ESPN NFL analyst Ron Jaworski releases a weekly quarterback ranking, highlighting his perspective on the starting quarterbacks in the NFL, usually adjusted on how they're currently playing. This week Jaws ranks Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning and the winless Drew Brees in the top five respectively. That's great. Really. In reality we're far more interested in how the lover of quarterbacks views Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. So we scrolled our Chrome browser downward and scrolled, scrolled, still scrolling. There he is.
Jaworski's ranking places Andy Dalton at No. 14 (ESPN In$ider), which is a great improvement from last week's No. 19 spot. Jaws writes:
When I think of Dalton, I think of efficiency. This is an aggressive offense and Jay Gruden understands the talent he has on this side of the ball. A.J. Green is a a great security blanket for Dalton, and this is a tandem that will only get better. I don't see a lot of dumb mental errors like I normally spot in second-year quarterbacks. He just understands what he's supposed to do with the football.
It's an interesting perspective (that I'm sure none of you will appreciate) that could somewhat saturated by the competition Cincinnati has faced this year. Perhaps. Regardless there are three quarterbacks (Tony Romo, Michael Vick and Jay Cutler) ranked ahead of Dalton with more interceptions than touchdowns, and a passer rating nearly 30 points less than Dalton. But if it makes anyone feel better, Carson Palmer is ranked No. 22.