Carson Palmer vs. Andy Dalton: Who’s better as Bengals QB? Many Bengals fans recall how Carson Palmer ended his seven year run in the Queen
City: in a defiant stand against Bengals owner Mike Brown
Jake Fisher Jersey , insisting he would never play in Cincinnati again. But before that sour note that marked the end of his Bengals tenure, Palmer was
highly regarded by the team and fans. He had brought Cincinnati long-sought
stability at the quarterback position, replacing the carousel of failed draft
picks and unwanted veterans who preceded him. And he was rewarded by being made
one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL.In seven years as a starter,
Palmer made a pair of trips to the Pro Bowl, and helped bring the Bengals out of
the NFL’s basement, leading them to their first playoff appearance in a decade
and a half. He averaged over 3,600 yards and 25 passing touchdowns in his six
healthy seasons as the team’s starter.Palmer’s second season was his best,
setting the bar for his Bengals career with a 67.8 completion percentage and 32
touchdowns to only 12 interceptions. After that season, which ended with a
devastating knee injury in the playoffs, his play slowly dropped as evidenced by
his continually declining passer ratings; from 101.1 to 93.9 to 86.7 to 83.6 and
finally to 82.4.When Andy Dalton joined the Bengals following Palmer’s final
season, he did not come in as the heralded top overall draft pick, nor did he
possess a beautiful deep ball along with all the physical attributes that one
desired in a franchise quarterback. In fact, he was the fifth quarterback
selected in the 2011 draft, after such noteworthy counterparts as Jake Locker,
Blaine Gabbert, and Christian Ponder were already selected.Expectations were not
as high for Dalton, but he came in and immediately got to work, reeling off five
consecutive winning records and playoff trips with the Bengals
Womens Andrew Billings Jersey , reaching three Pro Bowls in his first seven seasons. His best season came in 2015 when he set personal bests with a
66.1 completion percentage and a 6.5 touchdown percentage. Like Palmer, his best
season was also cut short by an injury, and also at the hands of the
Steelers.Comparing the teammates they had surrounding them, Palmer had much
better offensive lines in front of him, and his sack numbers bear this out (only
one season with 27 or more sacks, compared to four of them for Dalton, and zero
seasons of 37 or more sacks, compared to three for Dalton). Palmer had stalwart
protectors such as Willie Anderson, Levi Jones, Andrew Whitworth, Rich Braham,
Kyle Cook, and Eric Steinbach in front of him.Palmer’s teams were highlighted by
great wide receivers (Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Terrell Owens, and
Chris Henry), while Dalton has had better receiving options at tight end
(Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert) and running back (Giovani Bernard) to throw
the ball to in most of his seasons.Dalton also had a much better defense on the
other side of the ball, which helped his teams secure five playoff
trips
Womens John Miller Jersey , compared to only two for Palmer’s teams.Palmer v Dalton - Bengals
CareersQBGQBrecCmpAttCmp%YdsTDTD%IntInt%Y/AY/GRateSkSk%QBGQBrecCmpAttCmp%YdsTDTD%IntInt%Y/AY/GRateSkSk%Comparing
their career numbers, Palmer has a slightly better completion percentage, and
touchdown percentage. Although these barely edge out Dalton. Palmer also has
many fewer sacks and a much lower sack percentage. Dalton has played more games
and has a much better winning percentage. He also has a better quarterback
rating and interception percentage.Palmer & Dalton - best
seasonsQBGQBrecCmpAttCmp%YdsTDTD%IntInt%Y/AY/GRateSkSk%QBGQBrecCmpAttCmp%YdsTDTD%IntInt%Y/AY/GRateSkSk%Comparing
their best seasons, Dalton had the better passer rating and lower interception
rate. He also has more yards per game, while Palmer took the edge on completion
percentage and was sacked fewer times.So based on the numbers, what do you
think? Dalton leads the Bengals into his eighth NFL season today while Palmer
begins Week 1 in retirement. The rumors of Zac Taylor becoming the Bengals’ next
head coach have, at the very least, ignited a surge amongst Bengals fans
everywhere. After 16 years of Marvin Lewis on the sidelines without a single
playoff win to show for it, any change feels like good change. But hiring Taylor
is an undeniable risk for a franchise that’s been stuck in the mud for far too
long, so skepticism has predictably had a presence since the rumors
surfaced.Let’s look at some of the best reasons why Zac Taylor should be the
next head coach for the Bengals.1. He is an offensive-minded coach who’s learned
under AND helped Sean McVayThe obvious point of emphasis may not carry the same
weight in reality based off initial hearing, but Taylor’s experiences in the
first two years of McVay’s tenure in Los Angeles has to be mentioned. Taylor
joined the new-look Rams already with an offensive background, and the hope is
that working under McVay has given him more offensive prowess on top of his
acumen.The Bengals offense needs someone who can correctly use all the talent on
the team and be creative while doing it. Even though he hasn’t actually
(extensively) called plays before, a pairing with the right offensive
coordinator could make the Bengals’ offense one of the best in the league.2. He
is a young coach who can transform the teamIf the association between Lewis and
the Bengals is so ingrained in our minds, imagine how the rest of the league
feels.For all the good that Lewis has done for Cincinnati, the lasting
perception of his tenure was the lack of major success, largely due to his
refusal of change in more areas than one. Taylor, at the very least, can
institute a culture shock throughout the halls of Paul Brown Stadium
Trey Hopkins Jersey , which is exactly what needs to transpire if the Bengals were to progress from where they are now. Lewis got them to this point,
and the 35-year old Taylor has the chance to take them further with brand new
mindsets and organizational philosophies. 3. He has spent time in CincinnatiIn
between his time with the Dolphins and the Rams, Taylor spent a season as the
offensive coordinator for the University of Cincinnati. His one year with the
Bearcats didn’t end particularly well (there’s only so much you can do at a
mid-tier program with Tommy Tuberville as your head coach), but since then, he
has expressed his appreciation for the Queen City and willingness to come back.
That’s simply anything but a negative. Finding someone who truly desires coming
to work in Cincinnati, and is qualified to do so, is an ideal situation for
Bengals’ owner Mike Brown. The added natural motivation to perform well in a
home you appreciate doesn’t assure success, but it can’t hurt either.4. He has
quality experience with quarterbacksTaylor was a quarterback at the University
of Nebraska in the mid-2000s and realized very shortly that his future was in
coaching football, not playing it at the professional level.After working up to
Dolphins as their quarterbacks coach, he helped Ryan Tannehill through his best
years that ultimately earned him a second contract. After his season in
Cincinnati, he then helped McVay develop Jared Goff to where he is now: an above
average quarterback. The immediate hope for Taylor is that he can help Andy
Dalton get back to his aggressive ways of 2015 and unlock the talent of
everybody on the team with creative play calling and putting players in the best
position to succeed. Beyond Dalton, who really knows? For now, he is their best
option, and Taylor is qualified to get the most out of him.
