As you know by now, the Raiders went ahead and traded for Carson Palmer yesterday, giving up two high draft picks for the aged but talented quarterback in a clear attempt to "win now."The move concerns me as a Bolts fan. The Raiders were a difficult matchup for the Bolts before they picked up Palmer - the power run game, the improving Heyward-Bey, the steady defense that can apply pressure - but now they add a veteran QB who's had success against the Bolts in the past. He hasn't always beaten the Bolts - he's had a less talented team, even in Bengals playoff years - but his passing numbers have been very good, and the games have always been close.
Let's look back at the full history of Palmer v. the Bolts.
Game 1: November 12, 2006, at Cincinnati, Bolts win 49-41
One of the more epic games in Bolts history. The Bungles went up 21-0 and went into halftime with a 28-7 lead behind a pure blitzkrieg led by Palmer and his minions Chad Ochocinco, TJ Houshmandzadeh, and Chris Henry. And remember, this was a dominant Bolts team that would finish 14-2 on the season, and had probably the best defense of the Bolts' recent successful run from 2004 to present. Merriman was in his dominant prime (17.5 sacks), Donnie Edwards was still ably patrolling the middle of the defense, Quentin Jammer was a young ballhawk, and Shaun Phillips, Luis Castillo, and Randall Godfrey got after the quarterback. I mean Luis Castillo had 7 sacks on the season. He hasn't had more than 2.5 since.
Yet despite all that defensive firepower, Carson Palmer carved up the Bolts. He went 31-42 for 440 yards and 3 TDs with no picks. It was the first 400-yard game of Palmer's career (it may also be the last, I didn't go that far in the resaerch). He did fumble on a big sack in the second half that led directly to an LT touchdown run, but he can't be blamed for a Bungles defense that allowed the Bolts to score 42 second-half points en route to a stunning 49-41 victory. Palmer in fact responded after the Bolts pulled to 31-28 in the third quarter by tossing a 74-yard bomb to Ochocinco, and he drove the Bungles to the Bolts 15 with a chance to tie the game late, but just missed a 4th down completion that closed out the game.
He came up a bit short, but no one except Palmer put up more than 30 points on the Bolts in 2006.
Game 2: December 20, 2009, at San Diego, Bolts win 27-24
A matchup of playoff teams, this game was typical of the type of glorious victory the Bolts pulled off time and again during the '09 season, right up until they were bounced rudely out of the playoffs by the New York Yets.
Despite the Bengals loss in this game, which was their first game following the untimely death of Chris Henry, Palmer was again solid against the Chargers defense. He completed 27 of 40 passes for 314 yards with two TDs and a pick. Not an epic day, and the Bungles only scored one touchdown in four red zone trips, but it was enough to keep pace with the AFC's #1 seed on their home turf. Palmer also showed some grit by blocking downfield on a screen pass to Chad Ochocinco on a big 4th quarter play, and, a few plays later, scored a big 2 pt conversion on a sneaky QB draw. He also drove the Bungles 90-plus yards in 6 minutes for a tying field goal with less than a minute to play (including recovering a fumble to save the drive along the way). The Bolts didn't put the game away until Nate Kaeding hit a 52-yard field goal with three seconds to play.
Game 3: December 26, 2010, at Cincinnati, Bengals win 34-20
One of the worst games I've ever watched. The day after Christmas last year, the Bolts merely needed to beat the 2-11 Bungles to maintain their playoff chances. A win at Cincy, and then a win the next week against the just-as-lowly Broncos, would give the Bolts their fifth straight playoff appearance and a home game during Wild Card weekend.
Unfortunately the team came out sloppy and Carson Palmer took advantage. He managed an excellent game, going 16-21 for 269 yards and throwing 4 touchdown passes, including a dagger 59-yard bomb to Jerome Simpson early in the 4th quarter on a dastardly quick snap that caught Antoine Cason unawares and unready. He didn't throw his first incomplete pass until the third quarter, and didn't throw any picks at all. He was also missing the corpses of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens who both sat out the game with injuries (that actually may have helped him), but still got the job done. In short, it was exactly the kind of game that I'm scared he'll be able to pull off against the Bolts this season. Mixing in a strong running game (Ced Benson and Bernard Scott ran a combined 33 times for a 102 yards in last season's game, doesn't that sound at least like something McFadden and Michael Bush could do) he only needed to pick his spots and pass 21 times, and the results were devastating to the Bolts.
Bottom line: I'm scared of the Raiders and Carson Palmer. And I'm not afraid to admit it.
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