Larry Brown Sports

Angry fans often express their displeasure with a player who has left for another team by burning their jersey. That is nothing new. But some vile Cincinnati Bengals fan decided to take the process a step further by urinating on a Carson Palmer jersey before his group lit it on fire.

In the video above featuring some NSFW language, you can see the man urinate on the Palmer jersey as others in the background express their surprise. After the first Palmer jersey was burned, the person recording the video moved on to another area where a second Carson Palmer jersey was being burned.

The jersey burning is no surprise after Palmer said he would refuse to play another game for the Bengals following the 2010 season. He was booed during and after the game, and he even had beer dumped on him as he was leaving the field.

We searched for that video, and came across one that appears to show a drink thrown at Palmer as he was running through the tunnel to exit the field. The video will likely disappoint, but you can watch it here.

Read The Rest of the Story…

Carson Palmer reportedly had beer poured on him as he walked off the field at Paul Brown Stadium following the Raiders’ 34-10 loss to the Bengals on Sunday.

Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Twitter after the game that fans poured beer on Palmer as he walked off the field. Tafur did not specify whether it was Raiders or Bengals fans who poured the beer on Palmer, but we’re assuming it was the Cincinnati fans.

The game marked Palmer’s first in Cincinnati since he demanded a trade away from the Bengals after the 2010 season. Palmer was drafted No. 1 overall by the Bengals in the 2003 draft. He went 46-51 over seven seasons as the starter in Cincy and made the Pro Bowl twice. He led the team to the postseason twice, but after a 4-12 season in 2010, he demanded a trade and said he would never set foot inside Paul Brown Stadium again. That declaration proved false on Sunday.

Palmer was traded by Cincinnati to Oakland once Jason Campbell got hurt last season, and he has gone 7-13 in one and a half seasons as the Raiders’ starter. He was 19-of-34 for 146 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in Sunday’s horrific loss. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton, who was selected in the 2011 draft, upstaged Palmer by going 16-of-30 for 210 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bengals clearly got the best end of the Carson Palmer trade, so the team’s fans really have no reason for such poor displays like that one. If they want to protest the way Palmer treated the franchise, do it like this:

Read The Rest of the Story…

The last time the Raiders finished a season with a record above .500, Rich Gannon was under center. That was 10 years ago, when the 11-5 Raiders were destroyed by the Bucs in the Super Bowl. Since then, life in Oakland has not been easy. The Raiders have improved a bit recently — with 8-8 finishes the past two seasons — but they have work to do before becoming a playoff contender. Carson Palmer is confident in the current squad, however. In fact, he believes Oakland is close to being a Super Bowl contender.

“As far as being close to a playoff team, it’s more than that,” Palmer said Wednesday in an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio, according to the Contra Costa Times. “We’re close to a championship team. There’s a lot of work that needs to be put in and a lot of hurdles that we need to get over, but we need to be heading into this season thinking more than just playoffs.”

With Hue Jackson having been fired and Palmer still learning the offense, many believe 2012 will be a rebuilding year for the Raiders. Offensively, a lot will hinge on the health of Darren McFadden and the ability of Palmer to get on the same page with the receiving corps. Defensively, Oakland ranked 29th in total team defense last season and gave up a whopping 27 points per game. I doubt that is an overnight fix.

As the team’s quarterback, Palmer’s job is to try to build confidence. That being said, the Raiders haven’t made the playoffs since 2002. Reaching the postseason needs to be the goal before Oakland even thinks about getting to the Super Bowl.

H/T Pro Football Talk

Jason Campbell led the Raiders to a 4-2 record in his six starts this season, but he broke his collarbone against the Browns. He’s expected to miss around six weeks after having surgery. Because they’re in playoff contention, the Raiders decided to acquire Carson Palmer in a trade.

The Raiders are hoping Carson Palmer will be able to lead them to continued success the rest of the season. Based on the price they paid in the trade, the Raiders are likely to keep him as their starter in the future. Knowing that, Jason Campbell was disappointed to learn of the trade.

“I was halfway still on pain medicine [when I learned of the trade],” Campbell said on 95.7 FM Friday. “It was kind of a moment of silence. My fiancee looked at me to see if I was gonna say something. There’s different things that go through your mind but you don’t want to fill your mind with those thoughts.”

Coach Hue Jackson told Campbell he still believes in him, but all signs point to Palmer being the team’s starter in the future. Campbell will be a free agent after the year while Palmer is signed through 2014.

