TCU QB Andy Dalton (1 Viewer)

[Tackling Dummies]

NFPost.com's summary on Dalton:

Impression: I like the guy's skill set and he has an understanding for the pass game with room to improve. He took a nice jump from last season to this season and has the ability to get even better. More of a number three early in his NFL career but reminds me a bit of Matt Flynn and could end up fighting for a starting role with some time.

 

[smackdaddies]

As I said earlier, I like the way Dalton presents himself. And by now we should all know that prospecting is, at best, humbling, and at worst, humiliating. So the idea that any QB drafted by a team would be without merit is hard for me to swallow, regardless of what any of us may feel about that player individually.

I don't think anyone is saying Dalton's without merit or that the pick would be (although maybe I'm alone in that). He's raw and he's risky but there are certainly things I love about him. I always think about what I've heard from some scouts, GMs and analysts - sometimes you just need to pick who you like and not worry about the reaction to it.

It'll be years before we really know. But that just leaves us all the time to debate it.

He's raw? I am no big fan, but raw he is not. He is easily one of the top 5 most ready in terms of skills. I just don't think he has a big time arm. He still could be a good NFL QB.

He hasn't played in a pro style offense in his college career and he struggles at times to read defenses. He could absolutely become a solid QB. He needs to make better decisions, read defenses and realize that he doesn't have the arm strength to zip the ball between two defenders.

Yes, raw would be the word I chose.

the guy through for 2,700 yards, had six interceptions and had the second highest completion percentage (or close) in all of division 1 football last year. He holds every major TCU passing record. Best winning percentage amoung active Div. 1 QB last year (for career). You and I have different perceptions of "raw"

 

[Faust]

TCU's Dalton rising up NFL draft boards like a rocket

Matt Mosley

April 26, 2011

Andy Dalton is one of the winningest quarterbacks in the history of college football, but that didn't seem to faze NFL scouts before the Combine in late February. Dalton led the Horned Frogs to 42 wins in four seasons in Fort Worth, and then topped it off with a win over Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

But I talked to scouts early in the process who projected Dalton in the sixth or seventh round. Over the past couple months, though, Dalton has wowed scouts and coaches in interviews and workouts. He's now projected to go late in the first round or early in the second. I caught up with him Monday evening after he'd spent the afternoon throwing with Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and two home-grown NFL quarterbacks, Chase Daniel and Rhett Bomar, at Southlake Carroll High School. The four quarterbacks threw into nets and Dalton took the opportunity to ask Romo a few questions.

"He told me a few things about making the transition [to the NFL]," said Dalton. "It was a good opportunity to be around him."

Dalton has had six official visits with NFL teams and 12 workouts. There's a belief Cincinnati and Miami have done the most homework on him, but the Colts and Redskins have also shown a strong interest. Dalton's not going to New York for the draft, but he will welcome an ESPN camera into his draft-watching party in Katy, Texas on Thursday and perhaps Friday. It doesn't sound like he's spending much time trying to figure out his destination.

I asked him Monday what he said a league executive had asked the previous week: Why did you make such a huge jump in this draft?

"I just think teams have taken the time to work me out," said Dalton. "They see I can make all the throws and the type of record I had at TCU. I've had some great coaches in high school and college who really set my foundation, and I think that's paying off."

Scouts don't just look at Dalton's 42-7 record at TCU. Dalton led Katy High School to a 26-3 record during his junior and senior seasons. Monday, I asked one longtime AFC scout why Dalton's stock had risen so much from the end of TCU's season until now.

"Being around him, it's the discovery of the intangibles, the things you can't really teach or see on tape that are innate," said the scout. "He has football smarts, intelligence, football character, personality, leadership and work ethic. He simply loves football and enjoys everything that goes with getting ready to play."

I think Dalton has actually benefited from being compared to Auburn's Cam Newton, who will likely go No. 1 overall to the Panthers on Thursday. Whether true or not, there's a perception that Newton is enamored with the notoriety that comes with being the face of a franchise. Scouts are drawn to Dalton, in part, because he was a lightly recruited high school player (UTEP and Memphis) who has put himself in a position to be a first or second-round pick.

