Doc: Will Dalton lead? Does it matter?

The hardest thing about this job is finding new things to write about, or at least new variations of old things. In a small place such as this, with a limited number of teams and players to chronicle, themes tend to repeat. Lately, the most repetitive is the Andy Dalton Leadership Theme.

Can he? Will he? Does it matter?

Sure. Beats me. Not necessarily.

All Dalton really needs to lead is a game-winning TD drive in the postseason. His influence will soar after that.

"Leadership'' in sports is as nebulous as "integrity''. It defies textbook definition, but you know it when you see it. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson says his own best quality is his "ability to lead men.'' You can see that, plainly. Jackson has that quality. I'm guessing he was born with it.

Charismatic leadership is a DNA thing. It can't be bestowed. It can't always be earned. It's like wanting blue eyes, when yours are green.

A couple years ago and out of nowhere, M. Lewis called out Dalton and Rey Maualuga in the middle of a midweek press conference, suggesting each start displaying leadership.

It doesn't work that way.

Maualuga is a good player. He's not a leader. That's not a criticism. Vontaze Burfict had the makings of a leader, until he got hurt. Leon Hall leads by example, as does Andrew Whitworth.

Dalton?

He could be more openly demanding of his teammates, the way Peyton Manning is. He could play with body parts in serious jeopardy of falling off, the way Ben Roethlisberger does. He could become a January Man, the way Joe Flacco has.

Just because you're the quarterback doesn't make you the leader. Boomer Esiason was a great leader. He had the ability to be one of the guys, while also setting himself apart. He could take a guy apart in the huddle, for missing a block or dropping a pass, and no one took it personally.

Todd Frazier is an emerging tone-setter in the Reds clubhouse. Devin Mesoraco could be.

I don't see that from Dalton, at least not yet. And really, if we're still asking the question in Year 5, don't we have the answer already?

Does it matter? It will until his performance makes the question irrelevant. Winning big games shuts all doubting mouths. We shall see.

Now, then. . .

THE TRADING ISNT DONE. . . Lesser players slip through waivers, and they can be huge additions. SI.com:

I would not be shocked to see Marlon Byrd slip through waivers and return to Pittsburgh if the newly acquired Michael Morse continues his season-long struggles, as Byrd would be a good fit in a job share with Gregory Polanco in rightfield, an arrangement which would also keep his option from vesting.

And this small shocker:

Given his decline at the plate in recent seasons, you would think the Reds would be unable to find a taker for the final two years and $27 million left on Phillips's contract (which doesn't include the remainder of his salary for this season). But with Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake traded, Cincinnati may be more amenable to eating some portion of that contract. That and the slight uptick in Phillips's performance this season (his batting line is marginally better than last year's, his fielding is still strong and his ability to steal bases appears to have returned, combining to make him a two-win player already this season) could make him a compelling option for a contender in need of a second baseman, such as the Yankees or Angels.

SPEAKING OF BYRD. . . There are some inside the game wondering how the Reds could let Byrd get a reasonable shot at earning $8 mil next year. He has 330 plate appearances now. He needs 550 for his option to vest. The Reds have 59 games left. Assuming Byrd doesn't get hurt and plays as much as he has, that's 3.7 plate appearances a game. It's a reach, but not a big one.

What if Byrd stays here, and is close to 550 in the last few weeks of September? What if the Reds sat him? Whoo boy.

It's not as if they have young stud OFs they want to look at.

I'd love for MPWS to bring back Byrd. Without him, they don't make the playoffs in 2013. He's an asset in the clubhouse, and he can still hit with power.

I think dealing DDBP is a stretch. He's hit better this year. His defense remains fabulous. He shed some weight last offseason, and so has regained some speed. But he's a second baseman. Is he really going to help a contender to the extent they'd be willing to trade a (middling) prospect and take on some or all of that salary? I doubt it.

DO YOU LIKE UFC? DO YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT? The hottest athlete in sports now is Ronda Rousey, who beats people up. Does this excite you?

