Carson Palmer needs to be the starting quarterback for the Raiders this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Right now, head coach Hue Jackson is leaning towards not starting him according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The basis for the assumption is from this quote courtesy of a source close to the situation:
I'm 95 percent sure he is not going to play. Wednesday and Thursday, he felt he's not ready to make those high-velocity throws yet. Maybe they could decide something at the last minute, but I don't think he's going to play.
So you're telling me the Raiders would rather trot out a fully-prepared Kyle Boller, a quarterback that has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns and has a career 70.4 rating, gives Oakland more of a chance to win than Palmer?
Sure the rust factor is there, but he has been throwing passes to T. J. Houshmandzadeh, who has nothing but glowing remarks about the arm and physical conditioning of his ex-Bengals mate.
One of the big reasons Palmer wound up in Oakland was Jackson. He was the Bengals' receiving coach for three years in Cincinnati during Palmer’s tenure, so the offensive systems aren’t terribly different.
Palmer has always been known as one of the most cerebral minds in the game, and it’s hard not to think he can digest a vanilla playbook for his first game.
Even if he does struggle early, bench him knowing he just wasn’t ready. It won’t do anything to Palmer’s psyche knowing he’s still the man.
The worst case scenario here is that Boller starts, plays the entire game and the Raiders lose to their division rival heading into the bye. Tons of second guessing would ensue.
Might as well see what you have with him right off the bat and adjust accordingly. You wanted...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
