Palmer: Facing Bengals "not just another game"

[Shake n Blake]

(11-22-2015, 10:50 AM)rfaulk34 Wrote: 1. I would never make excuses for Palmer because i thought it was BS the way he handled it. But i would try to put myself in the situation.

2. They had much more success the first 7 years he was here, compared to the 12 seasons prior. With that said, i don't think anyone believes they showed a different commitment to winning when you look at the "characters" they continued to bring in, i.e., all the arrests, ochocinco, the tocho show, etc. 

3. It's easier for a fan to not understand when they're not in the locker room and they view the team by the end of season results and see that they're winning more often. It's especially easier to be upset at him when you sit back and see the results of the last 4+ years. They've drafted better, picked up better FAs and stopped bringing in head cases. It's been way more business-like since '11 and more like a competitive NFL team without all the distractions.

4. With that said, i don't give him a pass for the ultimatum. But i can see how a guy with Palmer's mindset would get tired of the way things were while he was here. He may have lobbied for TO but TO was at the end of his career and even with his checkered past, he put up HOF numbers, so i can see why Palmer would lobby for him. That doesn't mean that once he's here, you regret the decision. I can clearly recall many times we saw the typical TO pouting and the lack of effort when he was pouting, like when he was walking back to the line of scrimmage against the Colts when the Bengals were in a hurry up mode at the end of the game.

5. None of what happened makes it ok, what Palmer did. But after a while, i can look at it without the emotion and see things that would make him want out. The last one in a line of good Bengals players that wanted out after a few years in the organization.

1. I think we've all tried to put ourselves in Palmer's shoes. We just seem to come to different conclusions.

2. I can somewhat see your point here. Benson, Pacman and TO were all characters. That said, if TO was the straw that broke Carson's back, that was his own doing. Homestly though, the arrests were more a 2006 thing than a 2010 thing.

3. You weren't in the locker room either. For all we know, they got along just fine. I don't let the current team affect how I view the 2010 team. I do know I think the "distractions" was a narrative that seemed exaggerated to me. The TOcho show was no different than AJ Hawk's podcasts. Funny how no one mentions that as a distraction. Probably because we're winning and no one wants to push a "AJ Hawk is a cancer" narrative.

4. If Palmer regretted asking for TO, that's still a Palmer problem, not a Bengals problem. Besides, it was quite clear that TO wouldn't be back anyway. Heck, that was known by week 14 of the 2010 season. So Palmer wanted out because a guy he requested didn't pan out and wouldn't be back the following season? This excuse doesn't fly.

5. I've always been able to look at the Palmer situation without emotion. Mainly because I decided during the 2010 season that I wanted to move on with a new QB. So when Palmer demanded a trade, it didn't bother me. In fact, I was relieved because MB is usually slow to make changes.