03-03-2020, 01:48 PM
I was not a football fan in 2003, so the only information I have on Carson Palmer comes from googling, but from what I can tell he was kind of a late bloomer.
If you take out his senior year, his college stats for the first 4 years were 40 games played, 618 of 1080, 7876 yards, 57.2% completion percentage with 39 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. That's a college passer rating of 123.17. (Joe Burrow's QB rating in his first year starting was 133.2).
Carson had prototypical arm strength, which allowed him to take risks that other players could not. We saw this in the NFL as well, as his deep ball was majestic.
The downside was, as we see in his college stats, his accuracy suffered for it. We also saw this in the NFL, with him consistently overthrowing mid level routes, often throwing it over a receiver's head. Even in his best college season, his completion percentage was only 63.2%. It's a fine percentage, but not anything to write home about. His QB rating in his senior year was 149.1 (Joe Burrow's QB rating in his senior year was 202.0).
Palmer was considered an underperformer until the final 6 games of his career, as Chris Mortenson said:
Despite his risk taking and inconsistent accuracy, Palmer was considered very good at throwing his receivers open; great anticipation.
One thing that is often forgotten is that Carson was apparently fairly mobile in college. He ran a 4.62 40 yard dash at his pro day so USC was able to call roll outs, boots etc.
The final defining characteristic of Palmer was his unflappability. He could stand in the pocket and deliver strikes even under pressure. He did not, however, have the pocket mobility that Burrow has. He had good footwork but some said he was almost too mechanical
Mortenson, again, said:
One defining deficiency in Palmer's game was leadership. Mortenson, once again:
On the other hand, Leadership is one of Burrow's calling cards.
So let's just do a quick line up of the key traits for a QB for each.
Carson Palmer:
Strengths:
Optimal arm strength
More Mobile than you think
Unshakable in the pocket
Excellent mechanics and quick delivery
Good footwork
Great anticipation and touch
Weaknesses:
Not much of a leader
Inconsistent accuracy
Questionable decision making
One year wonder (or, more precisely, one half year wonder)
Too mechanical
Lacked elite pocket mobility
Joe Burrow:
Strengths:
Fairly mobile
Unshakable in the pocket
Good footwork
Great anticipation and touch
Elite pocket mobility
Elite accuracy to all levels (especially deep throws, despite his average arm strength)
Natural Born Leader
Elite level decision making
Weaknesses:
Merely average arm strength
One year wonder
Smaller than average hands
Takes unnecessary hits when he takes off for a run
So, with Carson, you gain the arm strength and some mechanics, but lose the accuracy, pocket mobility, leadership and decision making.
I think if Carson and Joe were in the same draft, there wouldn't even be a question as to who would go first overall.
(It'd be Burrow).
I got a lot of this information on Carson from Joe Goodberry's fantastic article on him from the Athletic
If you take out his senior year, his college stats for the first 4 years were 40 games played, 618 of 1080, 7876 yards, 57.2% completion percentage with 39 touchdowns and 39 interceptions. That's a college passer rating of 123.17. (Joe Burrow's QB rating in his first year starting was 133.2).
Carson had prototypical arm strength, which allowed him to take risks that other players could not. We saw this in the NFL as well, as his deep ball was majestic.
The downside was, as we see in his college stats, his accuracy suffered for it. We also saw this in the NFL, with him consistently overthrowing mid level routes, often throwing it over a receiver's head. Even in his best college season, his completion percentage was only 63.2%. It's a fine percentage, but not anything to write home about. His QB rating in his senior year was 149.1 (Joe Burrow's QB rating in his senior year was 202.0).
Palmer was considered an underperformer until the final 6 games of his career, as Chris Mortenson said:
Quote:"His ascension is based on a terrific six-game stretch at the end of USC's season," said another scout. "That guy is a heck of a prospect. The guy before that was a suspect prospect. Can it all change in six games? When he stepped outside the Pac-10, he really struggled against a Big 12 school like Kansas State (16-of-47, 186 yards in a loss), but then he came back big against Notre Dame and Iowa."
Despite his risk taking and inconsistent accuracy, Palmer was considered very good at throwing his receivers open; great anticipation.
One thing that is often forgotten is that Carson was apparently fairly mobile in college. He ran a 4.62 40 yard dash at his pro day so USC was able to call roll outs, boots etc.
The final defining characteristic of Palmer was his unflappability. He could stand in the pocket and deliver strikes even under pressure. He did not, however, have the pocket mobility that Burrow has. He had good footwork but some said he was almost too mechanical
Mortenson, again, said:
Quote:Even Palmer's mechanics get a good-bad response. They're very sound, but one personnel man considering a quarterback in the first round labeled him as "almost too mechanical ... robo-QB."According to Bill Walsh:
Quote:He’s accurate, but he can’t avoid the rush like Montana. You can see he’s been schooled on his footwork, which he’d better be because he has no natural quickness. Excellent touch, strong-enough arm, quick delivery.
One defining deficiency in Palmer's game was leadership. Mortenson, once again:
Quote:Leadership? More debate. One scout notes that "Palmer is a nice kid....very well-liked by his coaches and teammates." Another scout calls him, "a wallflower...real low on personality...hardly inspirational."
On the other hand, Leadership is one of Burrow's calling cards.
So let's just do a quick line up of the key traits for a QB for each.
Carson Palmer:
Strengths:
Optimal arm strength
More Mobile than you think
Unshakable in the pocket
Excellent mechanics and quick delivery
Good footwork
Great anticipation and touch
Weaknesses:
Not much of a leader
Inconsistent accuracy
Questionable decision making
One year wonder (or, more precisely, one half year wonder)
Too mechanical
Lacked elite pocket mobility
Joe Burrow:
Strengths:
Fairly mobile
Unshakable in the pocket
Good footwork
Great anticipation and touch
Elite pocket mobility
Elite accuracy to all levels (especially deep throws, despite his average arm strength)
Natural Born Leader
Elite level decision making
Weaknesses:
Merely average arm strength
One year wonder
Smaller than average hands
Takes unnecessary hits when he takes off for a run
So, with Carson, you gain the arm strength and some mechanics, but lose the accuracy, pocket mobility, leadership and decision making.
I think if Carson and Joe were in the same draft, there wouldn't even be a question as to who would go first overall.
(It'd be Burrow).
I got a lot of this information on Carson from Joe Goodberry's fantastic article on him from the Athletic
![[Image: oN5QAdY.png]](https://i.imgur.com/oN5QAdY.png)
