If you took all of the starting quarterbacks from the NFL and lined them up according to skill, where would Carson Palmer be? Would you have him next to Peyton Manning and Drew Brees in front, in the middle with the likes of Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler, or in the rear of the line with JaMarcus Russel and Brady Quinn? The 2009 stats say that he belongs in the middle of the pack. He tossed for 3,094 yards in the regular season which is 18th in the NFL (the middle) and he had a 83.6 passer rating which is 16th in the NFL (exactly the middle). We all know, though, that a quarterback's passer rating and yards in one year don't necessarily decide where he stands among the other quarterbacks.
So what does? I don't think that there is a formula to figure out which QB's are good and which QB's aren't. I think that most people that know football just know. It's not hard to see that Peyton Manning is greater than his numbers will ever say he is. It's not hard to see that JaMarcus Russel isn't even as good as the bad numbers he puts up. There is an X-Factor that good quarterbacks possess. It's a culmination of leadership, arm strength, accuracy, intuition, intelligence, the ability to inspire, and a thousand other qualities that make a great quarterback. The vast majority of quarterbacks in the NFL don't have all or most of these qualities..... only a few do. Carson Palmer does.
He had a bad year; I agree with that. He's much better than he played this past year, I agree with that too. What I don't agree with is every person who thinks they know football when they say that Carson should be let go or that he's a bust. Carson Palmer has the ability to be as great as we want him to be. Personally, I put Palmer not in front of the line, but not far behind Manning, Brees, Brady, Rivers, and Warner. He doesn't belong in the middle and he certaintly doesn't belong in the rear. Don't believe me or think I don't know what I'm talking about? Dan Marino and Boomer Esiason agree.
Think about it for a few minutes. If you think that Carson belongs in the middle of the pack of NFL quarterbacks then the only person who can change your mind is Carson.... it doesn't matter what I say. I have a feeling that he'll be changing a lot of minds next season.
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