I’ve said I think this is a bad trade for the Raiders. Not only did they give up too much for Palmer, but I also believe the team is better off with Campbell as their starter. Campbell isn’t flashy, and his playmaking ability is limited, but he’s much steadier than Palmer who has become turnover-prone.

For whatever reason, the Raiders acquisition of Carson Palmer has been met with mixed reviews. We agree that Palmer should keep an already solid Oakland team in the playoff hunt with his veteran experience, but the price the Raiders paid seems absurd. Giving up a first-round pick and another conditional pick that could turn into a first-rounder for a rusty quarterback whose skills are diminishing is a huge risk.  If Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com’s sources are correct, it was a risky decision that was made by Hue Jackson.

The first-year head coach of the Raiders is reportedly in charge of all team personnel decisions after the passing of Al Davis.  Considering he has been a head coach in the NFL for all of six games, that is unheard of.  That being said, it would help explain why the Raiders were willing to give up so much for Palmer.

Jackson served as the wide receivers coach for the Bengals from 2004-2006, which were some of Palmer’s best years as an NFL starter.  In 2005, Carson threw 32 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions and finished the season with a passer rating of 101.1.  The following season he threw for over 4,000 yards for the first time in his career to go along with 28 touchdowns and a 93.9 passer rating.  Maybe that’s why Jackson said this about the move.

“We were able to put together what I think is probably the greatest trade in football, in my opinion. Obviously, I think everybody knows that we needed to go out and address our quarterback situation.”

Perhaps Jackson’s memories of Carson Palmer the Pro Bowler are a little too fresh.  Or, maybe he sees something in Palmer that he knows will be useful for the Raiders offense.  Unless Oakland at least reaches the AFC Championship in Palmer’s time as the starter, I’m not sure he will be worth the price the Raiders paid.

UPDATE: The trade is done. According to Glazer, the Raiders gave up a first-rounder in 2012 and a future second-rounder that could turn into a first base on Palmer’s play. It’s official: Oakland does not consider the NFL Draft to be an important tool for building a team.

Al Davis may be gone, but that hasn’t stopped the Raiders from exploring trades that will make you scratch your head.  With an upcoming game against the Chiefs, Oakland has a legitimate shot at entering the bye week with a record of 5-2 and in obvious playoff contention.  Jason Campbell is reportedly going to miss up to six weeks with a shoulder injury, meaning the Raiders need a quarterback.  Does that make Carson Palmer worth a first-round pick?

According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the Raiders and Bengals are close to working out a trade that would send Palmer to the west coast for a 2012 first-rounder and a conditional pick.  Bengals owner Mike Brown had previously refused to give in by trading the disgruntled quarterback, but who wouldn’t make this deal?

If the deal does indeed come to fruition, this is a complete panic move by the Raiders.  Could Palmer help them this season and give them a decent shot at making the playoffs?  If he is the Palmer of old, yes.  However, Carson has been spending his free time tailgating at USC this season and has not been particularly effective since 2007.  He has no intention of ever playing for Cincinnati again, so I don’t know how the Raiders got themselves into a situation where they have to give up a first-round pick knowing that is the case.  A first-round pick can turn into a franchise-altering player.  Even if he has something left in the tank, Palmer does not make the Raiders Super Bowl contenders this season or in the future.

Carson Palmer made it clear this offseason that he would never play another game for the Cincinnati Bengals. As early as January he demanded a trade, and a few months later he maintained his position saying he would never set foot in Paul Brown Stadium again. Palmer has held to his word and has been tailgating at USC games (and working out on his own) instead of preparing for NFL opponents. That apparently isn’t sitting well with some players around the league.

In his 10-point stance column, Mike Freeman of CBS Sports writes:

“There are players around the league ripping Palmer as a chump who was afraid to take on the challenge of sticking with the Bengals and making them good again. Some players are calling him the word that is slang for a cat. They also feel he’s getting a pass from the media.”

I will defend Carson Palmer to death on this point. When the Bengals drafted Carson in 2003, they hadn’t had a winning season since 1990. It was a terrible situation and the franchise had seen highly-drafted quarterback after highly-drafted quarterback come in there and flop. Nevertheless, Palmer embraced the franchise and promised to turn them around. He did. In his second year as the team’s starter, he led them to an 11-5 record and a playoff appearance. He made two Pro Bowls, led them to the playoffs twice, and was one of the league’s better starters until an elbow injury ruined his arm strength.

Read The Rest of the Story…