Carson Palmer recovering quickly

[Brian Baldwin]

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/9445297

(May 17, 2006) -- Slowly but surely, it is looking as if Carson Palmer is going from the Bengals' chief concern to the Chiefs'.
During the past two days of the Bengals' Organized Team Activities, Palmer was on the field and moving in a way that few would have expected after he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament Jan. 8 during a playoff loss to Pittsburgh.
On May 16, according to Bengals witnesses, Palmer zigzagged through four pads to his left, zigzagged back through the same four pads to his right and began rifling the football in the way Cincinnati has become accustomed to seeing. After watching Palmer work out, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he fully expected his quarterback to be ready for Cincinnati's regular-season opener Sept. 10 at Kansas City.
Then, Palmer will be Kansas City's chief concern.
Today, the Bengals scaled back Palmer's on-field work, knowing there is no need to push him and being sufficiently satisfied with what they already had seen.
Now there are no guarantees, and Palmer always could suffer some type of setback to what was a significant knee injury that required reconstructive surgery. But the early-spring reports are that Palmer will be ready for the regular-season opener.
This means that each of the two marquee quarterbacks that suffered significant knee injuries last season -- Palmer and Miami's Daunte Culpepper -- are on pace to bring mental peace to their franchises. Each franchise is said to be highly encouraged with where each of its quarterbacks is in his rehab.
It's a similar story for Cincinnati's 2005 first-round pick David Pollack, who suffered a sprained ankle during a non-football activity the Bengals declined to identify. Whatever it was, Pollack appears to have gotten away easy.
One team official said Pollack's ankle injury is "minor," and that "if we had a game tomorrow, he would play." Pollack might have done some damage to some of the cartilage in his ankle, but the damage is considered minimal, at worst.
The Bengals' stance on Pollack's injury should quiet any of the speculation that had existed. Pollack's injury update is encouraging to the Bengals and their fans. But Palmer's is virtually exhilarating.

[Ryan Ruck]

Good news!

I think Palmer knows how important he is to the Bengals' success and he is working extra hard to get back on the field. Good on him!

Fortunately, now the Bengals will be able to get that Super Bowl title that was stolen from them last year by the Steelers.

[Brian Baldwin]

The Bengals have the tools to beat the AFC out for Super Bowl XLI but the question is will they? Your team actually didn't lose it to the Steelers in the playoffs but rather gave it to them. Carson Palmer went down true, but a good team can use their second string to make up the difference and the Bengals should have. You could see it in the players' faces though that they defeated themselves immediately upon Palmer's removal from the field. Were I Palmer I'd be pissed. Kitna was no slouch at QB and did a good job. Where was his help?

The Steelers went 15-1 the year before last with a rookie QB when their starter went down because the players closed ranks and dug in. A rookie can cost you a game as Big Ben certainly did in the AFC championship that year. The difference is, Kitna is not a rookie and knows what he's doing on the field. Had the rest of players decided they'd move on without Palmer, the Bengals would have advanced one spot in the playoffs and beat the Steelers again.

Just how I saw it.

BTW Ryan... One of these days I'm going to purchase tickets to a Cincinatti home game against the Steelers and come up there to watch. Maybe you'll join my wife and I for the game.