NFL Network’s Carr: Carson Palmer is NFC West’s most important player

You will find little argument if you claim Carson Palmer is the most important player on the Arizona Cardinals.

Dating back to Week 8 of the 2013 regular season, the Cardinals are 26-5 in games Palmer has started, with his .839 win percentage being the best in the NFL over that span. Arizona’s record over that span without Palmer is just 5-5.

Last season was also arguably Palmer’s best as a pro, as he threw for 4,671 yards, and 35 touchdowns with a QB rating of 104.6, all of which are franchise records. He was named to the Pro Bowl and earned an MVP vote.

Simply put, as long as Palmer is on the field the Arizona Cardinals have a good chance to win the game, and that’s part of why the NFL Network’s David Carr said Arizona’s passer is the most important player in the NFC West.

“Honestly, it’s just because of the type of offense they run,” he said. “It’s the ability to push the football down the field with accuracy.”

Palmer threw for at least 300 yards in a franchise-record nine games last season. The Cardinals averaged 408.3 yards of offense per game, which was tops in the league, and Arizona averaged a league-best 6.28 yards per play.

They also averaged 7.84 yards per pass play, which paced the NFL.

“The way Bruce Arians runs his offense is exactly why Carson is the most important player in this division because you can’t really just plug anyone in there.”

Carr noted that the Cardinals re-signed Drew Stanton as the backup because he, like Palmer, is able to push the ball down the field. The analyst even referred to Stanton as “a mini version of Carson” because of his ability to throw the deep ball.

In saying Palmer is the most important player in the division, Carr added that the veteran’s struggles in the playoffs are something that will have to be improved upon. For all the great things Palmer accomplished in the regular season, he completed just 59 percent of his passes for 584 yards with four touchdowns and six interceptions in the playoffs.

“Maybe his finger was bothering him a little bit, maybe he had some injuries, didn’t play great in the playoffs, in the postseason,” he said. “He’s going to have to do much better. They have a great football team, they can be in the Super Bowl and do this. He’s got to play better in the postseason.”

In the same segment, Elliot Harrison said the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson is the most important player in the division.

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