ESPN’s Jaworski: Carson Palmer’s arm strength is back
Sep 5, 2014, 4:35 PM | Updated: 4:35 pm
A lot of folks think Carson Palmer is poised for a big season with the Arizona Cardinals.
Count ESPN NFL analyst Ron Jaworski among them.
A guest of Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Thursday, he said Palmer’s preseason play was very impressive.
“I know people are probably going to talk about some missed throws, some errant throws, kind of not on the same page as Michael Floyd on some of those deep balls, but the one thing I see is the arm strength back in Carson Palmer.
“He was throwing some lasers down the field with good accuracy when he was on the same page with his wide receivers.”
Last season, his first with the Cardinals, Palmer completed 362-of-572 passes for 4,274 yards with 24 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He was a much more efficient quarterback over the second half of the season, though, and if he can begin this season at that kind of pace, an even bigger year may be in store.
The most touchdown passes he’s ever thrown is 32, which he did in 2005, while last year’s yardage total was a career high.
But with weapons like Floyd, Larry Fitzgerald, John Brown and Andre Ellington around him, improvement on those seems like a real possibility.
Could he, perhaps, throw for more than 5,000 yards?
“It’s definitely doable,” Palmer said. “It’s not a goal or something I’m worried about or thinking about. All that matters is one week, and that’s Monday night against the Chargers.
“I don’t think about statistics, individual statistics. You’ve got to find a way to get a win, and all those things come at the end of the year hopefully, and if not, as long as you’re winning none of those things matter anyways.”
