Unabated Sports

Carson Palmer
Originally uploaded by Sports Wood.

Former Cincinnati Bengals QB Boomer Esiason has called #9 that. Solomon Wilcots said the same thing on NFL Radio this week. That sounds like an impressive title. But really, it's not. Sure, CP's poised to have a breakout year, but the competition for the Best QB in the AFC North is hardly that impressive.

As good a season Ben Roethlisberger had, the former Miami U signal-caller struggled the farther along the season went. And both the Jets and the Patriots seemed to have his number in the playoffs. I don't think anyone's ready to call the Kyle Boller project a success quite yet. And Trent Dilfer? He was a great pick-up for the Browns and a bargain for a fourth-round pick, but he's basically holding down the fort until Romeo finds his QB of the future.

Carson showed some flashes (a 96.8 passer rating over his last six starts of 2004 -- a stretch that included games against Baltimore, Pittsburgh and New England), but he's going to need more than the title of Best QB in the AFC North to put this team into the playoffs for the first time since 1991.

# posted by Woody! @ 12:37 PM