've been a playoff team with a healthy QB last year.
Seems like a bad move by the Bengals. This year's rookie class is going to be the least prepared in recent memory, and now you're locked into starting an under-prepared rookie. Could be a disaster if you destroy his confidence early on.
Andy Dalton is not a good QB
Despite their lack of postseason success, the Bengals have only had two head coaches (Marvin Lewis and Zac Taylor) and, largely, two starting quarterbacks (Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton) since 2003.