Only a few years back, Carson Palmer was sitting pretty in Cincinnati. He had his team on the brink of playing in the Super Bowl, which would have been their first since the Boomer Esiason era. The Bengals were playing for an AFC title against their division rival (and eventual champion that year) Pittsburgh Steelers, and Palmer was looking to blow the game open with a 66-yard bomb to then-rookie wide receiver Chris Henry.
But then he was hit low (albeit untentionally, according to the official NFL ruling) by Steelers defensive lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen, sustaining tears to multiple knee ligaments and provoking a rule change forbidding intentional contact with quarterbacks below the knees.
Even after he recovered from said injury, he came back with a vengeance in 2006 to throw for 28 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, becoming the first Bengals signal-caller to make two consecutive Pro Bowls since the aforementioned Esiason in 1988-1989. He capped off a great comeback year with Pro Bowl MVP honors. One may have thought he was poised for stardom, about to take his place amongst the league’s elite passers.
Since then Palmer has taken a tumble; 2005-2006 was the last season that he recorded a season total 2:1 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. While his play has been reasonably productive, the Bengals have only made the playoffs once since then: a one-and-done appearance in which Palmer completed 18 of 36 passes for a paltry 146 yards, one touchdown and one interception (posting a passer rating of 58.3). Some days, I thought Carson and his backup (younger brother Jordan Palmer) could have switched jerseys and no one would notice.
Apologies, that’s not really fair to at least one of the Palmer brothers. Jordan is more mobile than Carson.
Their ultimate capitulation occurred this past season, in which the Cincinnati club posted a 4-12 record and earned the fourth overall pick in the draft. In context, only the 2-14 Carolina Panthers held a worse record, but Denver and Buffalo also went 4-12 and pick ahead of the Bengals. Now Carson wants out, and is threatening to retire if the Bengals don’t trade him to another team.
The reasons for Palmer’s struggles throughout this period are varied, ranging from tragic to just plain puzzling. The unfortunate passing of Chris Henry, who was in the midst of a potential breakout season after a troubled early career, sent shockwaves through the Bengals offense. The addition of the 36 year-old Terrell Owens to accompany an already eccentric and aging Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson at wide receiver produced more highlights on their “TO & Ocho” television show than on the football field. A wildly inconsistent defensive unit (over the course of games and entire seasons) didn’t help matters even when the Bengals were winning, let alone when their offense began to lose productivity. It must also be noted that while the AFC North division is home to the equally lowly Cleveland Browns, it also holds the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, two perennial playoff contenders featuring top-ranking defensive units. None of these spell a recipe for success.
It seems little surprise, then, that Carson Palmer wants out of Cincinnati. Maybe he’s tired of having a different offensive line every year (or, perhaps worse, the same wideouts). He could also just not like getting clobbered by Pittsburgh and Baltimore year-in and year-out. Whatever the reason, he has threatened the organization with retirement, admitting that he has at least been frugal in his investments by saving 80 million dollars. There’s also the lingering possibility that he may retire and attempt to sign with another team in an imitation of Brett Favre. Whatever the case may be, the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, and a host of other teams would be likely to jump at the chance to sign Palmer, who can probably make a decent sales pitch if he just blames all of his problems on the Bengals.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
What's Up With All These Rematches?
On Sunday, the Chicago Bears will host the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field to battle for the National Football Conference Championship. This will be the third time this season that the two division rivals--both of the NFC North--will clash.
On the other side, the New York Jets travel to Pittsburgh to decide who will play the winner of the Bears-Packers contest in the Super Bowl. No problems there, right? Except that both the Jets and the Steelers played a divisional opponent (the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens, respectively) in order to reach their current position.
So why are there all these rematches? Why are teams from the same divisions ousting other divisional champions in order to play each other for a third time? Are these divisions just that much better? Maybe.
In the AFC North, both the Ravens and Steelers posted 12-4 records in the 2010-2011 regular season; as one may guess, this did not bode too well for the other two teams that share their division. The Cleveland Browns went 5-11 while the Cincinnati Bengals were a lowly 2-14. Despite the weaknesses of the declined Carson Palmer and washed-up duo of Terrell Owens and Chad “Ochocinco” in Cincinnati, the fact that Browns were actually able to post five wins in a division boasting the Steelers and the Ravens is a testament to their actual ability. Cleveland was one of only two teams (along with the Jets) to beat Tom Brady and the number-one seeded Patriots, underlying the core of potential they possess in quarterback Colt McCoy and running back Peyton Hillis.
