Time Heals . . .

It doesn't seem that long ago, following the Bungals dreadful 27-10 playoff loss to the San Diego Chargers, that I was seething about Andy Dalton.

Today, despite a lot of speculation that the two sides were not close to reaching a deal (which shows you how little the media actually knows about the state of any given NFL franchise), the Bengals signed Dalton to a 6 year 115 million dollar deal.

What angered me most after the loss to San Diego was how poorly Dalton played in the second half of that game, where he threw at least three interceptions and lost a fumble on a humiliating slide.

Dalton surely didn't help the Bengals' cause that day.  But neither did their sensational rookie running back Gio Bernard, who fumbled the ball on the one yard line after a nice catch and run.  Neither did Jay Gruden, the Bengals' offensive coordinator, who asked Dalton to hurl the ball 51 times that day - even after being up 10-7 at halftime.  Neither did their previously stellar defense, which had been harassing quarterbacks and stoning running backs all season.  They let Philip Rivers throw at will and couldn't get any pressure on him.

So yes there are a lot of question marks surrounding Dalton, but given how well he has played in his first three seasons (winning 9, 10, and 11 games, respectively each successive season) and setting franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns, it seems only fair that the Bengals take a chance on him for the long haul.

I know in this day and age, it's not that difficult to draft a quarterback and win right away with him (look at Dalton, Wilson, Flacco, Luck, and so on).  But it's just as easy to lose with a young quarterback too (look at Gabbert, Locker, Ponder, just to look at the busts from the 2011 draft).  And let's not forget that even the greatest quarterbacks, Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason, have not led the Bengals to the playoffs three years in a row and helped them become more than the Bungals.

Hopefully, Hue Jackson, the Bengals' new offensive coordinator, will take more pressure off Dalton rather than putting it on him like Gruden did.

And before we start totally throwing the franchise under the bus, remember the greatest quarterback ever, Peyton Manning, started out 0-3 in the playoffs too.

The point is that Dalton is serviceable.  The Bengals need to keep their offensive line replenished and their defense up to par in order for him to be successful.  If they do that, they can have a chance to win their first playoff game since my junior year in high school.  Let's just hope Dalton play average or maybe just above average on that day.  Let's hope it's this January when he does it too.