Pete Prisco article on sportsline.com

[membengal]

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/12274511

The piece:

CINCINNATI -- The words came rolling off Carson Palmer's tongue with all the cockiness you'd expect from a big-time quarterback -- and, despite what some of you may think, he is that.

Trailing the Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers by five points with 5:14 left in the game, and looking at 71 yards between him and a chance to help his Cincinnati Bengals perhaps shed the moniker of "Same-Old Bengals," Palmer looked at the 10 guys in his huddle and uttered these words.

"We need to take as much time off the clock because when we go down and score we don't want to give them the ball back," Palmer told them.

When we score, he said. Not if. That takes swagger, but, more than that, it takes the ability to back it up. Palmer did that by calmly leading the Bengals on a 16-play march to a touchdown, the score coming with 14 seconds left when he hit Andre Caldwell in the middle of the end zone with a 4-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion gave the Bengals a 23-20 victory in a game they probably had no business winning, and also gave them their first victory over the Steelers since 2006 and first at home since 2001.

It's no wonder receiver Chad Ochocinco insisted that the music he picked out had to be played over the speakers inside the locker room after the game, even though he was urged not to play it because interviews were going on.

The song? Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come. A line from that song that is repeated over and over again is this: It's been a long, long time coming.

"You like the song?" Ochocinco asked anybody who walked by. "It fits today."

It sure did. A change has come to the Bengals. They are legit, a real playoff threat.

And it's because they have a healthy Palmer. On most quarterback lists, Palmer isn't given the due he deserves. Injuries have hurt his status. Losing has as well. So has wearing a Bengals helmet. But when he's healthy, and he has good people around him, he's a top-five passer.

"How do people not know he's as good as he is?" Ochocinco asked. He then answered his own question.

"Nobody pays attention to us," Ochocinco said.

Late-game drives to victories over the champs will bring that with time. If Palmer doesn't lead the Bengals on the game-winning drive Sunday, they're 1-2 with a home loss to their chief division rival. As it is, they're 2-1, one game behind undefeated Baltimore in the AFC North and one game ahead of the Steelers.

A loss would have meant everyone chanting these are the same, old Bengals. I would have been one of those.

"You know it," Ochocinco said.

Dominated for most of the first half, the Bengals scrapped and clawed and put themselves in a position for Palmer to put on his late-game show. On the game-winning drive, Palmer was 7 for 11 for 55 yards and the game-winning throw. He outdid Mr. Fourth Quarter, Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers quarterback.

After the game, Palmer seemed to relish the moment.

"That was the most fun I've ever had playing football," he said.

Ever?

"It was a blast," he said.

Without Palmer for much of last season as he battled injury, the Bengals struggled in a big way. They couldn't move the ball, finishing 31st in offense. As Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said this summer, his team found out what it's like not to get the big-chunk gains from Palmer.

It was painful -- especially to watch.

They didn't get many of those big plays early against the Steelers Sunday. They trailed 13-3 at the half and had just 91 yards of offense, while the Steelers had 258. But the Steelers settled for field goals twice, which kept the Bengals in the game.

A Jonathan Joseph interception return for a touchdown early in the third quarter gave the Bengals life and help set the stage for Palmer's late-game march.

Carson Palmer not only has the tools to carry the Bengals but also the swagger the team needs to succeed. (AP)

Asked about his comments in the huddle to start the drive, Palmer said he didn't remember what he said.

"No special lines need to be said or a line from a movie script," Palmer said. "You just go out and do your job."

The drive included two game-saving fourth-down conversions, one a 4-yard completion to Laveranues Coles on fourth-and-2 at the Steelers' 20 and the other an 11-yard completion to backup running back Brian Leonard on fouth-and-10 from the Steelers' 15.

On that play, Palmer was flushed out of the pocket and found Leonard at the last second after finding none of his receivers open. Leonard caught the ball and scurried for the first down.

After a spike to stop the clock, Palmer found Caldwell open in the end zone. Caldwell was supposed to be in a different spot, but read the coverage and settled down in the zone. Palmer, who worked with Caldwell this summer at Palmer's home in California, didn't flinch. He found him wide open, setting off a jubilant celebration on the sideline and in the stands.

It was the third game the Bengals had decided in the final minute. The first week, Palmer drove them 91 yards to what should have been a game-winning score, only to see Denver get a miracle touchdown -- they hate that play here -- in the final seconds to give the Bengals a biting loss. Last week, they had to hold on for a road victory over Green Bay, almost blowing a 10-point lead late.

"Carson has been calling the touchdowns before the touchdowns," Ochocinco said.

