Carson Palmer

Hi Palmer, is that a one for "one last chance?"

Assuming that Jay Glazer is right in his report that Carson has been training and is football ready, I’m cool with this deal. I worry because it has been 9 months since Palmer played football or was involved in any sort of organized team activity. As we’ve seen thus far, with all the injuries to players, OTAs, camps and all that matter. You can work out until your heart’s content, but there’s something about preparing the muscles you use in practice and in play that apparently just can’t be totally replicated in singular workouts. To the Raiders credit, if Doug Farrar is correct, they’ve sourced their information regarding Palmer’s physical condition pretty well.

Besides those concerns, I like it for a few reasons.

1. It sends a sign to a team that hasn’t gone to the playoffs since…since…(aww hell somebody look it up)…that the team wants to win this year. And by win, I mean go to the playoffs. I’m not talking about Superbowl here. I think it’s clear that Terrell Pryor probably isn’t ready to play having been suspended for 5 games and having questionable mechanics and technique in the first place.Nobody on the Raiders wants to ‘start over’ with their season going this well. They want something proven, even if it is somewhat of a risk. I think this will be a morale boost for the guys.

Plus it’s hard to deny Palmer can get the ball in a receivers hands. Regardless of the 586 attempts he had to take last year to do it, he did pass for almost 4K yards and had a 61% completion rate. You can complain about short passes (he was under 7 yards an attempt) but guess what? Short screens are driving passing stats up this year, tis the world we live in. Jon Gruden doesn’t like it, I’m not necessarily a fan, but here we are.The game is evolving for better or worse.

Plus the Raiders have power house RB Darren McFadden. When all else fails direct snap or hand off. Just don’t give the appearance of starting over right now while the team is believing in itself.

2. Palmer wasn’t “terrible” last year, but certainly he wasn’t anything to write home about. 33 interceptions in his last 32 games leaves me thinking Rex Grossman caliber QB. On the other hand, Grossman may also still be starting in the league. And the Redskins are 3-2 which is further than a lot of people thought they’d be. Anyway, a not-good QBs can get you over the hump sometimes. I don’t see Palmer as an automatic suck…a possible one sure, but automatic? No. If Palmer has chemistry with his receivers and is low on turnovers the Raiders may have the last laugh.

3. Palmer has something to prove, and we might see a different guy given his new circumstances. Palmer spent the entire summer publicly arguing with Cincy owner Mike Brown and after getting nowhere with it decided to retire rather than play for the Bengals. This was a God send for them both. Cincy’s defense has improved tremendously this year, and rookie QB Andy Dalton and his primary receiver rookie AJ Green aren’t yet affected by how silly the organization has behaved the in the past. They’re simply happy to have an opportunity to play and things are running along better than expected.

Given the Bengals odd stats, which I blogged about before,  new offensive coordinator could also help Palmer give a better performance. There’s a reason Bob Bratowski doesn’t have a job right now. There’s also a reason Cedric Benson said he wouldn’t return to the Bengals if Bratowski did.

4. Palmer’s knee has likely gotten proper attention and rest. The popular theory is that Palmer hasn’t been great since his knee was injured. Probably true.  Athlete Performance, Palmer’s gym of choice, is pretty well known for the physical therapy aspect of their services. If his knee could be rehabilitated, there are not too many better places he could go to get it done. I haven’t forgotten that Palmer is getting up there in years but as I look at the QB landscape…so are a lot of people. Palmer is about 2 years older than backup Kyle Boller and has a year on Michael Vick.

5. Palmer and Coach Hue Jackson already know each other and are familiar with each other’s styles. Palmer shouldn’t have huge issues fitting into the offense right away. Again, the Raiders don’t need another shake up. An immediate good fit would be optimal for them.

On the issue of giving up first round picks for Palmer, I don’t care. I said this on twitter. I don’t think the Raiders have a lot of incentive to tie up guaranteed money in first round picks even if the new wage scale puts salaries at significantly less than what rookies made previously. If you go into the 2nd round you’re looking at even less money tied up and possibly similar impact.

