Sophomore Slump?
Fenruary 23,2012
Andy Dalton’s rookie year was better than most people expected. With a quarterback rating of 80.4 (Ranked 20th) and leaderships skills on and off the field Bengals fans easily forgot about the guy who wore Number 9. In a player’s rookie year there are very low expectations, especially in quarterbacks. Even the greats like Payton Manning (threw 28 interceptions his rookie year) struggle their rookie year. NFL fans got the privilege to see two rookie quarterbacks in Cam Newton and Andy Dalton look more like veterans than rookies. But with each year expectations become greater and so does the pressure. Some quarterbacks look to show promise their rookie year and never improve much over the next few years. Will Andy Dalton become victim of the sophomore slump?
Players like Joe Flacco, Chad Henne, Josh Freeman, Mark Sanchez, and Sam Bradford gave good rookie performances but have not improved from year to year. Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford have improved with each year and are showing promise to be leaders on their team for a long time. One of the biggest assets a quarterback needs is stability in his team and coaching staff. Matt Ryan, Matt Stafford, Joe Flacco, and Mark Sanchez have all been on stable rosters. Some say the jury is still out of Flacco and Sanchez, I’ll give Flacco another year to prove himself, Sanchez is a great back-up quarterback, nothing more, nothing less. The last "superstar" quarterback to be drafted was in 2005 when the Green Bay Packers drafted Aaron Rogers with the 24th overall pick.
Jay Gruden is going to challenge Andy Dalton’s athletic and leadership skills even more this year. The second year is when you truly find out what your quarterback is made of. He will be given more responsibility and is expected to handle it without any missteps. Dalton will improve this year with a more experienced team around him and a full training camp under his belt. It looks promising that we may have a "elite" quarterback but Dalton's sophomore year will tell us more about who he is than his rookie yea. The last team to win a Super Bowl without a elite quarterback was in 2002 when Brad Johnson was QB for Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There is some pressure for you Andy.
Players like Joe Flacco, Chad Henne, Josh Freeman, Mark Sanchez, and Sam Bradford gave good rookie performances but have not improved from year to year. Matt Ryan and Matt Stafford have improved with each year and are showing promise to be leaders on their team for a long time. One of the biggest assets a quarterback needs is stability in his team and coaching staff. Matt Ryan, Matt Stafford, Joe Flacco, and Mark Sanchez have all been on stable rosters. Some say the jury is still out of Flacco and Sanchez, I’ll give Flacco another year to prove himself, Sanchez is a great back-up quarterback, nothing more, nothing less. The last "superstar" quarterback to be drafted was in 2005 when the Green Bay Packers drafted Aaron Rogers with the 24th overall pick.
Jay Gruden is going to challenge Andy Dalton’s athletic and leadership skills even more this year. The second year is when you truly find out what your quarterback is made of. He will be given more responsibility and is expected to handle it without any missteps. Dalton will improve this year with a more experienced team around him and a full training camp under his belt. It looks promising that we may have a "elite" quarterback but Dalton's sophomore year will tell us more about who he is than his rookie yea. The last team to win a Super Bowl without a elite quarterback was in 2002 when Brad Johnson was QB for Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There is some pressure for you Andy.