"There was no doubt we would score."

No doubt? These are the Bengals. Of course there was doubt.

Palmer and his right arm are helping to remove some of that. Even on a day when he didn't play that well, completing 20 of 37 for 183 yards, Palmer found a way. It had to make it even sweeter coming against the team that knocked him out of the Bengals' playoff game loss to the Steelers in 2005.

"Carson has a great command and a composure in those situations," Lewis said. "It's almost uncanny how he feels. He has that fighter-pilot mentality. He thinks he's invincible."

That's a bit much. But this much isn't: The Bengals are contenders.

[membengal]

Oh, and that Palmer quote about taking time off the clock before scoring?

Stone cold money.

[HoosierCat]

Sorry, Pete, but there's no getting back on the bandwagon for you! F**ker dove off after the week one loss with his "can I have a mulligan" column. Enjoy the view from the side of the road, Prisco!

[HoosierCat]

And before I leave for work, I would just like to add that JOHN CLAYTON IS A DOUCHEBAG!

4. Bengals shake up AFC North: The Bengals officially have moved into the surprise team category with their 23-20 victory over the Steelers. The Bengals were down 20-9 entering the fourth quarter, but QB Carson Palmer took control. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 96 yards in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning TD pass to Andre Caldwell. With Palmer out most of last year because of an elbow injury, the Bengals dropped to 4-12. Their offense was hopeless. Now, Palmer offers hope.

The outcome puts the AFC North in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are 3-0 and have a two-game lead over the Steelers. The Steelers and Ravens don't meet until Nov. 29 in Baltimore, so it's going to be hard for the Steelers to catch up. The Ravens have outscored opponents 103-53. Joe Flacco has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 839 yards and six touchdowns. Backup halfback Willis McGahee has scored six touchdowns and is averaging 5.9 yards a carry. Suddenly, the AFC North belongs to Baltimore, not Pittsburgh.

Yep, us winning means "the AFC North belongs to Baltimore."

If we beat Balti in 2 weeks, what then? "The AFCN stinks?"

[redsbengalsbucks]

And before I leave for work, I would just like to add that JOHN CLAYTON IS A DOUCHEBAG!

4. Bengals shake up AFC North: The Bengals officially have moved into the surprise team category with their 23-20 victory over the Steelers. The Bengals were down 20-9 entering the fourth quarter, but QB Carson Palmer took control. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 96 yards in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning TD pass to Andre Caldwell. With Palmer out most of last year because of an elbow injury, the Bengals dropped to 4-12. Their offense was hopeless. Now, Palmer offers hope.

The outcome puts the AFC North in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are 3-0 and have a two-game lead over the Steelers. The Steelers and Ravens don't meet until Nov. 29 in Baltimore, so it's going to be hard for the Steelers to catch up. The Ravens have outscored opponents 103-53. Joe Flacco has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 839 yards and six touchdowns. Backup halfback Willis McGahee has scored six touchdowns and is averaging 5.9 yards a carry. Suddenly, the AFC North belongs to Baltimore, not Pittsburgh.

Yep, us winning means "the AFC North belongs to Baltimore."

If we beat Balti in 2 weeks, what then? "The AFCN stinks?"

Get a hold of yourself, the AFCN right now is Baltimore's. They have looked impressive so far. The Bengals have to go through them also.

[skyline]

And before I leave for work, I would just like to add that JOHN CLAYTON IS A DOUCHEBAG!

4. Bengals shake up AFC North: The Bengals officially have moved into the surprise team category with their 23-20 victory over the Steelers. The Bengals were down 20-9 entering the fourth quarter, but QB Carson Palmer took control. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 96 yards in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning TD pass to Andre Caldwell. With Palmer out most of last year because of an elbow injury, the Bengals dropped to 4-12. Their offense was hopeless. Now, Palmer offers hope.

The outcome puts the AFC North in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are 3-0 and have a two-game lead over the Steelers. The Steelers and Ravens don't meet until Nov. 29 in Baltimore, so it's going to be hard for the Steelers to catch up. The Ravens have outscored opponents 103-53. Joe Flacco has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 839 yards and six touchdowns. Backup halfback Willis McGahee has scored six touchdowns and is averaging 5.9 yards a carry. Suddenly, the AFC North belongs to Baltimore, not Pittsburgh.

Yep, us winning means "the AFC North belongs to Baltimore."

If we beat Balti in 2 weeks, what then? "The AFCN stinks?"

Get a hold of yourself, the AFCN right now is Baltimore's. They have looked impressive so far. The Bengals have to go through them also.

Yep, that part didn't bother me.

