08-21-2006, 06:13 PM
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FBF All Star Running Back!
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 637
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Palmer Set To Face Packers
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...608210381/1066
Quote:
Palmer to face Packers
Barring setback, quarterback set for Bengals' next preseason game
BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
The Carson Palmer Express is on schedule.
The Bengals quarterback said Sunday afternoon that he is expecting to play Aug. 28 against Green Bay.
"I'm preparing to play. I'm practicing to play," Palmer said. "That's been part of the plan (since March). I'll see how I feel later in the week, but right now I'm expecting to play. ... I'll know later on this week."
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The deciding factors will be more physical than mental.
"The thing we keep worrying about is swelling," Palmer said. "That's one of the things we need to worry about. As long as we don't have a bunch of swelling and tenderness, I'll be ready to roll."
Palmer, not eight months removed from reconstructive knee surgery, is attempting to make a rapid return. He had surgery Jan. 10, two days after the knee was crushed on a direct, low hit by former Steelers defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen.
"It's not like I've been out that long," Palmer said. "It's not like I sat out last season. It's a regular offseason for me as far as I haven't really missed any games. I'll be ready to play and excited and a little bit nervous but mainly excited."
Coach Marvin Lewis confirmed Sunday that Palmer would go to him and tell him if he were ready.
"Again, like we said last week, he'll decide whether he feels ready to play and then make a decision," Lewis said. "Nothing of that will change."
Palmer will not need specific preparation for Green Bay because the Bengals are not game-planning for an opponent in the preseason.
"He's practiced enough every week to play in the game if he's of the mind-set that he's ready to do that. That's not going to change," Lewis said. "We're going to continue to practice him the way we've practiced him. ... He's prepared every week as though he were going to start the games."
The quarterback has experienced no setbacks in his rehab, Palmer and Lewis said.
Palmer practiced Sunday.
"I feel better and better every day," Palmer said. "Every practice I get a chance to go through, I feel better and better and more confident in what I'm doing. I think the guys have a little more confidence in me the more I'm out there with them. I'm getting my time down with Chad (Johnson) and T.J. (Houshmandzadeh) and all the other receivers."
And Lewis credited Palmer for using his time on the sidelines well during the first two preseason games, in which Anthony Wright and Doug Johnson have played.
"The best thing to come of this, and I've seen this with so many players when a guy misses a couple of weeks with injury, they really learn more about the game," Lewis said, "and I think we're experiencing that with Carson because he stands behind me on the sideline, and I can hear him talking to the quarterback.
"He's verbalizing what the quarterback is seeing in pre-snap (and) post-snap, so he's really growing. By not having to be in there to play he's actually growing a little more like a coach, which is good."
Typically, Palmer downplayed his sideline contribution.
"I've tried to pick it up just helping the younger guys, (rookie receivers) Bennie (Brazell) and Reggie (McNeal) and a lot of the younger guys, contributing where I can. I have learned some things and had a chance to see everything from a different angle. Hopefully it'll end up being a good thing for me."
Palmer has showed great dedication in his effort to return as quickly as possible to the lineup. He has been paid $24 million in bonuses this year by the Bengals, but money is not his motivation.
"This guy is (one of) the most self-motivated guys I've ever been around," Lewis said of Palmer, whom the Bengals made the first overall pick of the 2003 draft. "That's why most people judged him prior to us picking him as not being a great leader because he's quiet. What we found is exactly the opposite. He's such a determined, quiet leader, and I've seen him grow so much this offseason with that."
Said Palmer: "I'm just thankful and happy it's been a smooth transition to this point. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope it keeps going this way. Hopefully I'll be able to ride this whole thing out through the whole season and not really have the knee be a factor again."
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Palmer Set To Face Packers
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