Frankly, I'm still having trouble getting my arms around this one. A couple of factors might be influencing this Raider over-reaction and eventual fleecing by the Cincinnati Bengals. One gander around the world of professional football reveals an undeniable truth. There are no championship level quarterbacks reclining in an easy chair somewhere waiting for a call. It's probably the reason that the specter of Brett Favre(notes), at the age of 70 or so, continues to surface whenever a signal caller goes down.
So, okay, good quarterbacks are at a premium in a league in which you absolutely cannot compete without a good one anymore.
Also, the Raiders must feel they have a legitimate chance to make some noise in the playoffs this year, and it's understandable. With Campbell, a pedestrian QB at best, the Raiders are poised to compete for a division title because Darren McFadden(notes) is unstoppable, they have a passable defense, and a kicker that can deliver three points from the locker room.
But a first round pick? I'll discount the second first-rounder because Palmer would have to play like Tom Brady(notes) for that to kick in. If he does, there are no complaints from anybody. However, the Carson Palmer I watched over the last couple of years was a seriously diminished commodity. As a Jet fan, I have a natural, and justified, fear of every opponent, yet the one guy that didn't produce even a tingle was Carson Palmer. Perhaps it was injury. Who knows? But I'm quite confident it wasn't the team, because the Bengals were playoff contenders. They won despite of him.
It must be the dearth of available QB's. I wish I could still throw.
Glenn Vallach has been a football fan for most of his lifetime, but never played organized pigskin unless you consider the thousands of youth hours running slant routes on city streets with a friend serving as Joe Willie. Don Maynard was his idol, an adulation he took seriously, complete with a number 13 stitched to his sweatshirt. In later years, he modernized his admiration and included Wayne Chrebet. Receivers—always receivers. He remains a New York Jet fan through so much disappointment and embarrassment over the years. Coach Rex Ryan has rekindled a dormant fire, but sometimes he feels as if he doesn't understand the likely end result of all his efforts. It has been 42 years, after all.
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