Esiason article on Bengals

[Tiger Stripes]

Cincinnati Bengals

In an example of a player putting up good numbers in a preseason game, quarterback Carson Palmer of the Bengals showed his fans that indeed he does possess the necessary skills to be successful. With his game against the New England Patriots, Palmer showed accuracy, arm strength and agility while leading his team to an impressive first-half shellacking of the Super Bowl champions. In this case it's exactly what the young, former first-overall pick needed. He hasn't played in a real game in over 19 months, as the Bengals chose to sit him all of last season. It was imperative that Palmer conveys confidence and grabs this team emotionally and makes it his own. Palmer has been remarkably humble in his quest to lead the Bengals back to respectability, which is admirable. He didn't pull a John Elway or an Eli Manning and demand not to play in Cincinnati. As he sat last year, he quietly supported his predecessor, Jon Kitna, and won over his teammates because of his unselfishness. If there were ever a player who I wish success, it would be Palmer.

For Palmer to be successful, head coach Marvin Lewis must fix the No. 1 problem the Bengals have dealt with for more than 22 years: their defense. Over that span, the Bengals' defense has ranked in the Top 10 only four times. Last season under Lewis and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, the Bengals' defense finished 28th overall. If Palmer is going to have a smooth transition from the sideline to the pocket, he is going to need a much better defense.

[wookie]

Interesting article. Esiason has liked Palmer since the Bengals were Scouting him before the draft. I seem to remember that he was lobbying for Lewis to draft him the whole time, and he talked to Palmer a lot about playing football in Cincinnati. This article wasn't surprising at all.

Still, its nice to hear. :player:

[jjakq27]

Interesting article. Esiason has liked Palmer since the Bengals were Scouting him before the draft. I seem to remember that he was lobbying for Lewis to draft him the whole time, and he talked to Palmer a lot about playing football in Cincinnati. This article wasn't surprising at all.

Still, its nice to hear. :player:

I think I remember where Boomer and his wife took Carson and his girlfriend to dinner a few times to talk about the Bengals, the Brown family and Cincinnati. We are lucky to have someone like Boomer to throw some positive spin on our city.

It's funny, for all of the people that complain about things in Cincinnati, there are an awful lot of out-of-town athletes that decide to make the Cincinnati area their home when they are done playing. (Stepping down from soapbox now.....)

[skyline]

Interesting article. Esiason has liked Palmer since the Bengals were Scouting him before the draft. I seem to remember that he was lobbying for Lewis to draft him the whole time, and he talked to Palmer a lot about playing football in Cincinnati. This article wasn't surprising at all.

Still, its nice to hear.  :player:

I think I remember where Boomer and his wife took Carson and his girlfriend to dinner a few times to talk about the Bengals, the Brown family and Cincinnati. We are lucky to have someone like Boomer to throw some positive spin on our city.

It's funny, for all of the people that complain about things in Cincinnati, there are an awful lot of out-of-town athletes that decide to make the Cincinnati area their home when they are done playing. (Stepping down from soapbox now.....)

Cincinnati has actually received a lot of great press lately for being a great tourist spot, and place to live.

They even ran an article about it in the Tennessean...