Matt Williamson, who was a former scout with the Cleveland Browns and now writes for ESPN and Scouts Inc., isn't impressed with Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton's arm. During an ESPN SportsNation chat on Wednesday, Williamson wrote:
Not a believer at all in Dalton's arm strength. Huge problem to me - (especially) in that area of the country with weather. But I do think he is able to get the ball downfield if he has room in the pocket to load up. Just can't make the tight throws or generate enough RPMs when conditions are not ideal...and that is a problem.
Williamson is the same guy that ripped into Carson Palmer after his 2010 season.
He pretty much failed every test. He really struggled. His decision-making was poor. The ball doesn’t come out of his hand half as well as it did in his prime. There were very few who could throw as well as Palmer could throw, so he had some room for error. But all the things that went right for the Bengals two years ago -- the defense and running game -- those things all evaporated, too. He was asked to do a lot more, and he was exposed.
(Hat tip to Jungle commenter CByers who now blogs at Stripe Hype)