It takes time to get in sync with a new offense, new receivers, etc. The crappy thing is he isn't getting time to throw. When you can't get time to throw, it's hard to get in sync. That process can take longer, and sometimes can completely derail it.
Whatever Palmer is, it's taking him longer to get to it, and even when he gets there, he'll still be behind this line. We're not going to fix our line until at least next year.
He's made some bonehead throws, but our WR's have also been making mistakes. But every step of the way the line's deficiencies are playing into it.
I definitely don't think Palmer is an emotional mess. Out there he looks the epitome of calm, cool, and collected. I think he is the most mentally tough QB we've had in years. Emotionally, he seems like a rock. I'm also glad that unlike in previous seasons we don't have a guy who is falling apart. He's had some rough beginnings of games and has fought through them. I think he's shown us he's going to fight for four quarters.
But also here it is, we're going into week 8, and we still have our starting QB. Feels like we just broke a record. That's how bad its been.
Give Palmer time and he's a much better QB. But also realize, we aren't going to this season, and make the proper adjustments to expectations. My goals for Palmer this season is to learn the offense, build a rapport with the receivers and try to get the most in sync with them that he can given our line, and to finish the season without major injury and start 15-16 games. Hopefully in that time we don't have a 58-0 collapse or lose 11 of 12 games.
Things aren't great on offense, but they have been much worse. We were one of the worst offenses in decades the last few years. We took a big step forward with Palmer and Cooper. It's just a shame that Levi came back at his worst and Cooper got injured. That the line which has been the major factor destroying the past few seasons got hit again with injuries and our offense is struggling should be a no-brainer. We cut bait with Levi, and suddenly the reality is we're down another player and have another major hole to fill.
No QB would be good behind the line Palmer has had to deal with. Could Wilson have done better....sure. Could Wilson have done good CONSISTENTLY with this line? Hell no. But he would be better than most. Carson isn't that type of QB, as most QB's aren't.
Even through all this, and Fitz's hamstrings and fumble, we are 3-4, have three winnable games ahead of us, and have seen Carson throw some passes we haven't seen completed since Warner. Even then Warner didn't start out gangbusters with us. It took him time, and even when he hit his groove, Warner has some pretty bad games with lots of INTS.
It's not like changing QB's is going to put us over the hump. Carson is our guy, and even if we drafted one in the 1st round, I'd expect him to be the starter next year. I'd also expect a competition, but Palmer to beat them out. No matter though. If we don't fix our line, the next QB will face the same disadvantages, and I don't like any QB's chances behind a crap line. No matter what, if you don't fix the line, you'll never see any WR, RB, TE, or QB's best. Whatever we're supposed to judge them on should be with an asterisk.
How do you judge a rb when they are hit at the line or behind it? How do you judge a QB when they're being hit on so many plays, and the pressure is dictating everything? No matter who the offensive players are, the situations they are in taints judgements.
Think of it like good ol Algebra class. If you don't know step 1, you have no clue what to do on step 8 or 9. That's where we've been. Our line needs to be fixed or else we will waste resources, time, and our defense. Even the things we can fix schematically or with coaching on offense, cannot come to the surface, unless you stop the bleeding with the OL.
So I think it's everyone's fault, but the avalanche starts with the OL.
Here you go:
