Carson Palmer

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http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...SPT02/504080422

Friday, April 8, 2005

QB Palmer hopeful he'll be more elusive

Weight loss should increase mobility

By Mark Curnutte

Enquirer staff writer

A lighter, quicker, more confident Carson Palmer took the Paul Brown Stadium field alone Thursday with wide receiver Chad Johnson.

Then Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowl player, dropped a pass.

"I almost threw one at him when he wasn't looking," Palmer joked after they completed their drills.

Palmer, who returned to his local home Sunday night from his native California for the Monday start of the team's offseason conditioning program, clearly is more comfortable after one season as the Bengals' starting quarterback.

He has dropped weight, looking significantly lighter and quicker at 230 pounds, compared to the 248-250 he carried last season.

More important, he said, he was medically cleared at 100 percent in February after suffering a medial collateral ligament strain Dec. 12 at New England.

Though he badly wanted to play in the final three games, Palmer sat out the rest of the season. He's glad now that he did.

"I could be like Nate Webster now, having surgery and being in a nine-month process if I had played and torn anything," Palmer said of his teammate and middle linebacker, who re-injured a knee and had to undergo a second operation in December.

"So, you know, it turns out it would have been great to get a couple more games of experience, but I still did get in three-fourths of the season. I feel good about it. I'm thankful it wasn't any worse."

Palmer purposefully put on weight before the 2004 season. He though he would need the added bulk to withstand the pounding an NFL quarterback can take.

While he was just one of four quarterbacks in the league to take every snap through the first 12 games, Palmer decided he could use the added quickness and speed that could come with less weight.

"Maybe better wind," he said of the benefits. "Maybe I'm a little quicker, a little faster, maybe I can run more. Be in better shape, being able to get back in the huddle and call the next play without taking a breathing break. I was tired at times because I wasn't in as good as shape as I am now."

He changed his diet. Instead of steak and potatoes every night, he ate more fish and chicken.

"I tried not to eat so much," he said. "It's my problem."

Palmer improved with experience as a first-year starter. His passer rating in the final six games, 96.9, compared to a rating of 63.6 in his first seven. He finished with 18 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions after starting with seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

"Confidence," he said of what made the biggest difference in his turnaround. "Just being in there ... If you never played before, you don't know that you can fit a comeback in there or a curl between this coverage. It's a whole new world, and once I threw every ball and (had) seen a bunch of different coverages, different blitzes, you start to pick up little things."

Palmer was buoyed by the offseason re-signings of running back Rudi Johnson and wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

But a lot of work remains.

"Having a year and seeing that I can do it and we can win games, that we can be successful offensively, it's a lot of excitement," Palmer said. "We can be good. We can go against the Super Bowl champions and put up points. We can go against good defenses and put up points."