A Message from Carson

[oldschooler]

Thank you all so much for the support and encouragement that you have provided to me and Shae since my injury in the Steelers game. You are truly the best fans in the NFL and I am sorry that this season ended earlier than we all would have liked. Rest assured, however, that the entire team is going to be working hard this off-season to improve and we will be a better team next year.

In terms of my injury, I will be completely ready for the 2006 NFL season and am anxious to get back out on the field with my teammates. I had surgery in Houston and am doing my rehab in Orange County, California. This is going to be a long, grueling process, but knowing that you all will be waiting for me at the Jungle provides me with great inspiration. In the meantime, hopefully we can resign Jon Kitna, a fantastic quarterback and person, who will expertly guide our offense during the off-season.

As you all know, I signed a long-term deal with the Bengals shortly before my injury. I am very grateful to the Brown family and the Bengals organization for showing their faith in me as the team’s quarterback and leader. One of the reasons that I signed a long-term deal is because Shae and I love Cincinnati both in terms of its team and community. Thanks to everyone for making us feel so welcome and we look forward to coming back to Cincinnati once the weather warms up a little bit!

I also want to give a quick thank you to Trey Selman at Selman Chevrolet for providing me with such an awesome car, John Unzicker from the Northern Illinois Flight Center for allowing me to fly in comfort, and Standards of Excellence for their great grill that we will be using often in the upcoming months.

Keep the postings coming as I really enjoy reading them during my downtime back here in Cali.

CP

http://carsonpalmer.typepad.com/

[Stripes]

No offense to you, Oldschooler, but I'm not sure about this... It seems pretty iffy, and I'm hesitant to believe Carson Palmer had any part in writing that.

If he did, then good deal. Heal up, buddy!

[TecmoFever]

Get your Super Bowl tickets NOW!!

[oldschooler]

No offense to you, Oldschooler, but I'm not sure about this... It seems pretty iffy, and I'm hesitant to believe Carson Palmer had any part in writing that.

If he did, then good deal. Heal up, buddy!

I`m just posting what I found.

It`s his official blog. I provided a link...

[benglsdrumr]

i know its from Carson's official blog, so who knows?

[KEGutterboy]

Class Act as always!

[B24]

It's linked by his official site also. http://www.carsonpalmer9.com/

[Spain]

Dude has class.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Get well Carson you are our only hope Obi-Wan.

And quit pimpin' your pal Kitna we need a better back up option.

[wittbengal29]

I am thinking he writes that for the shoutouts of his local endorsments who ends a heartfelt letter with comments including his new grill and car that were provided for me...i love carson to death dont get me wrong, but i hope there was some incentive for writing that from those companies...

[oldschooler]

I am thinking he writes that for the shoutouts of his local endorsments who ends a heartfelt letter with comments including his new grill and car that were provided for me...i love carson to death dont get me wrong, but i hope there was some incentive for writing that from those companies...

A little thank you and free publicity for them.

Wouldn`t you thank people for FREE or extremely discounted stuff too ?

The Enquirer mentions his blog a little and post the entire entry from

Carson.

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...0021/1066/rss07

[NJ29]

I think that the campaign to start talking about how crappy Kitna is needs to start NOW... and publicly, so he can come back for cheap.

[andybren]

I think that the campaign to start talking about how crappy Kitna is needs to start NOW... and publicly, so he can come back for cheap.

Same reason why I was glad to see Kyle Boller do reasonably well at the end of last season. We definitely benefit from keeping the status quo with Kitna and Baltimore.

[AMC]

I have thought about this whole Kitna thing a bit more....You know, reflected on why I wanted him here. The main reason was to tutor Carson....Well, now I think Carson would tutor Kit. And second, his community involvement....Seems his stock has fallen in my mind a bit....The only thing he has going for him on the field is vast knowledge of the system....

I say explore all backup QB options in the offseason....And as much as I hate to say it, Kitna may not be the best option available....

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I have thought about this whole Kitna thing a bit more....You know, reflected on why I wanted him here. The main reason was to tutor Carson....Well, now I think Carson would tutor Kit. And second, his community involvement....Seems his stock has fallen in my mind a bit....The only thing he has going for him on the field is vast knowledge of the system....

I say explore all backup QB options in the offseason....And as much as I hate to say it, Kitna may not be the best option available....

Agreed. If they "can" find a better option with more upside ability/potential - they should go that route.

Whether it be a Schuab or a Martin etc...,

At some point people need to let go of the man love for Kitna because he knows the system - there's a lot of offensive weapons here and an experienced o-line to work behind - Kitna's skills will continue to decline as he gets older and plays less and less like he has the last two seasons. He doesnt' seem like a guy who can come off the bench in a pinch.

Carson has ended his last two seasons with injuries in crucial situations, and they need a strong arm back there to get the ball downfield to these WR's and score points - not the dink and dunk style of Kitna - this offense is centered around WR's who can stretch the field, a vertical passing game, that requires a QB who can launch it.

I will continue to pimp Jamie Martin as someone they should go after.

[AMC]

I have thought about this whole Kitna thing a bit more....You know, reflected on why I wanted him here. The main reason was to tutor Carson....Well, now I think Carson would tutor Kit. And second, his community involvement....Seems his stock has fallen in my mind a bit....The only thing he has going for him on the field is vast knowledge of the system....