But the whole bit about how now Pitt. will have a hard time catching them was off...it almost sounds as if the Bengals don't even need to be considered. I'm probably reading too much into it, but that's alright. It's fun to be overlooked

[ArmyBengal]

Ok, I'll mention it again...

I think people are really underestimating that the defense was able to FORCE the Steelers to take those 2 FG's in the first half. The Steelers didn't have to "settle" for FG's, the Bengals defense FORCED them to take the FG's after holding them IN THE F*CKING REDZONE for Christ's sake. How is it when people say, "gotta give credit where credit is due" and then turn around and say some dumb ass sh*t like what we've read from Prisco and Clayton, there's nothing ??

Want to give credit where credit is due ?? Then as much as the defense and whole team looked bad in the first half, there HAS to be credit given to the defense holding the Steelers to those 2 FG's or Carson doesn't get the chance to "will the team" to a win. Don't get me wrong, I am loving some Carson right about now, but I want to see people see the big picture here.

This defense is a very good unit...

[Pidge]

Giving up 20 points is still a fairly good day at the office. Not ideal but a 20 point average is good for a top 10 D in this league. This isn't JV. Shutouts are rare. If that is an off day for the D then compared to previous yrs we're golden.

I hope I haven't jinxed them into letting the browns put 50 on us.

[volcom69]

I really thought the defense had an off day, ill say it again maybe im expecting to much from the defense, but they were giving up so many big plays something they really havnt done yet. The run defense was horrible in the first half, and Ben had all day to throw, but in the second half Zimmer made some changes and they came out and stopped the run and got some pressure on Ben. Maybe i am expecting to much out of this unit, but i thought the D had an off week. Maybe it was just the game though, the Giants let Dallas run all over them, but came out the next week and held the Bucs to 0 points, so maybe it was just the division game.

It ok i want them to overlook this team, in fact i want everyone in the NFL to overlook them, and that way in the end if the Bengals are still there, but will be amazed at what they have done. This is the most mature team i have seen in awhile, and even more mature then 2005, so lets see what happens the rest of the way.

Two weeks we get Baltimore, and right now Baltimore looks unstoppable, but lets see what the Bengals can do to them then, till then lets hope they blow out Clevland.

[skyline]

I really thought the defense had an off day, ill say it again maybe im expecting to much from the defense, but they were giving up so many big plays something they really havnt done yet. The run defense was horrible in the first half, and Ben had all day to throw, but in the second half Zimmer made some changes and they came out and stopped the run and got some pressure on Ben. Maybe i am expecting to much out of this unit, but i thought the D had an off week. Maybe it was just the game though, the Giants let Dallas run all over them, but came out the next week and held the Bucs to 0 points, so maybe it was just the division game.

It ok i want them to overlook this team, in fact i want everyone in the NFL to overlook them, and that way in the end if the Bengals are still there, but will be amazed at what they have done. This is the most mature team i have seen in awhile, and even more mature then 2005, so lets see what happens the rest of the way.

Two weeks we get Baltimore, and right now Baltimore looks unstoppable, but lets see what the Bengals can do to them then, till then lets hope they blow out Clevland.

The big plays were disappointing, but we held them to field goals, which is huge. If you give up three huge drives, but the other team only comes away with 9 points, then you're still in it.

And yes, the half-time adjustments appeared to be the right ones. Their run game became a non-factor, and Ben throwing the ball on every down is exactly what you want. He'll make some big plays...for both teams, typically.

[Kazkal]

Get a hold of yourself, the AFCN right now is Baltimore's. They have looked impressive so far. The Bengals have to go through them also.

Baltimore is playing lights out but they had pretty easy three games,I do like our chances vs ravens though because our Offense when healthy can move the ball on that Defense more so it's older....

[COB]

Sorry, Pete, but there's no getting back on the bandwagon for you! F**ker dove off after the week one loss with his "can I have a mulligan" column. Enjoy the view from the side of the road, Prisco!

Yea, this dude seems to be totally reactionary. A team loses, he writes that they suck. A team wins, he writes that they're good. He even admitted it in this column, if the Bengals had lost, he'd have buried them.

So but for some White Man Voodoo that Carson is able to conjure up at the end of the game, Prisco thinks the Bengals aren't any good. If you can't look past the final score and do some analysis, why are you writing for large-scale publication.

I look forward to his column explaining how good Denver is since they're 3-0, when everyone with half a brain can see that they're marginal.

[membengal]

Tough crowd.

It was just nice for me to read nice words on the team for a change from a national chattering head. Hell, if they hadn't pulled that out, this forum would have buried them as well, so why should Prisco be any different.

