If the Cincinnati Bengals 'wake up,' could AJ McCarron be their quarterback in 2016?

CraigD

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There are some humorous comments from Barners. They have some funny nicknames for him: McHandoff, McTattoo. Makes me chuckle. They are creative, those Barners.
 

81usaf92

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Ill believe it when I see it. Dalton has still taken the BENGALS to 4 straight playoffs, and that is a feat in itself. I just dont see McCarron doing it. While you can say that Tom Brady and Dan Marino were taken way late in the draft, there are far more stories like Graham Harrell and Ricky Stanzi stories than the few that were way overlooked. I personally think AJ is the latter of the two. There has to be a reason he dropped that far in the draft with him being at at a team like alabama and the accolades he had. I hope AJ does get a chance, but I think it would be extremely stupid for the Bengals to try to get rid of Dalton at this point.
 

JustNeedMe81

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Dalton hasn't really played well in games that mattered the most.. and they want consistency out of him. He just need to play well to keep his job. I don't think it'll be stupid of them to start looking at AJ and devleoping him they still can. The way I look at it, This is make it or break it year for Dalton and he knows that.

Ill believe it when I see it. Dalton has still taken the BENGALS to 4 straight playoffs, and that is a feat in itself. I just dont see McCarron doing it. While you can say that Tom Brady and Dan Marino were taken way late in the draft, there are far more stories like Graham Harrell and Ricky Stanzi stories than the few that were way overlooked. I personally think AJ is the latter of the two. There has to be a reason he dropped that far in the draft with him being at at a team like alabama and the accolades he had. I hope AJ does get a chance, but I think it would be extremely stupid for the Bengals to try to get rid of Dalton at this point.
 

CrimsonForce

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I think the little bit of optimism around having AJ play is just the unknown. I don't think even the most optimistic bengals fans think they will ever win a championship with Dalton. Maybe the Bengals just want to see if AJ has a higher ceiling. Problem is AJ probably has a lower floor than Dalton..
 

81usaf92

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Dalton hasn't really played well in games that mattered the most.. and they want consistency out of him. He just need to play well to keep his job. I don't think it'll be stupid of them to start looking at AJ and devleoping him they still can. The way I look at it, This is make it or break it year for Dalton and he knows that.
But then again what is it about AJ that says " hey lets bench a guy that has got us to 4 straight playoff games, and we are the Bengals.". That would be the same as if the Colts in the early 2000s saying "We need to make a change at quarterback because Peyton Manning is stinking it up in the playoffs". There is no reason to even consider AJ making that move at this point of time. Dalton has pretty good stats for a four year qb and a huge extension signed last year

I think the little bit of optimism around having AJ play is just the unknown. I don't think even the most optimistic bengals fans think they will ever win a championship with Dalton. Maybe the Bengals just want to see if AJ has a higher ceiling. Problem is AJ probably has a lower floor than Dalton..
Yeah and they would look very stupid if they make that move and this happens. Bottom line Dalton, until proven otherwise, is their only logical choice.
 

B1GTide

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Dalton hasn't really played well in games that mattered the most.. and they want consistency out of him. He just need to play well to keep his job. I don't think it'll be stupid of them to start looking at AJ and devleoping him they still can. The way I look at it, This is make it or break it year for Dalton and he knows that.
There is a QB in Dallas with that same problem - been starting for about a decade and not about to change anytime soon.
 

81usaf92

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There is a QB in Dallas with that same problem - been starting for about a decade and not about to change anytime soon.
Bingo!!!, and Marvin Lewis doesnt usually favor huge controversial moves like this.

For AJ to start from the most likely to the least IMO:

1. Dalton gets hurt
2. Bengals trade Dalton for draft picks
3. The Bengals are out of playoff contention at week 13
4. Dalton is in a sinkhole type slump
5. AJ beats out Dalton

Question Dalton's job security all you want to, but the facts still remain that Dalton is a great regular season qb and AJ hasnt done dididly squat to warrant even the notion of possibly overtaking Dalton.
 
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AgentAntiOrange

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If your telling me that Dalton could conceivably start every game for 5 years and make 5 playoff appearances and then lose his job to 0 experience AJ then I've got land for sale. Lots of it. Hit me up. Seriously.
 

IMALOYAL1

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If your telling me that Dalton could conceivably start every game for 5 years and make 5 playoff appearances and then lose his job to 0 experience AJ then I've got land for sale.
I havent kept up with Cincinnati, but if Dalton has done all this I have to agree something will have to change drastically for AJ to jump over Dalton at this point.

I have no doubt AJ wants to play but if he could work into a top 2nd string QB, that's one fine job compared to what many who work a 9to5 have.
 

Alasippi

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I havent kept up with Cincinnati, but if Dalton has done all this I have to agree something will have to change drastically for AJ to jump over Dalton at this point.

I have no doubt AJ wants to play but if he could work into a top 2nd string QB, that's one fine job compared to what many who work a 9to5 have.
A.J.'s best chance is if the GM feels they need to free up salary cap space. Dalton's getting paid a ton.
If they decide he's not the answer to get them to a Super Bowl, they may let him go.
It happens every day in the NFL.
It's not about making the playoffs, it's about winning once you get there.
 

