By the time it reaches the papers, the Internet or the fantasy football live updates, it's the quarterback's fault. He was really good in 2005 and now he's not good. His arm isn't strong anymore and he's not accurate anymore.
Carson Palmer has his issues. He's a really odd style of quarterback. He's not vocal or boisterous or even very excitable. He's also not mobile and has been hindered by an elbow injury and that well-publicized knee surgery. I am here to tell you that the Bengals' 2-6 record is not Carson Palmer's fault.
There was an article written recently that pointed out that Monday Night Football loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was the 200th loss by the Bengals under the ownership of Mike Brown. The loss that included Cincinnati fumbling the opening kickoff and allowing a blocked punt on their next possession. A loss that featured a throwback performance by Terrell Owens, both in numbers and weird antisocial behavior. A loss that featured an almost incredible comeback led by Carson Palmer eventually thwarted by a dropped pass on fourth down. Those things (and a semi-monthly freak-out game by Chad Ochocinco) have all become routine for Bengal fans for the past TWENTY years. The constant during those 20 years? Mike Brown.
There were rumors a couple years ago that Marvin Lewis was pushing for Mike Brown to hire a general manager and a few more scouts. I feel that I need to reiterate this point: a GM is the position in a team that makes decisions about player personnel like drafting and trading and free agency signings. The Bengals do not have this. They also cut costs at the expense of the scouting department. Did anyone see Dick Lebeau holding a binder that said "Steelers vs. Bengals" on it during the game on Monday? That binder contains an in-depth game plan for this specific game on this specific night. I would be willing to bet that the Bengals do not have one of those.
So what does this mean? It means what you see on the field. The Bengals draft dumb players who are then unprepared for the games in which they are playing. This is why you see the Bengals constantly lead the league in pre-snap penalties and see them run the same plays against every team regardless of what the other team's strengths and weaknesses are and seem completely caught off guard by trick plays and a endless trouble with staying home on misdirection plays. It's also why their special teams often looks like a vaudeville comedy sketch. If they are lucky enough to have any players with talent on the team, that talent has no direction.
The Bengals have some decent coaches. They've had two playoff seasons and a few more non-disaster seasons. All of these are under Marvin Lewis.
We've seen what Marvin Lewis tries to teach. They are the right things. Lewis and Palmer are fighting an uphill battle against the best run team in sports (the Steelers) and themselves. The Steelers are a family-run organization. I'm sure they are thrifty when they need to be. Thrift often comes with being smart but they are not the same thing. When the Bengals cut costs by is not having a GM or scouts or keep business within the family when your family is stupid, they are not running their business well.
Carson Palmer is not Peyton Manning and he's not Tom Brady and he's the complete opposite of Ben Roethlisberger. When you're the quarterback of the Steelers, you have solid offensive players, a great defense and a great coaching staff that is going to be stable throughout your career (you also have the benefit of every call by the refs). This is because you have a fantastic owner who is in bed with the commissioner. It's a pretty good time. You can play like absolute shit in the Super Bowl and still win.
When you're the quarterback of the Bengals, you have headcase Wide Receivers who you simply cannot trust to run their routes correctly. You have poor play calling and poor preparation by your lack of scouts. You also probably have one of the worst defenses in the league, the worst luck in the league and no respect from the refs. In your first playoff game, you tear your ACL on your first pass (a 60-yard completion) and when you finally get your team back to competence five years later, your deep threat DIES mid-season.
My point is, it's HARD to be the quarterback of the Bengals. You have no backbone. You're on your own out there.
It's hard to watch the Bengals. But if you do; when Carson throws an interception to a receiver who wasn't where he was supposed to be because he's not smart because he was drafted by a legacy of complete and dominating incompetence, you know who to blame.
Failure starts at the top.
