Andy Dalton: "We Were Out to Prove Everyone Wrong"

If you have a secret decoder ring that allows you to understand what the hell it is that Jim Rome is talking about during his show, then you probably saw that Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was his guest the other day. They talked about the Bengals surprising early season success and Andy Dalton's ability to lead the Bengals to three victories in the first five games (I think that's what they talked about... I don't have a decoder ring and without it, I'm completely lost). 

The vast majority of analysts listed the Bengals as the worst team coming into the 2011 season, and really they had reason to. They were going to start a rookie quarterback, their veteran quarterback was so sick of the team that he decided he'd rather retire early than continue to play for them, the team lost their all-time leading receiver and it's the Bengals. If I wasn't such a homer I probably would have ranked them in dead last place before the season too.

However, the Bengals have the top-ranked defense in the league and they're in excellent position to go into their week seven bye with a 4-2 record, facing the winless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. When asked what was happening in Cincinnati, Dalton just said that he and the team wanted to prove people wrong.

"Coming into the season nobody was picking us to win much," Dalton said. "We were out to prove everyone wrong."

They have proved people wrong. The Bengals are now sitting at No. 20 in ESPN's power rankings and Peter King lists them in his top-15 teams in the league. Led by their rookie quarterback, one of the youngest teams in the league has shown that they have a lot of heart and that they have bought into what their coaches are selling.

Nobody is screaming playoffs quite yet but it is a possibility and we can thank Andy Dalton and company for that. It would be nice to see them continue to play with that chip on their shoulder and continue to prove people wrong for the rest of the season. 

You can listen to the Dalton interview here.