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Usually we'll throw topics of conversation out there, often because we try not to sound like a broken record during a lockout without many new topics to chat about in the NFL. Case in point is our post about Andy Dalton's third down passing efficiency. Now we didn't say that Dalton's career third down passer rating was bad, nor did we say it was good. We converted it from the college formula into the NFL formula and said here it is.
Of course now that Dalton is a Bengals player, we're running into the confrontation that a simple post that might imply a criticism but was in no way actually stated as one, a defensive shield is built around him and we're not longer able to provide things that might interest us. Forget the fact that this is a blog and we'll throw items out there for consumption, but we'll continue to provide as much as we can for our readers to chew on if there's general interest. It's what we do.
Case in point on the Dalton posting, one reader wrote, "Are you that desperate for page views?" Of course we're not. We're practically dominating every website that features the Bengals except for one website. Bengals.com. So we could write our 20th straight posting on how Geathers and Odom have a higher salary than what their return is to the team. We could write about Chad Ochocinco's wacky ideas of how to pass the time during the offseason. How much Mike Brown sucks. Or something about Carson Palmer, that will instantly draw raging fans to throw trash on our lawns, no matter what view we take. But we like to mix it up. We found Dalton's third down passing efficiency and threw it out there with possible reactions that may be drawn from it. You'll know when we get desperate. We'll just lie about something and report it as fact without sourcing the material.
Another reader just didn't see the relevance of the stat. That's fine. It's not meant to predictably define Dalton's rookie season; but in the case of implications, I thought that was implied when we didn't say that this is exactly how Dalton will perform during his rookie season in the NFL.
One reader wants a further breakdown of Carson Palmer's third down efficiency on a year by year basis.
| 3rd Down | 3rd-Long | 3rd-Med | 3rd-Short | |
| 2010 | 72.6 | 64.7 | 78.0 | 78.8 |
| 2009 | 88.9 | 84.7 | 96.9 | 82.3 |
| 2008 | 91.3 | 103.6 | 85.6 | 68.7 |
| 2007 | 78.1 | 80.7 | 72.6 | 99.9 |
| 2006 | 67.8 | 51.2 | 78.3 | 82.3 |
| 2005 | 95.0 | 91.8 | 92.5 | 115.7 |
| 2004 | 81.3 | 66.6 | 82.2 | 117.7 |
A Deal That Might Un-Man Me. I've been a fan of the show 24 for years. The show finally came to an end after the eighth season more than a year ago. While trying to convince friends to take up the show, I've always said that if you like mindless action and are able to set aside disbelief (like travel times, unreal cell phone battery power) then you'll have fun.
One of my best friends said he'll watch the show if I watch one of his favorites. The only key is that he had to watch an entire season of 24 before I'd take him up on his deal. Now he's halfway through the second season and I have to get to ready to watch the show that he gave me to fulfill the bet. Jersey Shore (and not South Park's version). Though his reasoning for watching the show is this: It's funny because everyone is so stupid.