Carson "The Traitor" Palmer

Issue: What do you think of Carson Palmer demanding a trade from the Bengals?

Short Answer: I don't blame him, but the title of this post should explain it fairly well.

Reasoning: I guess this should be a two part question - 1) why don't I blame him, and 2) why is he a traitor?  I don't blame Carson Palmer for demanding a trade because, well, these are the Cincinnati Bengals.  Mike Brown (the owner/GM/scout/idiot) has successfully run a once proud franchise into the ground, and I couldn't imagine anyone, ever, wanting to play for the Bengals.  I'm not sure why anyone would want to root for the Bengals either, but I do, and that's my life, and I deal with it.  Therapy sometimes helps.  The Bengals stink, and that's all there is to it.  At least we aren't the Lions (who are getting better) or the Bills (who beat us handily this year) or the Panthers (who at least get the first pick in the draft).  So, I understand where Carson is coming from.

So, why do I think he is a traitor?  Plain and simply - he has done nothing to improve the Bengals.  It's not like he is putting up MVP numbers every year only to finish 4-12.  That's right, a quarterback who just posted a 4-12 record, on a team with numerous offensive weapons (Ochostinko, T.O. the cancer, Cedric Benson, Jermaine Gresham), is demanding to be traded.  Hey, Carson - good riddance.  And can you take Chad and T.O. with you when you leave?  If there is one thing that makes Bengals fans, Bengals fans, it is the fact that we wallow in the sorrows of our crappy team TOGETHER.  Cincinnatians are bonded by the fact that we stink, we know we stink, but, THIS IS THE YEAR!  After about week 7 we realize this again is not the year, but there is still a team to be cheered on, and Cincinnatians do so every Sunday.  Carson, we thought you were one of us, but you are no Bengal.  I hope you enjoy Carolina, or Seattle, or San Francisco, and I hope they continue to be mediocre teams with you at quarterback.

Let's go to the stats - http://www.pro-football-reference.com/ is the best site I have seen when attempting to dissect stats.  One of the best features they have is called "similar players" in which they list players who have similar stats and production.  Here is a list of similar players to Carson Palmer: Tony Romo, Eli Manning (only Super Bowl winner on the list, and we all know how fortuitous that was), Aaron Brooks, Michael Vick (I am assuming they mean passing and not rushing similarities), David Garrard, Jake Delhomme, Scott Mitchell, Mark Rypien (I lied, he won a Super Bowl too - no, I'm not kidding), Philip Rivers (I only assume he is on this list for his playoff failures too), and Chad Pennington.  Whoa.  Who on this list could demand a trade and be taken seriously?  Not many.  Carson Palmer has a career record of 46-51.  He has posted a winning record only twice - 2005 (11-5) and 2009 (10-6).  Both times the Bengals made the playoffs.  Both times the Bengals lost in the 1st round (sidenote: I realize that had Kimo Von Oelhoffen not rolled up Carson's knee 2 minutes into the game in 2005, not only could we have won that game, but the next 5 years of Bengals "lore" may have been different, and I may not even be writing about this right now.  The Steelers are dirty and I hate them greatly.  They cheat and they knew if Carson was out of the game, we were in trouble.  Typical Steelers.  Go Packers!).

Carson Palmer's most impressive stat - in the 2005 playoff game he was 1 for 1 for 66 yards before the Steelers decided it would be easier to win without Palmer on the field.  That stat is not enough for Bengals fans to take this trade demand seriously.  See ya Carson.  Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.  Or do.  I, and Cincinnatians, shouldn't care either way.  It's time to rebuild.  Again.