Jan 5, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton before the AFC wild card playoff game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Like it or not, the general view of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is that of an “average” quarterback when compared to the other 32 starting NFL QBs. NFL.com ranks Dalton as just the 9th-best QB under the age of  25, mostly because of his inability hit the deep-ball consistently, as well as his late-season struggles in the Bengals’ biggest games of the season:

The Bengals’ offense didn’t score a touchdown in the two biggest games of the season, at Pittsburgh in Week 16 and in the playoff loss to the Houston Texans. Dalton averaged just 5.58 yards per attempt in his last six starts. (For comparison, Blaine Gabbert and Jimmy Clausen were the only two players to have a lower YPA over a full season since 2010.)

There are many reasons why Dalton struggled for much of his second season, but it mostly comes back to his inability to hit vertical passes. Dalton infamously doesn’t have a great arm, but his accuracy and timing seem more important here. On most of his deep throws, he doesn’t give his receivers a chance.

Dalton was able to finally make the big play to beat Pittsburgh in Week 16 to clinch a playoff berth, but only after his defense surrendered a mere 10 points and got a late interception to set Dalton up in a very manageable position to lead his team to victory.

But make no mistake about: the Bengals won big in 2012 despite Dalton. To show just how “average” Dalton played in 2012, Mike Tanier from Sports on Earth did arguably the most in-depth breakdown of Dalton’s  shortcomings as an NFL QB,

Dalton ranked 20^th in DYAR, a Football Outsiders‘ high-tech metric, which compares every single pass a quarterback throws to league averages for that type of pass. Another statistic, DVOA, compares the quarterback to the league average. Dalton came in at -5.9 percent, just a blip below league average, in 2012. He came out at 5.6 percent, or a blip above average, in 2011. Average those averages, and you get a quarterback resting squarely on the axis of average.

Do you prefer other organizations’ custom stats? Dalton ranked 19^th in Pro Football Reference’s Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt. He ranked 20^th in ESPN’s Total Quarterback Rating. The consensus seems to place Dalton just below average, but if you allow benefit of the doubt for anything, from the receiving corps to Dalton’s relative youth, then Dalton inches closer to 16^th.

Like traditional stats better? Dalton was 13^th in quarterback rating, 16^th in yards, 18^th in yards per attempt, 12^th in completion percentage. He was seventh in touchdowns but eighth in interceptions, so those balance out. Dalton was 30^th in sack percentage, one of the few stats which rank him squarely below average, though a handful of part-time starters like Matt Hasselbeck rank ahead of him. (Sack rates depend as much on the quarterback as on his offensive line.)

But even after all of this evidence that suggests Dalton “is” and “average” QB, I do not share that belief. I think he is a good player who has played like an “average” QB to this point, but has shown me enough that he is capable of being a good, if not great QB in this league.

That being said, he still has to prove he is capable of making that leap, or else the Bengals will never be anything more than a one-and-done playoff team. Management and the coaching staff have done their best to surround him with enough weapons in 2013 that there’s no reason that he shouldn’t make that leap. So if we ‘re talking about this again in the 2014 offseason, chances are we’ve seen the best of Dalton.

And unfortunately, it’s not good enough.

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December 9, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones (24) tries to fire up the fans in the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Paul Brown Stadium. Dallas won the game 20-19. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

While more attention and praise was given to the Cincinnati Bengals for their ability to re-sign Pro Bowl offensive tackle Andre Smith and franchise tag double-digit sack-man Michael Johnson this offseason, the biggest signing was arguably made when the team agreed to a new 3-year deal with cornerback/return-man Adam Jones.

In 2012 while logging 626 defensive snaps, he held opposing receivers to just one reception for every 6.3 targets that came his way, and one every 11.5 coverage snaps he played. Those numbers put him in the top 25 in each category among qualifying corners in the NFL.

Pro Football Focus graded his cumulative coverage grade at +10.6, which ranked sixth among all cornerbacks in the NFL last season.

Now, PFF is conducting its “Secret Superstars” series, and their latest addition is none other than Adam Jones:

Things turned for the better for Jones and the Bengals as their season turned for home over the second half of the season. In the Bengals’ Week 10 game at home against the Giants, Jones was targeted a season-high 10 times. He gave up only six completions at fewer than 10 yards per completion (53), with only five of those yards coming after the catch. In that game, Jones also got his hands on half as many passes as the receivers he was covering, coming up with three pass defenses.

Jones’ 2012 season was a story of real success grading among our top ten corners in terms of coverage grade (+9.9, including playoffs). He rated highly in terms of coverage metrics (Top 20 in yards per coverage snap, 0.97; top 25 in coverage snaps per reception allowed, 11.5) and added his first sack since 2006 in a game against the Chiefs in Week 11. If you want consistency in a sub-package corner, Jones provided precisely that. He graded below -1.0 in coverage only once all season in the Bengals’ home loss to the Steelers in Week 7.

Jones has quietly become one of the best nickel-corners in the game, and going against the likes of Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco twice, along with Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Andrew Luck in 2013, having a healthy Jones will be key into slowing them down enough for the Bengals to win those games.

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In case you don’t know the story, Ladd Davies is a writer at LateRoundQB.com, and his 3-year-old daughter, Madi, has Type 1 Diabetes, and now we are working to help donate to her cause through their website.

To help, Ladd is looking to get a Diabetic Alert Dog (D.A.D.) which would help detect Madi’s blood sugar levels. The dogs’ sense of smell is so sensitive that they can actually alert people when unhealthy levels occur.

Click here to read more about Madi’s story and donate.

The most common way to help support the cause is by joining one of Jim Day’s #FFHelpMadi leagues. For more info, tweet Jim Day @FantasyTaz about it. Watch Jim Day’s Twitter feed for fun items to bid on including a Demaryius Thomas autographed football and a personally signed copy of Matthew Berry’s new book “Fantasy Life.”

Other Twitter Donations Being made:

- Ryan McDowell (@RyanMc23) will donate $1 for every new follower he gets this week.
- Christian Hardy (@CHardySports) will donate $1 for every new follower he gets this week and $1 for every RT he gets on this tweet.
- FakePigskin.com will be donating all Amazon commissions through June 15th to the cause.
- John D. Beckler II (@JDBeckler) will be donating $50 for every league that is created.
- Matt Rittle (@FFRittle) will be donating $2 for every league that is created.
- The FF Ghost (@TheFFGhost) will be donating money made from his fantasy football banners, found here. It costs $10 for one, and $100 for a set of 12.
- DynastySportsEmpire.com is donating the full $600 for a #FFHelpMadi league.
- FFLockerRoom will be donating $2 for each league that is created and will also be participating in one of them.

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