No one can ever say Hue Jackson doesn't support his players.
The Cincinnati Bengals' new offensive coordinator told SiriusXM NFL Radio last week that his quarterback/receiver duo of Andy Dalton and A.J. Green is the best in the business.
"I think they're the best in the game in my opinion," Jackson said. "I know people will fight that and say differently, but I've watched these guys and these guys have grown. They came in together. They started off hot, they're still hot. Every year statistically, they've gotten better."
Before we fight you, Hue, anything else to add?
"I think both of these guys are in the prime of their careers," Jackson said. "I wouldn't change the two guys I have for anybody at this point because these guys know how to do it together."
To be fair, the questions about this duo topping any thrower-catcher rankings have more to do with the passer than the target. A.J. Green is clearly cemented as a top-five receiver and has escalated his play in each of his three 1,000-yard-plus seasons.
Dalton is the question mark, with shaky postseason performances and wild inconsistency -- and stats ballooned by Green's jump-ball ability. It's hard to lobby for a signal-caller who even the Bengals owner has balked at paying top-shelf QB money.
The list of duos ahead of Dalton/Green could be long, depending on where you believe Dalton lands on the quarterback scale.
We could start with the likes of Aaron Rodgers/Jordy Nelson, Peyton Manning/Demaryius Thomas, Tony Romo/Dez Bryant, Matt Ryan/Julio Jones and move all the way down to Matthew Stafford/Calvin Johnson, Jay Cutler/Brandon Marshall or Tom Brady/Fishing Net before we reached a point where Green's ability outweighed Dalton's questions.
However, it's hard to begrudge a coach for siding with his players. Plus, all you are concerned with right now is that for some unholy reason your team's duo didn't get mentioned on the short list above.
*The latest "Around The League Podcast" ranks the league's top tight ends and debates Andrew Luck vs. Cam Newton. *
