Can you really blame Palmer?

Carson Palmer has said, through sources, that if he isn't traded from the Bengals this offseason, he will retire.  Now, Cincinnati fans are blistering social media attacking Palmer, blaming him for the Bengals 4-12 2010 season.  Although the quarterback is a major part of the game, I don't remember Palmer playing on the defense that dropped off massively from the 2009 season.  If anything, the failing defense had much more impact on the dreary record.

The defense frequently put the Bengals into large deficits early, and put unneeded pressure on the offense to come back.  A fourth-ranked defense in 2009 turned into a 15th ranked defense in 2010, allowing 24.7 points per game to keep the offense behind.

Now that isn't to say that Palmer is completely clean of fault for 2010.  Even though he hasn't been the same since the 2005 knee injury and his elbow troubles, 2010 was an especially rough year for the quarterback.  But Palmer is still a good quarterback.  He'll never be an elite quarterback or a hall of famer, but he can still get the job done with a solid running game behind him.

With any organization, including the Bengals, the success (or failure) comes from the top down.  Without a winning attitude at the management level, Cincinnati will never have a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

It's about time Palmer put his foot down and made some demands.  He's tired of playing with guys fresh out of prison and divas, and he's tired of playing for an organization not set on winning.

Some people have questioned whether Palmer will follow through with the retirement.  Bengals owner Mike Brown has already said he will not trade him, and he isn't one to give in.  People seem baffled that any person would turn down a remaining contract worth $50 million.  Palmer isn't Chad Ochocinco.  He is a reasonable person who doesn't spend extravagantly and has lived a relatively inexpensive lifestyle.  There is no doubt he has enough money to last him and his family the rest of their lives.  Why be miserable through 2014 for an unnecessary $50 million?

Ultimately, Palmer will not be behind center for the Bengals next year, either mentally or physically.  Mike Brown may convince him to stay, but it's obvious Palmer won't be the same mentally, which is worse than a physical injury.  What will the Bengals front office do?  They've shown time and time again they don't know what they're doing.  They will find a way to lose without Palmer at the helm.

TURKEY'S & FOOTBALL - A GREAT MATCH

It's THANKSGIVING all over America today and two things come to mind... TURKEY'S & FOOTBALL - A GREAT MATCH.

The National Past-time is filled with people grunting, scratching and screaming their heads off somehow [believing if we over-eat] and [scream louder and louder] until our veins pop out on the side of our necks that it will make the TURKEY'S on the Football Field Play a little better.

Let's take a candid look at all the players today. From the Coaches in the Field Box to those on the Field. The Head Coach and even the ball boys. Field Judges and Referees and to the men carrying the 1st-down markers. All play a big role in today's game.

For several days News Agencies and Media out-lets park their trucks and link up to Satellite Dishes and Digital and High Definition and Internet Access is finely tuned all for the big moment that the Football is kicked down-field designating the start of the 'BIG' GAME.

Delivery Trucks have brought their 'markets' to the game and stock-boys have worked long hours preparing behind the scenes making sure that 'whatever' a person desires to buy at the 'BIG' GAME is on the shelf.

Janitors have cleaned Rest-rooms and Stadium seating has been prepared for the Consumer to enjoy a place where a great memory could be made for the individual who holds a ticket to this 'BIG' GAME.

Parking attendants and people selling peanuts and water at reduced prizes on the outside of the Stadium area... all wanting a piece of this great Turkey Day.

Management - [profits and losses] ever before them running around checking and re-checking their list as to say this is the most important game ever. Advertisements pressing the issue that if we don't purchase certain products that it will be the end of something good.

How could we ever live without something good? I don't even want to think that way. Could we really have Thanksgiving without Football? Could we down-size and say we don't need the Janitor or the Delivery Truck driver? Can we make cutting back on the person who hung the Toilet Paper on the rack?

Could we really have Thanksgiving without the peanuts and popcorn and Cotton Candy? What about the Airplane Pilots and Bus Drivers and the Hotel Attendants and the Taxi Cab drivers all in for a piece of this 'BIG' GAME?

Today and extended now into late tonight, TURKEY'S will walk out on the field and play a game that will matter to someone. It may NOT matter at all to the TURKEY'S on the field, but someone really is living for this certain moment.

While I'm home watching the games today and doing my share of scratching and grunting and screaming at the ol' TV - someone will go to work throughout the night and into tomorrow and for the next several days really, cleaning up all this mess that we call the 'BIG' GAME.

TURKEY'S will go back to their respective areas and until next time try to figure out what they did right and wrong and what's worth doing again and what's worth letting go of. I just hope they remember they couldn't be TURKEY'S without first a THANKSGIVING. They need to realize they have been given a pardon so that we could enjoy TURKEY'S & FOOTBALL.

Mark Arnold

Freelance Journalist

My Final Draft (Article)

The final four rounds of the draft are the least exciting, unless you're a college player still waiting to hear your name.  All the big names are gone.  But these are the rounds that make or break a draft class for a team.  This is where a team can "steal" great players.  The problem is, we won't know whether any of these players are a steal until a year or two from now.  These are the hardest picks to analyze.  But I'll try.

With their first pick in the fourth round, the Bengals selected defensive tackle Geno Atkins from Georgia.  Good pick from a positional need standpoint.  Maybe there's something I don't know, but I know the Bengals were ranked best in the NFL in run defense.  Which leads me to believe that Johnson, Fanene, and Peko did a pretty good job up front.  Maybe they're looking for a better pass rush from the middle, but I feel that they've got a pretty good set of defensive tackles.

The second fourth round pick for the Bengals brought inside linebacker Roddrick Muckelroy from Texas to Cincinnati.  I've read that he isn't the most agile linebacker and has trouble with coverage.  Again, I cite the fact that the Bengals had the best rushing defense last year, and a lack of agility will prove disastrous for a linebacker, considering the quality of tight ends in the league right now.  On the other hand, the Bengals are always needing quality linebackers, so if Muckelroy can get better in pass coverage, this could be a good pick.

The Bengals took OT Otis Hudson, WR Dezmon Briscoe, and OG Reginald Stephens in the 5th, 6th, and 7th round, respectively.  The offensive line definitely needs help, especially in pass protection, so Hudson and Stephens could be great pickups.  I feel like the needs at offensive line should have been addressed earlier in the draft though.  The one true "steal" of the draft for the Bengals was Dezmon Briscoe.  This guy will be better than most of the Bengals WR picks in previous drafts, and to get him in the sixth round was amazing.  He had over 2,700 yards receiving over the past two seasons with the Jayhawks.  He could definitely be contributing this season.

That's all for the draft from me.  Overall, I would give the Bengals a C+ for this year's draft class.

     -Mike Zimmerman
      4/25/2010