Is the question about the Bengals backup quarterback answered?
During Training Camp, we kept hearing and reading stories that Jordan Palmer was impressive enough that conversation started warming up about the backup quarterback position. While Jordan was impressive, J.T. O'Sullivan was spotty and inconsistent. Clearly it was a growing question in coaches' minds, allowing Jordan to take snaps with the first team offense Thursday night against the New England Patriots -- on his first pass of the game, Jordan completed a 35-yard pass to Chad Ochocinco Johnson, who shaked off a tackle and outran linebacker Tedy Bruschi down the left sidelines.
Here's the most simple of stats to show who's leading the edge in the battle. The Bengals have scored only 14 points this preseason. Twelve of those points came from O'Sullivan's arm, who has yet to throw a pick, sporting a 136.3 passer rating. (Note, twelve of those points have also come from the hands of Chris Henry.) Much of O'Sullivan's performance against the Saints is a mixture of first and second team defensive players. On Thursday, arguably against a better defense, O'Sullivan was even better, in terms of passer rating.
| Comp | Att | PCT | Yards | TD | INT | Rating | |
| @ New Orleans | 9 | 11 | 81.8 | 100 | 1 | 0 | 134.8 |
| @ New England | 10 | 13 | 76.9 | 141 | 1 | 0 | 137.0 |
| Total | 19 | 24 | 79.2 | 241 | 2 | 0 | 136.3 |
In fairness to Jordan Palmer, against the Patriots, the Bengals clearly decided to rush the ball in a three-to-one rush-to-pass ratio with only four pass attempts in the fourth quarter.
| Comp | Att | PCT | Yards | TD | INT | Rating | |
| @ New Orleans | 7 | 11 | 63.6 | 59 | 0 | 1 | 39.6 |
| @ New England | 2 | 7 | 28.6 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 53.9 |
| Total | 9 | 18 | 50.0 | 104 | 0 | 1 | 44.7 |
While you could call foul on Palmer's playing time, you can't fault the way O'Sullivan is passing the football. Is he worth the topic of conversation of the team's starting quarterback? C'mon. You know me way better than that. I'm the guy that calls Carson Palmer "God of the Golden Arm." But is he, through the first two preseason games, clearly the choice as the team's backup quarterback? Yea.
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You had me going there for a second.
I thought you dun’ gone crazy.
by jsl413 on Aug 20, 2009 11:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I like jordan as a development QB but it comes down to who is moving the ball and at this point its not him.
by BigJungle on Aug 21, 2009 12:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I am truly surprised
O Sullivan came in here as a backup from Frisco and nobody was too excited about it. He couldn’t get it done in Frisco so he is just not good – right? Well maybe he just didn’t have the tools to work with there. I have yet to see him look bad. He is accurate and it may just be me but he has a very quick release. He is checking down his targets and when he decides to throw is is gone in a flash. Hell maybe it is just a fluke and he has had a couple of decent games mostly against backups but if Carson went down (God forbid) I think he could at least keep us respectable. He buries Fitz in a minute.
" My enemy said "Love your enemy". I obeyed and loved myself." Gibran
by JUNGLEJOHN on Aug 21, 2009 8:51 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
i’m still concerned about the way he manages the play clock (you can’t afford those wasted timeouts when the game counts, and o’sullivan seems to think he’s got one of those madden cheat cards where timeouts are concerned), and his throwing motion seems to make him prone to batted passes (which wouldn’t be much of an upgrade over fitz in the regular season), but wow does he have a quick release, and for the most part he throws with good accuracy. i think long-term it’ll be jordan, but right now there’s not much competition.
by Raging Clue on Aug 21, 2009 10:05 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I think you are both part right. Long term Jordan is likely to win out eventually (maybe even continue the legacy in like 4-6 years or so?) but I do think Just Turnovers was playing for a team that actually makes the Bungles of last year look good and he didn’t get a fully fair report card.
by FriarBob on Aug 21, 2009 12:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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