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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton doesn't face much pressure.
No, no. We're not talking about the crash-and-burn collapses during primetime games (except for the cherry-picked coming out party against Denver that led to two consecutive primetime losses in Pittsburgh and Indianapolis) or the postseason (have you seen his individual numbers? Epic).
According to Pro Football Focus, Dalton was only pressured on 25.0 percent of his dropbacks -- Peyton Manning had the lowest percentage at 21.3 percent. Lest ye not be fooled. It's not necessarily the blocking that's enabling Dalton to navigate through lethal passing lanes with spot-on accuracy and a champion's determination.
... it's the called plays that require him to release the football quickly.
...the faster the QB can get the ball out of his hand, the less pressure he’ll face and that’s why Peyton Manning and Andy Dalton faced the lowest percentage of pressure as they got rid of the ball in 2.25 seconds and 2.41 seconds, respectively.
When facing pressure, Dalton's PPF score was -4.6. This makes sense. Quarterbacks under direct assault from pass rushers tend to perform more poorly -- with the obvious exceptions. On the other hand, Dalton's PFF score actually worsened (-5.2) while facing zero pressure.
This has been a pretty gray offseason with Dalton. While working his mechanics with Tom House, the media has been particularly brutal with him. A commentary from Rotoworld writes that Dalton will be remembered for "setting the new standard of mediocrity." I've read queen-like dramatic-writings before, but this takes the overreaction train to a comedic level... I suppose not everyone can be the love child of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart.
At least the Andy Dalton commentary only references the last four years -- could you imagine if someone actually compared Dalton to quarterbacks who played before 2011? Then again... I don't think the Rotoworld commentary is wrong when writing Dalton is the "blurred line between good and bad, the frustrating realization that even quarterbacks this good/bad/maybe watchable/probably not are hard to find."
Adam Schein doesn't even think Dalton will be in Cincinnati beyond the 2015 season. At least Colin Cowherd decided enough was enough... he won't make fun of him anymore. And Michael Bennett... "you're a d***"