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Bengals tidbits

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Cincy

8/28/06

Palmer excited to return
QB eager to test his healing knee
BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->The third exhibition game, the closest the NFL gets to a game that actually matters in the preseason, will be all about quarterbacks tonight when Cincinnati faces Green Bay at Paul Brown Stadium.
The Bengals' Carson Palmer will start and might play into the third quarter, though coach Marvin Lewis has not said how long he'll keep his quarterback in the game.
"I'll judge how much he'll play on Monday night during the game," Lewis said.
Green Bay's Brett Favre, beginning his 16th and possibly final NFL season, also will start and is expected to play into the third quarter.
The Bengals and Packers also want to get plenty of work for their top backups tonight.
If Palmer, who's attempting to make a speedy return from reconstructive knee surgery Jan. 10, can't stay the course to play in the Bengals' Sept. 10 opener at Kansas City, Anthony Wright would start at quarterback. Signed as a free agent in April, Wright, the starter in the first two preseason games, needs all the game-action snaps he can get.
Packers coach Mike McCarthy wants to make sure he gets Aaron Rodgers, Favre's heir apparent, plenty of snaps with the first-team offense.
For Bengals fans, though, all eyes are on Palmer. He wants to play in two consecutive preseason games heading into the regular-season opener. The plan since March was for Palmer to play against Green Bay tonight and at Indianapolis on Friday night in the preseason finale.
Right now, though, he's thinking only about tonight. In addition to the rehabilitation of his knee, Palmer has had to work on his mechanics because of the on-field time he missed in the spring.
"I've worked with keeping my weight distributed, keeping my shoulders level, getting the right depth on my different drops, keeping the ball up and throwing at different angles," Palmer said.
"If you compare me now to a month ago, I feel a lot better and a lot more confident. I'm a lot more consistent with different routes and different route combinations."
Two-plus quarters of work against the Packers and at least a quarter Friday at Indianapolis would help Palmer reconnect in terms of timing with his receivers - though he has started for two years with Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Palmer will play behind the Bengals' starting offensive line, which is together for the first time in the preseason. Left tackle Levi Jones missed the second preseason game after suffering a sprained ankle in the opener against Washington, and starting right guard Bobbie Williams missed the Redskins game because of a sprained knee.
The starting line affords him protection, but Palmer has shown the ability to roll out away from pressure during training camp practices and to throw on the run.
"I needed (the past) month to work with our receivers on different spread opportunities, different ways to move in and out of the pocket with people around me," Palmer said. "I feel I've gotten more confident and comfortable. I'm excited at the opportunity to do it in a live game atmosphere."
Despite the protection and his running ability, Palmer is likely to get hit a time or two. He also will have to get psychologically accustomed to having big bodies creating traffic around his legs and knees.
"It hasn't been that long since I've been hit," Palmer said. "I'll get hit, get knocked around a little bit, but it will feel good because I haven't been doing that in training camp."
Palmer has been hit low hundreds of times during his career, and the hit on which he was injured was the one with the bad result, he said.
He has confidence in the strength of the knee and the rehabilitation he has followed under the eyes of therapists, doctors and trainers.
"My knee is strong enough to withstand (a hit)," he said. "And I'll have a knee brace on. (Still), I won't know how I will react to that until it happens."
E-mail [email protected]
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I will definitely be watching this game - the greatest fear, obviously is that Palmer get blind-sided on a blitz. From what I hear the Packers have this young stud LB who can get to the quarterback, think he is called AJ Hawk.
 
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Thus far 2 Packer drives = 2 Bengals scores - 1 on the fumble from Favre and run-back one from a pick and ensuing drive.

I was worried coming in about Palmer and his protection & passing action. Man if I was a Packer fan I'd be growing gray hair over the protection (make that lack thereof) afforded Brett Favre - and in addition worried about his play.
 
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BuckeyeNation27 said:
still?
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Well, certainly twice on key plays - one of which goes for a TD.

Carson took the Packer D for 3 full scores -- points on top of the 10 given up off Favre's picks and fumbles - all things considered this a freakishly good performance. He now sits as they are in the 3rd quarter.

I think lines in Vegas are being re-written tonight.

In staking the Bengals to a 34-7 halftime lead over the Packers, Palmer destroyed the questions about his knee injury on three touchdown passes, 140 yards, and a stunning passer rating of 136.9 by completing nine of 14 passes.
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Unfortunately I'm seeing the end of Favre's great career go the way of Marino's. His desire to win games greatly exceeds the will of his fellow teammates. His skill has diminished but the talent around him is awful. Green is not ready yet and Favre's first INT was his receivers fault. You get paid to catch passes you damn well better catch em. Other than that the Bengals have really impressed me. I thought their defense would have a dropoff from the turnover margin they created last season but they might actually increase that.
 
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Canton

8/29/06

Palmer nails big return
Tuesday, August 29, 2006 <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>[FONT=Verdana, Times New Roman, arial, helvetica, sans-serif]THE ASSOCIATED PRESS[/FONT]
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Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer scrambles away from Packers defender A.J. Hawk in the first quarter of Monday’s preseason game at Cincinnati. It was Palmer’s first action since being sidelined by injury during the NFL playoffs.​
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CINCINNATI - Carson Palmer aced the test.
With a brace protecting his rebuilt knee, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback took the hits, avoided the rush and threw three touchdown passes Monday night in his first game back from the injury.
By halftime of the 48-17 preseason victory over the Green Bay Packers, Palmer had convincingly made his case that he’ll be ready for the season opener.
Showing no hesitation to take a tackle or take off on a scramble, Palmer completed 9 of 14 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns. It felt like old times at jubilant Paul Brown Stadium when he pointed his right index finger to the sky after his second touchdown.
“I can’t say I felt real emotional,” Palmer said. “It just felt like a business day, a chance to get some work in.”
Unless his knee swells in the next few days, Palmer will be on schedule to start in Kansas City on Sept. 10, his goal during a grueling comeback that had overshadowed the franchise since its playoff loss to Pittsburgh on Jan. 8.
By contrast, a long-awaited Packers’ return quickly became a miserable night.
Running back Ahman Green played in his first game since he tore a tendon in his thigh midway through last season. Green carried 8 times for only 18 yards in the first half, unable to find much room behind a line featuring two rookie guards. His longest run was 8 yards. Mostly, it was another humbling visit for Brett Favre. He played into the third quarter, going 12-of-25 for 162 yards with three sacks and a touchdown for the Packers (1-2).
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