The NFC North possesses a similar situation as its AFC counterpart: two dominant teams in the Packers and the Bears who have almost continually asserted their authority over the other two teams this season. That said, it is difficult to deny the potential ability of the Minnesota Vikings, who were approximately seven Brett Favre injuries away from perhaps having a decent run at the playoffs themselves. It’s not just the Vikings, though; on talent alone, the NFC North is perhaps one of the most loaded divisions in the NFL. Even the Detroit Lions, historically the laughingstock of the league even before their winless 2008-2009 season, possess the likes of quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, and one of the league’s most dynamic players in Calvin Johnson. When your division rivals count Devin Hester, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Jennings on their rosters, that title counts for a great deal.
Potential obviously does not make the playoffs, but the ability for division leaders to play week in and week out against challenging division opponents hones their skills for the playoffs. This helps them against teams from weaker divisions, such as Seattle (the fact that they won their division with a 7-9 record tells you everything you need to know about the strength of their opposition) and Indianapolis, who were a multitude of injuries away from likely coasting to another AFC South title but instead had to fight through a tough stretch to clinch their playoff berth.
But a big question remains as to whether it is beneficial or detrimental from an entertainment perspective for two teams from the same division to play each other a third time. Sure, intra-division rivalries stew up a high level of anticipation from the fans of the participating teams, but from a neutral perspective such a contest excludes a great deal of potential markets by limiting the league’s representation to only a select few divisions.
On the other side, the New York Jets travel to Pittsburgh to decide who will play the winner of the Bears-Packers contest in the Super Bowl. No problems there, right? Except that both the Jets and the Steelers played a divisional opponent (the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens, respectively) in order to reach their current position.
So why are there all these rematches? Why are teams from the same divisions ousting other divisional champions in order to play each other for a third time? Are these divisions just that much better? Maybe.
In the AFC North, both the Ravens and Steelers posted 12-4 records in the 2010-2011 regular season; as one may guess, this did not bode too well for the other two teams that share their division. The Cleveland Browns went 5-11 while the Cincinnati Bengals were a lowly 2-14. Despite the weaknesses of the declined Carson Palmer and washed-up duo of Terrell Owens and Chad “Ochocinco” in Cincinnati, the fact that Browns were actually able to post five wins in a division boasting the Steelers and the Ravens is a testament to their actual ability. Cleveland was one of only two teams (along with the Jets) to beat Tom Brady and the number-one seeded Patriots, underlying the core of potential they possess in quarterback Colt McCoy and running back Peyton Hillis.
The NFC North possesses a similar situation as its AFC counterpart: two dominant teams in the Packers and the Bears who have almost continually asserted their authority over the other two teams this season. That said, it is difficult to deny the potential ability of the Minnesota Vikings, who were approximately seven Brett Favre injuries away from perhaps having a decent run at the playoffs themselves. It’s not just the Vikings, though; on talent alone, the NFC North is perhaps one of the most loaded divisions in the NFL. Even the Detroit Lions, historically the laughingstock of the league even before their winless 2008-2009 season, possess the likes of quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, and one of the league’s most dynamic players in Calvin Johnson. When your division rivals count Devin Hester, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Jennings on their rosters, that title counts for a great deal.
Potential obviously does not make the playoffs, but the ability for division leaders to play week in and week out against challenging division opponents hones their skills for the playoffs. This helps them against teams from weaker divisions, such as Seattle (the fact that they won their division with a 7-9 record tells you everything you need to know about the strength of their opposition) and Indianapolis, who were a multitude of injuries away from likely coasting to another AFC South title but instead had to fight through a tough stretch to clinch their playoff berth.
But a big question remains as to whether it is beneficial or detrimental from an entertainment perspective for two teams from the same division to play each other a third time. Sure, intra-division rivalries stew up a high level of anticipation from the fans of the participating teams, but from a neutral perspective such a contest excludes a great deal of potential markets by limiting the league’s representation to only a select few divisions.
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