Sports Radio Interviews

Carson Palmer and the Bengals Control Their Own Destiny in the Brutally Tough AFC North

At times, the Bengals have made some decisions that are completely head-scratching.  They have drafted the wrong guys, they have had too many troublemakers on their team and they have not brought in the right free agents.  However, this season they have made all the right moves.  They gambled on guys once again that had red flags and it has paid off for them.  Nobody wanted Rey Maualuga.  Many teams passed on him and some passed on him twice, so the Bengals stole him in round two.  Then they swiped a guy in Michael Johnson who, like Maualuga had first round talent but fell to the middle rounds because of some red flags.  Then they scooped up little-known Bernard Scott and he has injected some life, some energy and some giddy-up in the Bengals backfield.  It didn’t stop there though, when Kansas City didn’t want Larry Johnson anymore, the Bengals gave him a second chance and it looks like it could pay dividends for them.

I never thought the Bengals would be here right now at this point of the season.  I didn’t think they would be at the top of the AFC North especially given the fact that they play in the same division as the two teams that represented the AFC in the Conference Championship game.  This team is for real folks and I think they have all the ingredients to make a playoff run.  They have a healthy Carson Palmer who I think is one of the ten best quarterbacks in the NFL, Chad Ochocinco is playing like Chad Johnson again, they have one of the best running games in the NFL and most importantly, they have a top five defense to compliment that very explosive offense.  Everyone has known for a while that the Bengals can put points on the scoreboard.  However, in order for them to take that next step, they needed to have their defense catch-up to their offense and it has happened this year.  Now the Who-Deys control their own destiny in the AFC North.

Carson Palmer joined The Herd on ESPN Radio to talk about his team this season, the makeup of the guys on the roster, whether he thinks about the injuries he has sustained and how in the world the team lost to Oakland.

On the maturity of the team this season:

“Absolutely.  In the NFL, teams change year-in and year-out with Free Agency, draft picks coming in and guys getting cut for salary cap reasons.  We have a completely different team from last year or even two years ago.  We have a very veteran group of guys, a very mature group of guys that understand that we’re in a very special spot and we control our own destiny.  We need to take care of business each and every week and see what unfolds in the playoffs.”

On how it feels to be sitting at the top of the division:

“It’s great.  I don’t think anyone picked us to finish even second in our division.  To have in the AFC North, Pittsburgh and Baltimore who went to the AFC Championship game last year and to have us on top right now, it’s great.  We had a lot critics going into the year, now we have people on our side that are pulling for us and really are shocked at where we are right now.”

On the overall talent of the roster and being on a team loaded with high first round picks:

“It’s a good and a bad thing.  It’s a good thing because it means you have a lot of talent on your team.  It’s a bad thing because that means you were picking at the draft at the top of the rounds for so many years.  Like you said before, we do have a lot of talent and like I said before, we have a lot of veteran guys, where it’s not immature talent.  It’s guys that have come from big programs, understand what it takes to win, understand how fine the line is between winning and losing and we’re taking advantage of the situation we’re in.”

On how they lost to the Raiders:

“That’s a good question.  When it comes down to it, when you go into an opposing team’s stadium and you make that west coast trip, you know you have a uphill grind from right there.  There’s maybe 40,000 people in the stands and it doesn’t seem like there is a lot to play for, but if you let one slip, the main thing it is, is execution.   We didn’t execute when we needed to; we didn’t finish off the game.  We were up 14-0 early and we just kinda hit cruise control which good teams can’t do.  I think at the end of the year, when we look back, it will be a good lesson for us to learn.  We were in a similar situation last week playing a team like Cleveland, playing a team this week where we have Detroit coming in here.  We understand what happens if you don’t play 60 minutes of four full quarters of executing football.  Anybody in this league can beat you, especially the Raiders.  They have been picking at the top of the draft too; they have a ton of talent.  Then they have guys like Greg Ellis and Richard Seymour that they brought in.  They’re a talented team that can beat anybody and they proved that a couple of weeks ago.”

Listen to Carson Palmer with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio here  (Audio Starts at 5:45) 

Tags: AFC North, Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals, Colin Cowherd, ESPN Radio, NFL