At any rate, I think he picked them to the Wild Card pre-season, so there's that.

[membengal]

For comparison's sake, here was this bon mot from Prisco's running mate sportsline.com, Clark Judge:

Denver can thank the 49ers for its 3-0 start. Without San Francisco firing Mike Nolan, the Broncos don’t have their defensive coordinator. So what? So no assistant is having a better season. I don’t care that the Broncos played three stiffs (sorry, Cincinnati).

Having a tough time giving up the knee jerk kicking of the Bengals, Clark? f**k. you.

[Clackwoods]

And before I leave for work, I would just like to add that JOHN CLAYTON IS A DOUCHEBAG!

4. Bengals shake up AFC North: The Bengals officially have moved into the surprise team category with their 23-20 victory over the Steelers. The Bengals were down 20-9 entering the fourth quarter, but QB Carson Palmer took control. He completed 10 of 17 passes for 96 yards in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning TD pass to Andre Caldwell. With Palmer out most of last year because of an elbow injury, the Bengals dropped to 4-12. Their offense was hopeless. Now, Palmer offers hope.

The outcome puts the AFC North in the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are 3-0 and have a two-game lead over the Steelers. The Steelers and Ravens don't meet until Nov. 29 in Baltimore, so it's going to be hard for the Steelers to catch up. The Ravens have outscored opponents 103-53. Joe Flacco has completed 65.4 percent of his passes for 839 yards and six touchdowns. Backup halfback Willis McGahee has scored six touchdowns and is averaging 5.9 yards a carry. Suddenly, the AFC North belongs to Baltimore, not Pittsburgh.

Yep, us winning means "the AFC North belongs to Baltimore."

If we beat Balti in 2 weeks, what then? "The AFCN stinks?"

Get a hold of yourself, the AFCN right now is Baltimore's. They have looked impressive so far. The Bengals have to go through them also.

The Dolphins looked impressive last year because they didn't play anyone to. The Ravens were down against the Chiefs and almost lost to the Chargers. I am not impressed at all with them

[Clackwoods]

I really thought the defense had an off day, ill say it again maybe im expecting to much from the defense, but they were giving up so many big plays something they really havnt done yet. The run defense was horrible in the first half, and Ben had all day to throw, but in the second half Zimmer made some changes and they came out and stopped the run and got some pressure on Ben. Maybe i am expecting to much out of this unit, but i thought the D had an off week. Maybe it was just the game though, the Giants let Dallas run all over them, but came out the next week and held the Bucs to 0 points, so maybe it was just the division game.

It ok i want them to overlook this team, in fact i want everyone in the NFL to overlook them, and that way in the end if the Bengals are still there, but will be amazed at what they have done. This is the most mature team i have seen in awhile, and even more mature then 2005, so lets see what happens the rest of the way.

Two weeks we get Baltimore, and right now Baltimore looks unstoppable, but lets see what the Bengals can do to them then, till then lets hope they blow out Clevland.

Have you watched them play? Obviously not

[Sea Ray]

I hope Denver's enjoying their 3-0 start. Care to see who's coming up for them? Their next 5 games are Dallas, NE, SD, Balt, and the Steelers.

[HoosierCat]

Of all the people to get it, I wouldn't have bet on Bettis.

I think that Steelers-Bengals game said more about Cincinnati than it did Pittsburgh. The Bengals ran the ball effectively, Palmer played well and, more importantly, they finished. The Bengals teams I knew pretty much blew it at the end of these close games. Yesterday they found a way to win, and that's a major change for the franchise.It's the sign of a pretty good football team.

For the Steelers, the scary thing coming out of this game is the evident strength of the AFC North. What a strong division all of a sudden.

[SupaBran]

Of all the people to get it, I wouldn't have bet on Bettis.

I think that Steelers-Bengals game said more about Cincinnati than it did Pittsburgh. The Bengals ran the ball effectively, Palmer played well and, more importantly, they finished. The Bengals teams I knew pretty much blew it at the end of these close games. Yesterday they found a way to win, and that's a major change for the franchise.It's the sign of a pretty good football team.

For the Steelers, the scary thing coming out of this game is the evident strength of the AFC North. What a strong division all of a sudden.

What? That's from Bettis? Crazy coherent for a former Squeeler...

I agree Baltimore hasn't impressed me yet...week 1 vs. the Chiefs was an up and down game they could have lost, and while tough to go to the West Coast, they had to stop the Chargers from scoring and winning the game. They will lose next week at New England! If we take care of business that week 5 game at Balt. could be for first place!