Last week, Dalton visited the Redskins and Saints. He spent several hours meeting with Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan on Monday and then he holed up with the Saints' offensive assistants to watch film of the player he's often compared to, Drew Brees.

"He's an outstanding player," Dalton said of Brees. "I feel just honored any time someone brings that up. I hope eventually to accomplish some of the same things he's been able to accomplish."

Dalton has held up well while having his life and football career examined from every angle. He said the strangest thing he's heard was something that came up in this week's edition of Sports Illustrated. Apparently an NFL coach wondered aloud why there haven't been more successful red-headed quarterbacks and whether that could hold Dalton back.

"I guess that was about the strangest thing that's come up," said Dalton. "And surely that coach is familiar with Sonny Jurgensen."

And who said Dalton's not quick on his feet?

He's a quarterback who folks have underestimated for years, so I don't think he'll be fazed if he doesn't go off the board in the first 32 picks. It would just give him more motivation.

"You can't listen to everything that's being said. All these mock drafts don't really take trades into account. I'm excited and blessed to have this opportunity. Whenever my name's called, I'll be ready to go."

 

[Jason Wood]

I tend to agree that Dalton has many potential deficiencies, but "raw" would not be the best way to describe them. Tyrod Taylor is "raw" and looks like he's still learning how to throw a football. Dalton is kind of the antithesis of raw, really. The concern with him is that he's a finished product, but that the product isn't high octane enough to win consistently at the NFL level.

 

[Andrew Garda]

As I said earlier, I like the way Dalton presents himself. And by now we should all know that prospecting is, at best, humbling, and at worst, humiliating. So the idea that any QB drafted by a team would be without merit is hard for me to swallow, regardless of what any of us may feel about that player individually.

I don't think anyone is saying Dalton's without merit or that the pick would be (although maybe I'm alone in that). He's raw and he's risky but there are certainly things I love about him. I always think about what I've heard from some scouts, GMs and analysts - sometimes you just need to pick who you like and not worry about the reaction to it.

It'll be years before we really know. But that just leaves us all the time to debate it.

He's raw? I am no big fan, but raw he is not. He is easily one of the top 5 most ready in terms of skills. I just don't think he has a big time arm. He still could be a good NFL QB.

He hasn't played in a pro style offense in his college career and he struggles at times to read defenses. He could absolutely become a solid QB. He needs to make better decisions, read defenses and realize that he doesn't have the arm strength to zip the ball between two defenders.

Yes, raw would be the word I chose.

the guy through for 2,700 yards, had six interceptions and had the second highest completion percentage (or close) in all of division 1 football last year. He holds every major TCU passing record. Best winning percentage amoung active Div. 1 QB last year (for career). You and I have different perceptions of "raw"

If stats were all a guy needed to succeed in the NFL, it'd be a much different league. But college /= NFL. Plenty of players were prolific in college and weren't any good in the NFL.He played in a one read, spread offense which inflated his numbers and his completion percentage. If you watch his games, he lacks the arm to put any drive on the ball, much less fit it between two defenders but he tries.

Wood I understand your point but he hasn't run a pro style offense. He needs to learn how to properly do multiple reads and progressions. He played in a simplified offense that - like Newton and Gabbert - didn't need him to do a lot of reads or checkdowns.

He's got a lot to learn. THAT is raw to me. If he's a finished problem the team that drafts him is in immense trouble. He strikes me as a guy who is fairly smart so he could make the transition.

We're talking about two different ways to be raw. Taylor is physically raw. Dalton's game is raw. Two different things.

 

[Andrew Garda]

Let's change wordage here. Dalton has not played in a pro style offense and he will have to learn how. Now, I would call that raw in terms of actual experience in the type of offense the NFL tends to use BUT let's just say his play calling and defense reading skills need a lot more polish if he's to succeed at the pro level.

 

[Faust]

Now a Bengal and he will be throwing to WR A.J. Green - no wonder he was grinning from ear to ear!