carson's timetable

[KenA]

the most sober-eyed assessment to date:

http://si.com/2006/writers/peter_king/08/06/mmqb/index.html

[BlueResident]

that's a good read, I actually like what Carson was saying because it shows he knows where he wants to be when he goes back under center

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

"One other thing about Bengaldom: The crowds here have been amazing. On Friday night, for the Bengals' first and only live scrimmage of the preseason at camp, more fans (9,400) came to see the Bengals than had ever attended a training-camp scrimmage. Ever. I was in a line of cars at 5:30 p.m., a mile from Georgetown, that looked like the snaking line at the end of Field of Dreams. If you build a division winner, they will come. Talking to Bengals owner Mike Brown before the scrimmage, it was clear he felt none of this would have been possible without the early greatness and football charisma of Palmer, who is utterly without guile. How about this for a football superstar: Palmer calls himself naive. I can't root in the job I'm in, but let's just say Palmer's return to the Cincinnati lineup can't come soon enough."

Now that's glowing praise for our city!

[membengal]

What I thought was most interesting was that Carson's plea for more snaps and reps in practice was heeded today by Lewis. Everything you read isn't that it is a physical problem, but rather a mental hurdle and general rust at this point. Fine. Then give him the reps to knock off the rust and address the mental hurdle. It's time to let him go a bit and Lewis apparently did that today...

[HairOnFire]

Adam Schefter(sp?), the beat reporter on the NFL Network, claimed that the Bengals won't play Palmer at all during the first two preseason games, partly due to his concerns about rust and being mentally prepared. They added that Palmer would see his first preseason action against the Packers in the 3rd practice game, though it was considered unlikely that Palmer would play more than a series or two.

For what it's worth...

[BlueResident]

I like the decision to sit him during pre-season, only he will know when he feels comfortable enough to go back in as the starter and do what he knows he can do

Once he gets rocked one good time, I think he'll loosen up...until that first hit he'll probably always be a little uneasy

[aaronburr]

Adam Schefter(sp?), the beat reporter on the NFL Network, claimed that the Bengals won't play Palmer at all during the first two preseason games, partly due to his concerns about rust and being mentally prepared. They added that Palmer would see his first preseason action against the Packers in the 3rd practice game, though it was considered unlikely that Palmer would play more than a series or two.

For what it's worth...

Considering he was only supposed to play 2 preseason games, it seemed obvious that they would be games #3 and #4. At least it was obvious to me. No real point in playing games #1 and #2 and skipping #3 and #4 if the goal is to get ready for the regular season.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

I like the decision to sit him during pre-season, only he will know when he feels comfortable enough to go back in as the starter and do what he knows he can do

Once he gets rocked one good time, I think he'll loosen up...until that first hit he'll probably always be a little uneasy

You gotta get in the game to get your head in the game.... I don't like the decision. It puts off getting him mentally ready. If his body is ready, temper his mind with fire.

[aaronburr]

An extra bit from the end of the column....

8. I think we might be witnessing the ruination of an extraordinarily promising career, almost before it got started. Linebacker Odell Thurman, who had a very good rookie season in the middle for the resurgent Bengals last year, has already been suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, and he's struggling mightily to turn his life around, from what I heard around the team on Friday night. Linebackers coach Ricky Hunley has openly challenged Thurman to be a man and to get the bad influences out of his life, and now we'll see if he is able to do it.

I think he's right.

[GapControl]

If it is true about Odell, what a sad story this will make.

[BlueResident]

I like the decision to sit him during pre-season, only he will know when he feels comfortable enough to go back in as the starter and do what he knows he can do

Once he gets rocked one good time, I think he'll loosen up...until that first hit he'll probably always be a little uneasy

You gotta get in the game to get your head in the game.... I don't like the decision. It puts off getting him mentally ready. If his body is ready, temper his mind with fire.

well of course you can't ready a player for a hit without a hit...but Marvin knows Palmer's contract is a long one, and he's going to be the coach here for a while...I'm sure he just wants to be positive he's ready...

[HairOnFire]

Adam Schefter(sp?), the beat reporter on the NFL Network, claimed that the Bengals won't play Palmer at all during the first two preseason games, partly due to his concerns about rust and being mentally prepared. They added that Palmer would see his first preseason action against the Packers in the 3rd practice game, though it was considered unlikely that Palmer would play more than a series or two.

For what it's worth...

Considering he was only supposed to play 2 preseason games, it seemed obvious that they would be games #3 and #4. At least it was obvious to me. No real point in playing games #1 and #2 and skipping #3 and #4 if the goal is to get ready for the regular season.

That's why I added the...for what it's worth...at the end. Schefter was merely confirming what we've all suspected. I've never doubted that this is the way they would handle Palmer. If he were completely healthy he'd only play a series or two in each of the first two preseason games so due to the injury concerns we're only talking about him being held out of 5-10 minutes of game time. The real question that I have is if he's allowed to play more than a series or two in games three and four with the idea of helping him adjust to the speed of a real game.

All things considered I'd be perfectly happy with Palmer only playing a combined 4-5 series in the entire preseason. In fact, I wouldn't have much of a complaint if he weren't played at all.

[derekshank]

If he's not going to play against KC, I'd rather him not play in any pre-season games. If he's not ready to really compete when it matters, why risk him when it doesn't?

I do expect him to get some reps against GB, and then probably only play a series against Indy to re-evaluate. I don't want to see him being risked while playing with a bunch of back-ups that won't even help him with his timing.

[Kirkendall]

If he's not going to play against KC, I'd rather him not play in any pre-season games. If he's not ready to really compete when it matters, why risk him when it doesn't?

Just simple live action reps without regular season implications. He started out way off, against the first team defense during the intra-squad game. There were times when he felt he needed to get rid of it and threw awful. What really needs to happen is him getting hit pretty good to give him the confidence that knee will hold up. I do believe 90% of his recovery left is his mental state.

[bengal4life]

I agree kirkendall. He should get in some hitting drills with the LB's. just kidding but as soon as he gets hit a few times it will all come back to him.

[aaronburr]

All things considered I'd be perfectly happy with Palmer only playing a combined 4-5 series in the entire preseason. In fact, I wouldn't have much of a complaint if he weren't played at all.

That is the problem. Getting ready for the Chiefs would probably require more snaps than that. But then, do you really want to put him out there with a bunch of third string Packers/Colts looking to make an impression.

You can be sure he won't be taking snaps with Andrews, Whitworth, Wilkerson, Ghiacuic and Kieft.