There's a chance that Willie Anderson could return Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. In Wednesday's practice report, Anderson was labeled as Limited Participation in Practice. Along with Eric Ghiaciuc (knee), Deltha O'Neal (knee), Domata Peko (ankle) and Bobbie Williams (foot). T.J. Houshmandzadeh (back) and Madieu Williams (thigh) sat Wednesday.
Detaching ourselves for a moment from the misery that is a Bengals fan, let's examine some trends and placements.
First, trends compared to previous seasons. The 2007 numbers are based on simple projections.
| Palmer | Comp | Att | Yards | TDs | INTs | Sacks |
| 2007 | 399 | 616 | 4,345 | 28 | 20 | 21 |
| 2006 | 324 | 520 | 4,035 | 28 | 13 | 36 |
| 2005 | 345 | 509 | 3,836 | 32 | 12 | 19 |
| 2004* | 263 | 432 | 2,897 | 18 | 18 | 25 |
* Only played 13 games.
Carson Palmer ranks 15th among NFL quarterbacks completing 34% (16/47) of all third down conversions when the distance to go is eight yards or more. It gets better. On third down with three to seven yards to go, Palmer's completed 35 of 66 passes for first downs -- that ranks seventh in the NFL. Wait, there's more.
When the Bengals line up in three wide receiver sets, Carson Palmer has a very pedestrian 81.8 passer rating. With only two receivers flanked, Palmer's 118.8 passer rating ranks second in the NFL -- Tom Brady has a 144.1 rating in two receiver sets.
Reason why shotgun is not a good formation for the Bengals offense: Palmer's rating in shotgun is 64.8 -- that ranks 19th in the AFC just in front of Denver's Patrick Ramsey.
Palmer's first half passer rating (100.1) ranks fourth in the NFL. That drops significantly in the second half -- he's not even in the top-20 in the NFL. His 76.7 rating ranks 13th in the AFC.
An interesting note: Palmer ranks second in the NFL with completions going for 1,275 yards after the catch.
Late picks: Palmer's five fourth quarter interceptions is tied for fourth in the NFL.
In the Red Zone, Palmer has completed 42 of 66 passes (3rd). Inside the opponent's 10-yard line: 54.5% (t-12th).
Moving onto something more complicated. In 2005, Palmer recorded a DPAR (Defense-adjusted Points Above Replacement) of 108.3. That ranked second to Peyton Manning's 112.5. Since no one is touching Tom Brady's 159.9 DPAR, the battle for second is waged between the league's best NFC teams (Favre and Romo). Palmer's 81.3 DPAR ranks sixth in the league this year -- lowest since 2004.
| Chad | Rec. | Yards | TDs |
| 2007 | 103 | 1,503 | 8 |
| 2006 | 87 | 1,369 | 7 |
| 2005 | 97 | 1,432 | 9 |
| 2004 | 95 | 1,274 | 9 |
| 2003 | 90 | 1,455 | 10 |
| 2002 | 69 | 1,166 | 5 |
| 2001 | 28 | 329 | 1 |
Chad's on pace for a career year in receptions and yards.
| Houshmandzadeh | Rec. | Yards | TDs |
| 2007 | 117 | 1,219 | 15 |
| 2006 | 90 | 1,081 | 9 |
| 2005 | 78 | 956 | 7 |
| 2004 | 73 | 978 | 4 |
| 2003 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2002 | 41 | 492 | 1 |
| 2001 | 21 | 288 | 0 |
Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are on pace for 220 receptions for 2,722 yards receiving and 23 touchdowns.