I say explore all backup QB options in the offseason....And as much as I hate to say it, Kitna may not be the best option available....

Agreed. If they "can" find a better option with more upside ability/potential - they should go that route.

Whether it be a Schuab or a Martin etc...,

At some point people need to let go of the man love for Kitna because he knows the system - there's a lot of offensive weapons here and an experienced o-line to work behind - Kitna's skills will continue to decline as he gets older and plays less and less like he has the last two seasons. He doesnt' seem like a guy who can come off the bench in a pinch.

Carson has ended his last two seasons with injuries in crucial situations, and they need a strong arm back there to get the ball downfield to these WR's and score points - not the dink and dunk style of Kitna - this offense is centered around WR's who can stretch the field, a vertical passing game, that requires a QB who can launch it.

I will continue to pimp Jamie Martin as someone they should go after.

Well put Shula....About coming in in a pinch....Kit may not be best suited for that....

I do like the Martin angle with Zampese and his experience in high-octane O's....He's up there in age, but a viable option....

[derekshank]

I have thought about this whole Kitna thing a bit more....You know, reflected on why I wanted him here. The main reason was to tutor Carson....Well, now I think Carson would tutor Kit. And second, his community involvement....Seems his stock has fallen in my mind a bit....The only thing he has going for him on the field is vast knowledge of the system....

I say explore all backup QB options in the offseason....And as much as I hate to say it, Kitna may not be the best option available....

Agreed. If they "can" find a better option with more upside ability/potential - they should go that route.

Whether it be a Schuab or a Martin etc...,

At some point people need to let go of the man love for Kitna because he knows the system - there's a lot of offensive weapons here and an experienced o-line to work behind - Kitna's skills will continue to decline as he gets older and plays less and less like he has the last two seasons. He doesnt' seem like a guy who can come off the bench in a pinch.

Carson has ended his last two seasons with injuries in crucial situations, and they need a strong arm back there to get the ball downfield to these WR's and score points - not the dink and dunk style of Kitna - this offense is centered around WR's who can stretch the field, a vertical passing game, that requires a QB who can launch it.

I will continue to pimp Jamie Martin as someone they should go after.

If age is your concern with Kitna... Martin is 2 years older, and despite his experience in a "high-octane" offense in his 8 games this year, he threw more INT's than TD's. I'd rather have a younger guy who has a lot to learn... like McCown. Warner beat him out as a starter, so he's not going to be highly coveted... but he does have NFL starting experience. If he had the Bengals O-Line, he might be pretty good. He certainly has that long ball arm you're looking for.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I'd rather have a younger guy who has a lot to learn... like McCown. Warner beat him out as a starter, so he's not going to be highly coveted... but he does have NFL starting experience. If he had the Bengals O-Line, he might be pretty good. He certainly has that long ball arm you're looking for.

I watched Josh McCown while he and the Cardinals were in Prescott for training camp.

He has three big things going for him. His right arm and his legs. His arm is better than average, much better than Kitna's, and he's more mobile than either Kitna is or possibly Palmer, depending upon the outcome of his knee surgery.

His problem is when behind, (as the Cardinals usually are) and without a viable running game, he becomes another "Jake the Snake" Plummer or Brett Farve and tries to force the ball into a place it ain't gonna go.

[HoosierCat]

At some point people need to let go of the man love for Kitna because he knows the system - there's a lot of offensive weapons here and an experienced o-line to work behind - Kitna's skills will continue to decline as he gets older and plays less and less like he has the last two seasons. He doesnt' seem like a guy who can come off the bench in a pinch.

Only problem is that postseason events aren't really supporting that theory. Notably, the Bengals remain the only one of the Steelers' postseason opponents to go into halftime and then the third quarter wth a lead. Had St. Louis not botched the snap, the Kitna-led Bengals would also have the highest point total vs. Pitt in the postseason, 20.

Kitna had thrown 30 passes all year before the Pitt game -- and still looked better than Plummer yesterday (and complete a higher percentage of passes than Manning did). In short, he's being thrown overboard for one game in which, as it turns out, he looked about as good as Manning or Plummer. And they started the whole year.

[Stripes]

His problem is when behind, (as the Cardinals usually are) and without a viable running game, he becomes another "Jake the Snake" Plummer or Brett Farve and tries to force the ball into a place it ain't gonna go.

I think McCown would be successful in stripes... We should be able to muster the running game and maintain the leads that would allow him the space to succeed. If we don't stick with Kitna, then McCwon would be my first choice.

[schweinhart]

Re-sign Kitna. It should be the simplest off-season decision the Bengals have.

However, McCown would be the next best choice if Kitna flat out doesn't want to re-sign where he has no chance of starting.

Otherwise, roll with Krenzel and use either a late draft pick or sign a rookie free agent to bring up as the 3rd QB.

No one is going to come close to matching what Carson brings. So if any other QB has to start the first few games of the season, that QB just needs to play competitively and manage games to give the Bengals a shot at being .500 when Carson returns because the outcome of the year is still gonna be on Carson's shoulders...and knees.