The Raiders have given up a lot of picks in various deals however they also have mid-round picks coming their way due to the loss of Robert Gallery, Nnamdi Asomugha, Zach Miller, and Thomas Howard. If Palmer pans out for them they will have made a smart choice. If he doesn’t, they will just have to fish well in the upcoming drafts as they should anyway. The Patriots seem to do that sort of thing pretty well, no reason the Raiders can’t reverse their tide.

Speaking of the Patriots, wouldn’t Ryan Mallet look awesome in a Raiders uni??? I’m just saying! I love that man and I’m ready to see him play so I plug it every chance I get.

If you haven’t heard by now, or don’t give a damn, Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Chad Ochocinco is changing his name back to Chad Johnson.  Chris Good takes a quick look at the WR’s stats and writes in The Atlantic that the name change might be good because he was better before changing his name.

Comparing the two can be tricky. For one down year (2008), the two men coexisted before the transformation was complete: Johnson legally became Ochocinco in August 2008, but he continued to wear “Johnson” for the 2008 season. He didn’t wear “Ochocinco” until the 2009 season, after the NFL gave him permission. Out of fairness to the two, we can probably throw out the 2008 season.

By nearly every statistical measure, Chad Johnson outperformed Chad Ochocinco, even counting Johnson’s rookie 2001 season, in which his stats were low. Johnson played eight NFL seasons; Ochocinco has played two. Neither man has played for any team other than the Cincinnati Bengals.

Johnson outperformed Ochocinco, per season on average, by .4 games played, 10.4 catches, 256 yards, 1.2 yards per catch, 13.3 yards per game, and .5 TDS. His season-longest catches went for 18.1 more yards. If he switches back, maybe #85 will return to form.

I thought this was a cute article, however, one key thing is missing-Chad Ochocinco is a few years older than Chad Johnson and that makes a big difference in production.

After thinking about Chad’s stats and production, Bengals QB Carson Palmer’s attempt to demand a trade, and TO’s claims that the Bengals need to pass more, I was inspired to look more closely at the Bengals offensive numbers.

Palmer completed 382 of 586 passes for 3,970 yards. His passer rating was 82.4. This is down from his 2009 rating of 83.6, a season in which he also played all 16 games of the regular season.

All three Bengals primary receivers were fairly productive, in particular RB Cedric Benson who quietly rushed for over 1,000 yards.  Sidebar: Benson is a free agent and rumor has it that the Bengals are ready to let him walk.

Surprisingly, Ochocinco and Wide Receiver Terrell Owens accounted for a mere 141 of Palmer’s 382 completions and a little over 1800 of those almost 4000 yards, which lets me know Palmer continues to spread the ball among receivers whether by choice or by force.

On the defensive end, like many teams, Cincy suffered some key injuries. Mostly their pass rush was affected, but their defense still ended the season at #15 in the league (ahead of the Atlanta Falcons and the Indianapolis Colts).

Since at least 8 or 9 of the Bengals 12 losses were within a margin of 7 points, I think you can point many of their losses to mistakes in key moments and faulty execution on offense.

Speaking of which…according to NFL.com Bengals coaches have complained that many of Palmer’s incompletions can be attributed to Ochocinco and Owens routinely breaking off routes. Given both Ochocinco and Owens’ penchant for “doing their own thing,” this isn’t hard to believe. It explains some of the 20 interceptions that Palmer threw as well as some of the 224 incompletions.

How many? I have no idea. But those comments pretty much ensure neither receiver will return to the team in 2011 regardless of whether Palmer has already played his best football and has contributed to the problem.

Cincy owner Mike Brown has said unequivocally that Palmer will not get his wish to be traded. I expect Ochocinco to end up with the Raiders now that Hue Jackson will be head coach. As for Terrell Owens’ future, does anyone really give a damn?

Thoughts on the Bengals? Why do they suck? Should Palmer be traded? Where will the two divas end up?