I'm not a big fan.

I loved boxing growing up. It was on network TV, and the middleweight division was as good as it gets: Hagler, Hearns, Leonard, Duran. Compelling personalities, tremendous fights.

UFC is different. It's not boxing. It's people slamming one another's heads on the canvas. Boxing is brutal, but its brutality always came with a sense of nobility. I don't get that from UFC. Boxing made me cringe, in a good way. UFC never will. Make sense?

I've wanted to like it, the same way I've wanted to like soccer. Each has become popular. I was interested in why. I do enjoy the World Cup, but mainly for the festivities that surround the games. Going to Hap's in Oakley for a Cup game is an unforgettable experience.

I haven't found anything enjoyable about UFC. It's just barbaric, you know?

LOVE ME SOME CHARLIE PIERCE, BUT. . . The man's ongoing defense of Tom Brady in Grantland has become a bit much:

For the past week, as I watched what had been a comical episode turn into Armageddon-with-seltzer-bottles, I wondered where all of this Golden Boy stuff had come from. (I have a certain interest in Brady and his career.) The criticism of Brady over what he may or may not have ordered done to the footballs in January seemed so wildly out of proportion to the alleged offense — which, again, is tantamount to a hockey stick with an excessively curved blade, or Whitey Ford's entire repertoire of scuffballs — that I rapidly came to the conclusion that Brady was being pilloried for what other people had made out of him.

Yeah, poor Tom. All that hero-worshipping can be tough on a guy.

Here's where we are, IMO: Brady lied. Brady destroyed evidence that might have shown he lied. Brady continues to fight in part because he wants to maintain the image he had before Deflategate. If he didn't help create that image – and tend to it carefully – why would he care?

The issue has gone on way past what was necessary mainly because Brady persists. Had he 'fessed up immediately, and apologized, he'd very likely be playing in the Pats opener, not sitting four games. It's the coverup, Tommy boy, not the crime.

Does anyone believe the NF of L wants its poster-player and team to be in the highly public doghouse? Goodell might have some ego issues here, but he's not that stupid. His league is obsessed with image, and that image is getting whacked.

Blaming an adoring public for the "burlesque'' is missing the point.

KUDOS TO THE BENGALS O-LINE, FROM SI.COM:

It ranked 3rd overall, behind Dallas and Baltimore. Baltimore?

Wherever you put Andrew Whitworth, the guy just gets it done. The 33-year-old 10-year veteran has logged time at tackle and guard and can play both positions with equal aplomb. That's a lot tougher than it sounds, especially at Whitworth's level. In 2014, no starting left tackle in the NFL had better numbers than Whitworth's: He didn't allow a single sack in 533 passing snaps and gave up just one quarterback hit and eight quarterback hurries. Based on his tape, that type of success shouldn't happen. Whitworth's kick step is a bit sluggish, he's powerful but in short spaces and he doesn't seem to have a single dominant physical characteristic, but he gets by on knowledge of the game and an understanding of angles and leverage that is unparalleled in today's NFL.

Both Whitworth and right tackle Andre Smith, who missed nearly half the season with a torn triceps muscle and whose play had not been up to its usual standard before that, are in the final years of their current contracts. The Bengals countered this reality by selecting two tackles in the first two round of the draft: Texas A&M's Cedric Ogbuehi in the first round and Oregon's Jake Fisher in the second. The landscape of their O-line could change rather quickly in the coming years. Inside, Cincinnati has a lot of talent as well. Right guard Kevin Zeitler is a physically dominant player who could eventually become the linchpin of the unit if he can stay healthy. Center Russell Bodine and left guard Clint Boling are coming along nicely.

TUNE O' THE DAY. Liz Phair's still buzzing my brain. I'd forgotten how appealing she could be. Here's another greatest hit. If I were a woman, lots of her lyrics would speak right at me.

There goes somebody's miracle.

There goes some other's fairy tale.

Wish it could have been me.