Ball or Nuthin' » Carson Palmer

Quarterback Changes Highlight NFL This Week

T Lamont — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:12:56 +0000

With a little less than half the NFL season under its belt, the last thing that any contending team would want to endure is a quarterback change.

But, of course, we are talking about the National Football League – and on a weekly basis you never can tell what will happen next.

Let’s look at some of this week’s most noted moves and examine the sensibility of each:

Redskins Replace Rex Grossman with John Beck

In Washington, there’s no such thing as a level of comfort. Take, for example, the running back position. Tim Hightower, a local favorite and native of the DC area, was replaced after Ryan Torrain ripped through the St. Louis Rams defense a couple of Sundays ago. So, if running backs have that much turnover, one can only imagine the volatility with a position as critical as quarterback. Rex Grossman, whose play (and QB ratings) has continuously declined after a remarkable opening week against the Giants, was given the hook by head coach Mike Shanahan. His performance really hit rock bottom against Philadelphia, as he tossed 4 picks, no touchdowns and only completed 41 percent of his attempts (to his own teammates, that is). John Beck got his feet wet in his first NFL action of the regular season, and only appeared to be marginally better than Grossman. Only time will tell regarding the longevity of this move, but we all can rest assured that neither one of these guys is the final answer for Shanahan.

Tim Tebow Takes the Reigns

Ever since the hyped training camp battle that apparently never existed, Ball or Nuthin’ has encouraged John Fox to make this move sooner rather than later. Tebow’s finally going to get his shot, and it only makes sense – because this franchise really isn’t headed anywhere anytime soon.

McNabb Goes to the McBench in Minnesota

The time is now in Minnesota. Surely, Donovan McNabb can still make plays that others can’t – he just hasn’t made any of them so far this season. He says that he has “lots of football left” in him, but he hasn’t let it out for others to witness over the past two NFL campaigns. The Vikings have a retooled defense that still features names like Antoine Winfield, Jared Allen and E.J. Henderson. And, of course, they have a hefty contractual agreement with a fairly good running back. There’s no doubt that McNabb was feeling the heat. He put up his best performance of the season, connecting on 19 of 24 pass attempts for 177 yards (0 TDs, 0 INTs). But a 1-5 record is a 1-5 record, and this is not the McNabb that we all grew to love in Philadelphia.

The Raiders took a huge gamble on their acquisition of big-name quarterback Carson Palmer.

Desperate Raiders Nab Carson Palmer

Admit it Raider fans – no matter how much your team does not rely on its quarterback’s ability to air it out, you probably thought Oakland’s great start was about to go up in smoke when Jason Campbell went down with a collarbone injury. But the Raiders preserved your hopes for a somewhat special season, and put the Cincinnati-Carson Palmer saga to an end…albeit at an unbelievably high price. A 2012 first-rounder and a 2013 second-rounder (that has an outside chance of becoming another first-rounder, if the Raiders reach the AFC Title Game over the next two seasons) for a quarterback who had considered himself retired? Palmer admittedly has some rust to knock off and he’d better do it quickly – all indications point to him starting this upcoming Sunday against divisional rival Kansas City. The bottom line is that Oakland didn’t want to write off this campaign, so they rolled the dice on a high-stakes gamble. Will it pay off? If so, there’ll be two satisfied teams instead of just one.

Bengals Exceeding Their Wildest Expectations

T Lamont — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:35:15 +0000

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“I think, for the first time this year, we played a complete football game. We came out and played football.”

“That was amazing. Blowouts like this don’t happen against good teams. That’s a good, physical team offensively and defensively; they’re going to win games and make a push for the playoffs.”

If at the beginning of the season, we were all asked who would be the source of these quotes – we would not have even come close to guessing correctly.

The soundbites came from Cincinnati Bengals’ head coach Marvin Lewis and quarterback Carson Palmer following their lopsided victory of the Chicago Bears, 45-10.

Cedric Benson was extremely motivated for Sunday's game against Chicago.

Palmer had a magnificent day. He went 20-24 for 233 yards and threw five touchdowns. Superstar wide receiver Chad Ochocinco was the target for half of those completions, as the Oregon State product hauled in 10 receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. To round out their potent offensive display, running back Cedric Benson – formerly of the Chicago Bears – rushed for 189 yards on 37 carries.

In other words, the Bengals did whatever they wanted to do whenever they wanted to do it on Sunday. Cincinnati accumulated 30 first downs, didn’t give up a sack, and didn’t commit any turnovers on its way to the blow out win.

Chicago, on the other hand, coughed up the ball on four occasions. Jay Cutler threw three interceptions, and the Bears also lost a fumble. Bengals’ defensive back Leon Hall victimized Cutler twice on Sunday.

The Bengals improved to 5-2, and they are in first place by virtue of their victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the season. Cincinnati as the look of a team that is totally confident in its abilities. The team is riding the wave of two important developments:

1. Carson Palmer has returned. But not only has he returned, but he has returned healthy and rested. He has provided the offense with the powerful arm that it lacked in his absence.

2. A refocused, re-dedicated Ochocinco. He said that he was going to concentrate on playing football and having fun. Even Skip Bayless couldn’t take him out of his game.

I have a feeling that things have become a lot easier in town for Marvin Lewis. Having your two most respected players on one accord makes everything go smoother. The big thing for the Bengals is how they will react to adversity.

We’ll all hold our collective breaths and think positive thoughts. Maybe – just maybe they won’t screw things up this time around.

Palmer’s Wife Says “No” to Ocho

T Lamont — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:32:02 +0000

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After giving birth to twins on January 20, Shaelyn Palmer has her hands tied. The life of a new mother is filled with middle-of-the-night feedings, frequent diaper changing, and constant crying. Now, multiply that by two. Apparently, Ochocinco would like her to multiply that by three.

Ochocinco's smile could easily light up the Palmer twins' nursery.

Carson’s wife received a text message from a friend saying that Ochocinco planned to stay with the Palmers during the days prior to training camp. Like a smart husband, Carson has indicated that this will not happen. “I just told him that unless he’s picking up my mortgage for the month of July and August, he can’t stay. He’s not living for free. I don’t need another kid around the house.”

But hey, I’m going to go against popular opinion on this one. Here are the top reasons why the Palmers should let Ocho stay:

- As proven on the football field, Ocho has great hands. If he has to babysit in a pinch, there should be no worries about him fumbling the babies.

- I may be going out on a limb here, but I have a feeling that Ochocinco would be the most thuggish-looking guy in the Palmer’s negihborhood. If that’s the case, they won’t have to worry about being robbed.

- If you put Ochocinco on the floor in the nursery, his gold fronts can be used as a nightlight to keep the babies from getting scared.

- When formula gets low, he can run to the grocery store faster than most people can drive.

- Given Ocho’s history of endzone celebrations, I’m confident that the twins would turn out to be better dancers than they would living in an “Ocho-less” environment.

- If the Palmers frivolously spend their income, Ochocinco can replenish the kids’ college fund by selling his teeth.

So, you see…the Palmers should stop being selfish and look at all the good Ocho could do for the kids. After all, it’s all about the kids, man.