Even a Bengals fan, a bitterly disappointed Bengals fan, doesn't even want to think about what San Francisco 49er fans are going through these days. Their young quarterback -- franchise quarterback -- holds the title of potential over production. It's a title that many young quarterbacks have before proving themselves worthy among the discussion of the league's best. In a way, we got lucky. We hit the jackpot with Carson Palmer. No doubt. Few teams can say that today.
As 49er fans contemplate their own young franchise-to-be quarterback, they're further dropped into maddening depression with Alex Smith out for the year and Trent Dilfer unlikely to play after suffering a concussion Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.
Fooch's frustration is hitting the peak. If such a peak even exists.
It's official. Reality hits. Hits like a young Mike Tyson upper-cut. We didn't see it coming. And it knocked us out. Yeap. It's official. The Bengals are NOT going to the playoffs this year. The headlines and bloglines speak a truth that none of us thought possible. The chance was there. It was hot. It was real...
Shut up, Josh.
In a similar passing-thought Bengals.com story about open head coaching gigs, Marvin Lewis went third person on us. "Marvin Lewis doesn't know any of those reports," Lewis said. "I appreciate the fact that you guys haven't brought those up until now. Let's beat the San Francisco 49ers."
About last night: During the competitive edge-of-your-seat Monday Night football game, Ron Jaworski mentioned that Cincinnati's Leon Hall is tied for the league lead for most touchdowns given up. Of course, that puts Hall in a bad light that we all feel will quickly dissipate. And it would have been nice if Jaws mentioned that Hall is among the NFL leaders for interceptions by rookie. Anyway. From wide-eyed rookie cornerback, Hall is quickly showing exceptional talent. Especially as a tackler.
He's still not the guy you can put on an island and forget about. He still needs help, like any rookie cornerback. But we see the talent he has giving this secondary tremendous potential. Though I was always the optimist. I was the guy that would always say before the season started during the Age of Helplessism, "This is it! This is our season." Of course, I was way wrong. But that didn't deter me from saying that each season.
Dude, rambling. Tangent. Move on.
Indeed.
The AP, the quality unbiased and artificial flavored source for current events, opines that Palmer and the Bengals "seem average this season". The first line reads: Ten months after Carson Palmer won the Pro Bowl's MVP award, his numbers and his team have become downright average. Let's just say to accurately describe the Bengals troubles would take more than 16 paragraphs -- which each paragraph having, at max, two sentences. Questioning if the team is bringing down Palmer? Whatever. But let's call Palmer anything but average. Some quick mainstream stats.
| Cat. | Stat | Ranking |
| Yards | 3,448 | NFL: 5th. AFC: 1st |
| TDs | 21 | NFL: 9th. AFC: 5th |
| Comp % | 65.2 | NFL: 10th. AFC: 5th |
Additionally. Chad Johnson ranks 4th in the NFL (3rd in AFC) with 1,187 yards receiving and T.J. Houshmandzadeh leads the entire Galaxy with 96 receptions. Houshmandzadeh's 11 receiving touchdowns ranks 4th.
So, in my honest opinion, no, Palmer is not average. He's still playing well above average and the production of his receivers show it. If the issue were disappointment about the mile-high expectations for Palmer, then that's a fair comment. For example, Palmer's 17 interceptions is tied for the worst in the NFL. He has five completions of 40 yards or more (had 15 in 2006) and his quarterback rating is eight points more than his rookie season. Also consider that in 2006, Palmer had a 14-5 touchdown-interception ratio at home. This year, it's 10-10.
Then again, aren't our expectations about Palmer higher than perfect? Disappointed? I have my reasons that doesn't include injury, suspension or the supporting cast -- though that's a huge part. And I'm not going to harp on my reasons because I'm not going to give out the impression that I think anything less than great about Palmer.
All I'm saying is that Palmer is way above average in this league.