Carson Palmer-- A Dream Come True for Raider Nation

Carson Palmer is everything the Raiders have lacked the past 10 years: An Elite Quarterback. He has strong leadership, a strong arm, accuracy, the presence of mind to change the play at the line of scrimmage, and the ability to throw to a spot on the field where he knows his WR's will be. He is a field general. There is no doubt in my mind that Carson Palmer has the ability to take this Raider team deep into the playoffs and possibly win a Super Bowl this year, if not more over the next 4 or 5 seasons if healthy.

When the Raiders first traded for Carson Palmer from the Bengals after Jason Campbell's season ending injury, there was much criticism from the national media. The Raiders essentially gave up two 1st Round Picks to acquire him. A heavy price for a QB that hadn't seen the field in an entire season. But head coach Hue Jackson and the Raiders knew what they were getting; a QB that could take the time to the next level over the next 4-5 seasons.

Carson's first game with the Raiders back in week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs was not fun to watch. Backup QB Kyle Boller was forced to start and looked terrible. Then, Palmer was thrown out there in the 2nd half with his team down by 21 points and with less than a week of practice under his belt. He threw 3 interceptions but most of them weren't his fault due to tipped passes by his WR's or miscommunications on routes. But there were a couple of really nice throws that made you wonder if with more time those throws would occur more frequently. It has taken time for Palmer to get a better grasp of the offense and develop chemistry with his WR's. Week after week though, as Palmer has spent more time with his WR's and offensive line, we can see a glimpse of the greatness that is to come.

WR Denarius Moore in particular, has shown excellent chemistry with Palmer especially against Denver in Week 9 and San Diego in Week 10 where they connected on deep TD's in the same game. Just this past Sunday against an elite Chicago Bears defense, Palmer threw for 300 yards yet again.

Every single week he leads the team down the field and makes amazing throws that Raider fans haven't seen in decades. Al Davis would be proud to watch the Raiders execute the deep ball vertical passing game that Palmer is capable of and has connected on this season. Al expected great things from the Raiders each and every year, and this year it seems as though those expectations will finally be met again.

One can only imagine what the Raiders offense will be capable of once RB Darren McFadden is healthy, as well as WR Jacoby Ford. When healthy and with QB Carson Palmer at the helm, this new look Raider's offense is a force to be reckoned with.