For Carson Palmer, a little less practice has led to more late in the season
Dec 30, 2016, 10:48 AM | Updated: 4:48 pm
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer (3) throws a touchdown pass agianst the Seattle Seahawks in the first half of an NFL football game, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/John Froschauer)
(AP Photo/John Froschauer)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Earlier this week, Carson Palmer was asked how he feels physically after taking as many hits as he has this season.
According to NFL.com, Cardinals QBs — with the majority of snaps being taken by Palmer — have been hit 117 times, which trails only the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts.
“It feels like it’s Week 17,” he said. “But as far as being the third-most hit quarterback, I don’t feel that.”
Whether you believe Palmer or not, that he has been able to last as long as he has and be as durable as he has shown under difficult circumstances is a testament to not only his toughness, but the plan the Cardinals have in place for him.
Every week since Week 10, when the Cardinals were preparing for a home game against the San Francisco 49ers, Palmer has shown up on the initial injury report.
The QB has not been hurt, though. Instead, he has missed the first practice day of each week because he has been given the day off, with the thought being that a little extra rest would do him some good.
In seven games since then, Palmer has completed 60 percent of his passes for 1,910 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Compared to the seven games prior, in which he completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,068 yards with 10 touchdowns and six interceptions, and you might not think the time off has made much of a difference.
But stats tell one story, and the tape tells another.
Palmer has looked like a different quarterback of late, and while head coach Bruce Arians has pointed to the players around the QB stepping their games up as the main reason, it’s tough to argue that being a bit more fresh has not been a factor.
“No, I don’t think, because he took a bunch of Wednesdays off anyway,” the coach said when asked if that’s a factor. “It was not like he practiced very much on Wednesdays. It may have contributed to a little bit of it coming down the stretch, but I know it saved him coming down the stretch.”
Palmer, who turned 37 on Dec. 27, is not the oldest starting quarterback in the league, with New England’s Tom Brady (39) and New Orleans’ Drew Brees (37, but 38 on Jan. 15) having him beat in that department.
A couple weeks ago, before the Cardinals and Brees’ Saints faced off, the New Orleans passer said a lot goes into a QB’s ability to play well into their late 30s.
“I obviously spend a lot of time taking care of my body and trying to do all the right things to make sure I’m ready to play on Sunday, God willing,” Brees said. “There are certain things that are out of your control. It takes a great team around you. It takes great coaches around you and a great scheme. But, I think it’s just a desire, a desire to continue to challenge yourself and play at a high level.”
Palmer has spoken about how much he enjoys the challenge of being an NFL quarterback, and his work ethic has not been questioned during his time in the Valley. He’s been referred to as a gym rat, and there’s little doubt that he does whatever he can to ensure he is at the top of his game.
But in this case, doing a little less work may have led to him producing a little more.
“I think it’s good because he gets to sit back and actually see the concepts being thrown down the field, all the calls being made as far as MIKE points and things of that nature,” offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin said. “And just sit back and watch it live and not actually have to participate, save your arm in the same capacity. I think it’s been awesome for him.”
Goodwin pointed to an 80-yard touchdown pass Palmer threw to J.J. Nelson last Saturday in Seattle as evidence that the quarterback has had a little bit more juice in his arm of late.
“That ball to J.J. was probably as good as it gets,” Goodwin said.
A few games prior Palmer had also connected with Nelson for a 42-yard touchdown, which was a good sign as anyone who watched the Cardinals earlier in the season saw the QB come up just a bit short on some deep ball attempts. He wasn’t off by a lot, but something just did not seem right.
Was Palmer just missing, as all QBs do at times, or was the veteran passer showing signs of age? Could it be both?
Arians said the scheduled days off were really nothing new, noting they did it in training camp, too, but said talking Palmer into the idea of doing it during the season was the biggest thing.
“Yeah, at the end of the day, it’s tough to watch practice,” Palmer said. “It’s tough to watch from the sidelines in games.”
But, Palmer added, he understands why the idea came about.
“There’s a whole staff of people that that’s their job,” he admitted. “Workloads, hits, repetitions, all those things that are calculated into the sports science side of it that (strength and conditioning coach) Anthony Piroli handles; you have to trust the people that tell you what to do.”
For Palmer, who has been in the NFL since being the No. 1 overall pick out of USC in 2003 and has been a Pro Bowler three times, that trust was not necessarily as tough to come by as you might think.
“There’s reason for it,” he said of the decision to rest on Wednesdays. “There’s data behind it. It’s amazing the stuff that they keep track of and the information that you get back from that. It makes sense. I see why they do it, and like I said, they’re paid professionals. That’s their job and that’s their role, and you don’t have a choice but to listen.”
