Remember this Sunday Night Football intro?

[Essex Johnson]

(05-09-2020, 10:03 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: That still enrages me to this day, but.... It was '08 when Palmer got the elbow injury (and the bloody nose) that really marked the decline as a Bengal.

Before the elbow/nose injury season:
64.1% Completion
7.3 YPA
1.65 TD per INT
90.1 QB Rating

After the elbow/nose injury (as a Bengal):
60.9% Completion
6.6 YPA
1.35 TD per INT
81.4 QB Rating

- - - - - - - - - - -

People forget that in 2006 Palmer bounced right back from the knee injury, started 16 games, threw 28 TD/13 INT, and went to the Pro Bowl.

The team around him just got worse. Chuck Bresnahan/Marvin Lewis were failing on the defensive side and they had to bring in Zimmer (in 2008) who brought the D from 24th scoring in 2007, to 19th in 2008, to 6th in 2009.

The OL was also getting old/failing. Levi Jones only played 9 more games in 2009 before leaving the league at age 30, Whit was still stuck at LG rather than dominating at LT, Eric Ghiaciuc fell out of the league after 2008 at age 27, Bobbie Williams was still solid but 2008 was his age 32 season, and Stacy Andrews left the Bengals after 2008 and played on 3 teams in 3 years (mostly as a backup) before leaving the league at age 30.

It was not a good OL, so I sure hope that the Bengals have learned their lesson on what not to do with a franchise QB.

Well I do think we learned when you look at last few years and the weak line Dalton our franchise QB had to play behind...