Why Colts, Dolphins, Seahawks Should Be Upset They Passed on Andy Dalton

The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Seattle Seahawks today 34-12 and are one of the more pleasant surprises of the 2011 NFL season at 5-2, due in no small part to the solid play of rookie quarterback Andy Dalton.

While the Cincinnati front office and Bengals fans everywhere have to be very pleased with the performance of the former Horned Frogs star, supporters of at least three teams have to be tearing their hair out that their favorite squad passed on selecting Dalton in the 2011 NFL Draft.

For fans of the Indianapolis Colts, things can't get much darker than they are right now, and while few knew that Peyton Manning's neck injury was as bad as it turned out to be (or did they?) drafting Dalton and letting him hold a clipboard for a season or two while learning from a future Hall of Fame quarterback before taking the reins of the Indianapolis offense certainly wouldn't seem to have been a bad idea, especially in retrospect.

Could it be that maybe, just maybe, the Colts were afraid of angering the forehead by drafting his heir apparent before he was ready for them to?

If there's a team in an even deeper, darker hole than the Colts it's likely the Miami Dolphins, and their decision to pass on Dalton is even more quizzical. Yes, the Dolphins had a starting quarterback as the draft approached, but that starting quarterback was Chad Henne, who isn't a worldbeater by any stretch of the imagination, and who has at times tried the patience of his own coaching staff.

Cincinnati's opponent this week, the Seattle Seahawks, was also in need of a starting quarterback as the draft approached, as it appeared they were set to move on from Matt Hasselbeck. The Seahawks indeed did move on from Hasselbeck, but instead of selecting a quarterback of the future such as Dalton in the NFL draft they instead chose to sign Tarvaris Jackson as a free agent, who's never been much of a quarterback in the present.

Hindsight's 20/20, and not many may have foreseen Dalton enjoying the success he has to this point (although this writer had him pegged as the top QB prospect entering the draft, so there), but for three teams headed nowhere at mach speed it must be a tough pill to swallow to see the usually inept Bengals making a playoff push.