Experience has led to the best Carson Palmer yet

TEMPE, Ariz. — After last Sunday’s 40-7 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald was asked about being on the same page with quarterback Carson Palmer.

“When you have a quarterback that’s as talented as Carson and as accurate as Carson, you just need to get on his page, that’s all,” the future Hall of Fame receiver said. “I finally got on his page. That’s really what it’s been.”

Fitzgerald went on to talk about how Palmer does not force the ball to any single receiver, and is excellent at evaluating the defense and finding the open man.

But Palmer, who finished third in the NFL MVP voting last season, has not always been this highly regarded. Sure, the former Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall pick in 2003 was supposed to be really good, but there was a time not too long ago where he was seen as washed up, unable to reach the lofty expectations once placed upon him.

That’s why in April 2013, the Cardinals were able to acquire Palmer, then 33, for a sixth-round pick in the 2013 draft and a swap of seventh-round picks in 2014. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians told Buffalo media on Wednesday it “was the trade of the century,” and while there might be some hyperbole there, the statement may not be all that far from the truth.

Super Bowl contenders generally need a franchise quarterback, and in Palmer the Cardinals have one.

In 40 games (all starts) for the Cardinals, Palmer has completed 63.3 percent of his passes with 11,150 yards and 75 touchdowns against 36 interceptions. Since Week 8 of 2013, about halfway through his first season in Arizona, Palmer has thrown for 9,237 yards, 65 touchdowns and 22 interceptions, while posting a QB rating of 100.9.

In two games this season, he has thrown for 575 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions and a rating of 113.7.

Palmer has been really good for the Cardinals, and Bills coach Rex Ryan, who has coached against the three-time Pro Bowler 12 times in his career and is preparing for him again this week, has noticed.

“He was a phenomenal player when he was in Cincinnati, and you know what, he might even be better now,” Ryan told Arizona media in a conference call Wednesday. “It’s a scary thought, but as good as he was then, he might even be better now. You can’t trick him. He’s seen everything.

“At the same time, you’ve got to hope like heck you can do something, and we’re hoping for an off day. That’s pretty much it. It’s not a very comforting thought, going into a game, thinking that, hey we need him to have an off day, but that’s kind of where he is. He’s such a talent, always been a talent. Especially with this corps of receivers and things, and that offensive line, this is a heck of a task in front of us.”

Palmer played in seven seasons with the Bengals, and was with the organization for eight. He followed that with two campaigns in Oakland with the Raiders before landing in Arizona, where he is now in his fourth year. He has appeared in 162 games, with that number rising to 166 if you include the playoffs.

So why would Palmer be playing better now than at any point in his career?

“Well foremost, he’s protecting the football,” Arians said. “He’s always been extremely accurate and he’s getting it out of his hand and he’s not getting sacked much. He had to take one or two because of other things, but he’s been very, very efficient.”

Palmer has been sacked just four times in two games this season. Last year, he was brought down 25 times, and in 2014, when he was limited to six games, he was sacked nine times. In 2013, that number was 41.

The Cardinals have put plenty of resources into upgrading their offensive line. Since Arians and GM Steve Keim took over in 2013, the organization has invested a pair of first-round draft picks and a good chunk of free agent money to improve the group. While Palmer has not been sacked much, however, he has still been under pressure at times.

That’s going to happen to most quarterbacks, though, and Palmer’s ability to withstand the rush and not throw interceptions because of it has been big. Palmer admitted there is a matter of luck involved, with tipped balls hitting the turf and would-be receivers doing a good job of knocking the ball away from a waiting defender. Against Tampa Bay, an incorrect route run by David Johnson led to a ball being thrown to the Buccaneers’ Brent Grimes, but the safety couldn’t hang on and it went down in the box score as a regular, harmless incomplete pass.

“Sometimes the ball bounces your way, sometimes it doesn’t,” Palmer said. “I can’t think of many tipped balls we’ve had these first two weeks, but they happen. If it happens and unfortunately the ball bounces their way, you’ve got to go make a tackle.”

Palmer’s track record with ball security is not exactly a clean one. But if the QB is indeed playing the best football of his career as Ryan said, then it stands to reason the Palmer of now is better than the Palmer of then. He still takes risks with the football, but he has walked the fine line between aggressive and careless quite well.

In 2013, Palmer was picked off 22 times and lost six fumbles; in 2015, those numbers were 11 and four, respectively.

“Looking back, experience is one thing,” Palmer said. “You know when to take your shots. You know whether it’s the right type of third down situation to be in, the right time of the game. You’ve got to be smart.”

Palmer went on to say that as much as he tries to avoid turning the ball over, they are an inevitable part of the game.

“And when they do happen, you bounce back and go down and score on the next drive,” he said. “That’s something that I pride myself on. It’s something that we talk about all the time. It’s brought up week in, week out, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. So it’s something that’s stressed in every locker room, from high school to the NFL. It’s something that’s ingrained in you and embedded in you in your head early. You just try to focus on it and not let it happen.”

The ability to bounce back from a turnover is kind of like a backhanded compliment in that yeah, it’s a nice skill to have, but it’s also a disappointing one to need. Fortunately for the Cardinals, it has become less necessary as Palmer has become more familiar and comfortable with Arians’ offense.

“So on the sidelines, Carson’s really good about showing us the pictures that he’s seeing, ‘Look, this is the look, if we get this look again I want to do this or I want to do that, or you need to do this or you need to get a little more depth or you need to come across his face on the bangs,'” receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. “So he’s always having good, positive dialogue with everybody.

“You know exactly what he wants, B.A.’s relaying information to him. There’s nobody that’s not on the same page because he’s such a great communicator.”

That is something Palmer may not have been able to do a few years ago, at least in the same way. It’s also a big reason for why he is playing at such a high level.

“He truly understands what B.A. wants from us offensively, as coaches,” offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin said. “The biggest thing, he’s taken command of the huddle; he’s taken command of receivers and all position groups.

“He’s our bonafide leader and he’s doing a great job.”

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