CrimsonForce

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If the Cincinnati Bengals 'wake up,' could AJ McCarron be their quarterback i...

If your telling me that Dalton could conceivably start every game for 5 years and make 5 playoff appearances and then lose his job to 0 experience AJ then I've got land for sale. Lots of it. Hit me up. Seriously.
That happens more frequently than you would think in the NFL. The Bengals have been to 4 straight playoff appearances in spite of Dalton, not because of him. The Ravens cut Trent Dilfer a few months after he quarterbacked that team to a super bowl. I'm not saying that AJ should or will get a chance to start or even play, but if a coach/GM thinks another player gives the team a better chance to win a championship they will try the other player..
 

81usaf92

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A.J.'s best chance is if the GM feels they need to free up salary cap space. Dalton's getting paid a ton.
If they decide he's not the answer to get them to a Super Bowl, they may let him go.
It happens every day in the NFL.
It's not about making the playoffs, it's about winning once you get there.
That is a possibility, but that doesnt usually warrant trying to make AJ the future either (like some people think). Most teams that do that usually do that kinda of transitions at the end of the year to secure draft picks to get the next qb.

The qbs that were in AJ's predicament of being selected late (Brady,Marino,Theisman, Starr, and Staubach) all had experience under their belt with coaches with job security. While you might disagree about Tom Brady because Bill Belichick hadnt really proven that he was an elite coach until 2001; also consider that the Krafts are like the Roonys and the Maras at they fire only if they way way way underpreform (Rust 1990). Plus Bledsoe went down and Brady was fighting like a man possesed to get to the #1 spot from being the #199th pick overall starting on the practice squad to get there.

Point is Shula (Marino),Landry (Stauhbach),Lombardi (Starr), and Bill (Brady) had coaches that either had understandable circumstances or were already looked as elite coaches. The only anomaly to this arguement was theisman, but he himself was a known name in the CFL like Kurt Warner was in Arena Football.

That brings us to Marvin Lewis and AJ. The common thought for along time (the biggest reason he has been there so long) is that Marvin was a great coach who suffered a bad bounce of fate when Carson Palmer went down in the 2005 Wild Card Game with an ACL injury. Carson hasnt been the same since. Then when the Steelers and Ravens went down to Earth after Super Bowl XLIII, the rumblings started happening and the only thing that saved him was a 2009 North Championship. But the rumblings started again after an abysmal 2010 season, but has since been silenced since 4 straight playoff apperances with Andy behind center. Marvin doesnt have the luxury of risking a qb change out of the blue for a qb with no experience to replace the qb that is keeping his job security intact. Plus the rap on AJ is well known: that he is cocky, he has had some of the best offensive lines at his disposal at Alabama, and that since the draft he has been injured.

I understand why people on here WANT AJ to win the job, but the reality is that it would almost take an act of God, or an untimely injury or catastrophic slump for him to do so.
 

Roll Tide 57

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I don't see AJ with the bengals in 2016, just hope he gets into enough games to show his skills.

people forget AJ played hurt his whole Sr. season & last year was recovering from shoulder surgery

he will be a starting QB but not at Natty.
 

AgentAntiOrange

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Re: If the Cincinnati Bengals 'wake up,' could AJ McCarron be their quarterback i...

That happens more frequently than you would think in the NFL. The Bengals have been to 4 straight playoff appearances in spite of Dalton, not because of him. The Ravens cut Trent Dilfer a few months after he quarterbacked that team to a super bowl. I'm not saying that AJ should or will get a chance to start or even play, but if a coach/GM thinks another player gives the team a better chance to win a championship they will try the other player..

Yeah I know it happens sometimes but that's more of a situation (Like Dilfer) where the QB is given virtually no credit for the teams success and usually wasn't a 4 year starter with multiple playoff appearances. Bledsoe/Brady is the closest thing I can think of where an inexperienced unknown took the job from a proven long term starter. But honestly, would Brady had ever been able to do that if Bledsoe had never gotten hurt? If Dalton got hurt and AJ got on the field and proved himself, then that's a whole different story. Right this minute I don't think any team in the league would be willing to name AJ their starter or even their heir apparent.
 

81usaf92

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Yeah I know it happens sometimes but that's more of a situation (Like Dilfer) where the QB is given virtually no credit for the teams success and usually wasn't a 4 year starter with multiple playoff appearances. Bledsoe/Brady is the closest thing I can think of where an inexperienced unknown took the job from a proven long term starter. But honestly, would Brady had ever been able to do that if Bledsoe had never gotten hurt? If Dalton got hurt and AJ got on the field and proved himself, then that's a whole different story. Right this minute I don't think any team in the league would be willing to name AJ their starter or even their heir apparent.
Brady was gaining serious ground on Bledsoe in his second year. Brady worked his butt off and took everyday employed at the pats as a blessing. AJ might be doing the same, but AJ is more known for shooting of his mouth than Brady.I think people (scarbinsky) like to compare Brady and AJ because they have been labeled system qbs, but people also forget that Brady has one of the strongest arms in the nfl and AJ doesn't. Brady would've been a starter regardless, but the Bledsoe injury sped things
 

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