Carson Palmer: The unsung hero of the Oakland Raiders

By Josh Walfish
Ron Chenoy- US PRESSWIRE

There are not many good things going on right now for the Oakland Raiders. At 1-3, they sit a game and a half out of first place in the AFC West and more importantly near the bottom in almost every statistical category in the NFL.

However, there is one good thing in Oakland and his name is Carson Palmer. The quarterback has thrown for over 1,000 yards so far through four games and he has not turned the ball over a lot, a perfect combination for a quarterback. He may not be throwing for many touchdowns, but he is keeping the ball in the Raiders’ possession, a step forward from last year.

Expectations were not super high for Palmer, who threw for 16 interceptions in 10 games last season. It also did not help Oakland lacked a lot of targets for him especially vertically. The loss of Jacoby Ford was a difficult one for the Raiders to overcome and then to not have Denarius Moore for the opener stung. As if Oakland wasn’t reeling enough, Darrius Heyward-Bey‘s injury was almost impossible to overcome. Still, Palmer has found a way to complete more than 60 percent of his passes and average more than 250 passing yards per game.

Palmer may not be terrific this season, but he has been able to keep Oakland in football games with his play. The three losses could have been much worse if Palmer threw two interceptions each game, which is about what he was averaging last season. It would have been a lot worse if Palmer wasn’t finding new ways to move the ball with a nonexistent running game and sub-par receivers. Palmer has made the best of what he has and should be credited for it.

The Raiders certainly have a lot of issues, but they do not have an issue at quarterback. Palmer may not be putting up the video game numbers of old, but he is keeping Oakland in games which is all you can ask of your quarterback.

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