Lenny on the Bengals

[Kirkendall]

Apart of his Morning After piece.

We usually term it a "coming of age game" but, call it what you will, every quarterback who proceeds to stardom in the NFL certainly needs one.

Years from now, if his career has advanced to the point where people speak of him in superlatives, Carson Palmer will look back on Sunday's clutch performance at Baltimore and, perhaps, regard the game, or at least the fourth quarter of the stirring 27-26 victory at Baltimore as a personally galvanizing moment.

Forget that the comeback win allowed the Bengals, after a 1-4 start to the season, to climb back to .500, or that it came over a bitter rival. That Palmer was able to rally his team in the fourth quarter, and then steal away a win with a brilliantly executed hurry-up drive in the closing minutes, was what counted most.

In the fourth quarter, the second-year veteran, whose sporadic play has at times mirrored that of the Bengals in general, enjoyed a "perfect" period in terms of quarterback rating. He hit 10 of 12 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns. His only incomplete attempts in the stanza were a couple of "spikes" to kill the clock on the final possession. Every completion but one was for double-digit yardage. In order: 13 yards, 32, 11, 12, 24, 34, nine, 32, 11 and 22. And, in the Baltimore secondary, it wasn't as if Palmer was facing a passive unit that just sack back and permitted him to operate with impunity. Making the final drive even that more impressive was that it began with Palmer suffering an eight-yard sack by end Anthony Weaver.

There was certainly no hint, through three quarters, that Palmer was capable of such rousing play. He had been, typically, sporadic with his accuracy. And while his 182 passing yards were acceptable, Palmer hadn't gotten Cincinnati into the end zone.

All of that changed, though, in the fourth quarter. He regularly hooked up with Chad Johnson (10 catches, 161 yards, two touchdowns) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (10 for 171 yards and one score), threw the ball well vertically, seemed to consistently have coordinator Bob Bratkowski dialing up solid plays for him. Bratkowski has occasionally been criticized this season for not better insulating the first-year starter with a better run game and play selection. But give the veteran coordinator credit for designing a passing game which, despite Palmer's weak yards-per-attempt number (6.22 yards), usually goes vertical in an era of east-west throws.

In the final drive, after it appeared that Palmer's performance would be squandered as the Ravens assumed a 26-24 edge on a Matt Stover field goal, the Bengals made huge plays because Palmer made big-time throws. Clearly, it was a moment upon which to build.

At 6-6, unfortunately, Cincinnati has little chance of making the playoffs in a crowded AFC field. And, even with Sunday's results, it is clear the Bengals need another speed receiver (no disrespect intended for Houshmandzadeh, who now has 14 catches for 250 yards and three touchdowns the last two outings) to pair with the brash Johnson. Maybe Palmer will regress again, revert to the quarterback who had more interceptions than touchdown passes until Sunday, and whose efficiency rating was a modest 70.1. But if he stays in ascent, and uses Sunday's fourth quarter as positive reinforcement, the victory could serve as a career springboard.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/stor.../morning/week13

[BengalBobNC]

At 6-6, unfortunately, Cincinnati has little chance of making the playoffs in a crowded AFC field.

We certainly need help to get to the post season this year, but:

We have not been eliminated yet after 12 games! Sweet. One game at a time. The Patriots will be tough to beat. The Bengals can do it! If they want it bad enough...they can do it!

Go Bengals!

[princeton]

"Forget that the comeback win allowed the Bengals, after a 1-4 start to the season, to climb back to .500, or that it came over a bitter rival. "

why would you ever want to forget those things? It makes the accomplishment more important, more impressive, and more predictive of future success in important games

[HoosierCat]

"Forget that the comeback win allowed the Bengals, after a 1-4 start to the season, to climb back to .500, or that it came over a bitter rival. "

why would you ever want to forget those things? It makes the accomplishment more important, more impressive, and more predictive of future success in important games

It's just a figure of speech. Lenny isn't saying those achievements aren't worth mentioning; indeed, he obviously feels the need to mention them and get them out of his way before he brings up his main point: "That Palmer was able to rally his team in the fourth quarter, and then steal away a win with a brilliantly executed hurry-up drive in the closing minutes, was what counted most."

To provide a contrast, Buffalo also started horribly (0-4 I think) and got to .500 yesterday with a victory over a bitter rival (division rival Miami). Such things happen in the NFL. But that such a victory was achieved by a newbie QB leading a drive in the final minute and a half, a newbie QB who a lot of people do not think very highly of (hiya Michael Irvin! Anyone else see him get punked by TJ over Carson on the MNF pregame show tonight) is a Big Deal. At least in Lenny's oversized opinion. And I can only agree.

[jditty47]

my friend thinks Lenny P is Jesus. Hes a very good writer for espn.

[princeton]

It's just a figure of speech. Lenny isn't saying those achievements aren't worth mentioning; indeed, he obviously feels the need to mention them and get them out of his way before he brings up his main point: "That Palmer was able to rally his team in the fourth quarter, and then steal away a win with a brilliantly executed hurry-up drive in the closing minutes, was what counted most."

no, it's common to write about a big accomplishment and then talk about the circumstances that transform it into a greater accomplishment. This writer throws out the greater accomplishment in order to write about the smaller accomplishment. It's bass ackwards.

Lots of quarterbacks were renowned for ability the troops, even guys like Jim Harbaugh, Jake Plummer, Doug Flutie. But can they do it when the circumstances are truly momentous-- like Joe Montana and Jon Elway and Roger Staubach could, but maybe Jim Kelly and Fran Tarkenton never could?

Comebacks aren't the real issue-- comebacks in big situations are. Obviously there's not enough data on Carson Palmer to know if he's the guy that you'd want to throw the ball in the last minutes of a Super Bowl. Still, the last drive against that Baltimore defense intrigues.

[HoosierCat]

It's just a figure of speech. Lenny isn't saying those achievements aren't worth mentioning; indeed, he obviously feels the need to mention them and get them out of his way before he brings up his main point: "That Palmer was able to rally his team in the fourth quarter, and then steal away a win with a brilliantly executed hurry-up drive in the closing minutes, was what counted most."

no, it's common to write about a big accomplishment and then talk about the circumstances that transform it into a greater accomplishment. This writer throws out the greater accomplishment in order to write about the smaller accomplishment. It's bass ackwards.

No, it is not. The "greater accomplishment" is Carson leading the big comeback, says Lenny, and I agree. And so do you, according to the rest of your post. Or are you trying to say that this doesn't qualify as a big comeback? If so, I disagree completely.