Carson Palmer is ready to play against the Broncos; clearly the backup quarterback belongs to J.T. O'Sullivan

If there's any question regarding Carson Palmer playing against the Denver Broncos when the regular season kicks off, he says he's playing. Some buzz was generated when Palmer threw, while testing his ankle during pregame warmups against the Indianapolis Colts. The hope was that Palmer would he'd get some work in due to general fears that he might be a little rusty after potentially not playing in game conditions for a month. However, it's likely that Palmer used the pregame warmup to get acclimated to his routine for next weekend's regular season kickoff. Oh, you big tease.

Is Palmer ready? He compares it to 2006, when he played two preseason games.

"I'm much more experienced. I'm more of a veteran. I'm more comfortable in our offense and more comfortable with the guys around me," Palmer said in comparing '06 to '09. I missed quite a bit of the offseason just because I was rehabbing. I feel prepared. I feel ready. I have to keep watching film, keep figuring Denver out and just get better and healthier."

Even though Palmer's time was limited, there was a general satisfaction how J.T. O'Sullivan played in his stead. Comparing O'Sullivan's performance to Ryan Fitzpatrick's during the 2008 season, you see that O'Sullivan's mainstream numbers are stronger. What should also be noted is that O'Sullivan got two additional games worth of work with the first team offense against the first team defense.

J.T. O'Sullivan (2009)

Ryan Fitzpatrick (2008)

Hopefully that doesn't matter. Because once the God of the Golden Arms returns, people will fear the Bengals more than some stupid Mayan calendar. If we did learn something else this preseason, it's that while O'Sullivan was challenged by a hard charging Jordan Palmer early in Training Camp; when he needed to come through the most, he did, easily claiming the backup quarterback position.