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Palmer? A softie? Hardly
Spice from SI interview boosts AFC North rivalry to new level
BY PAUL DAUGHERTY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

It's on now. The game is on, there will be no more politeness. Forget all that nonsense about admiring and respecting the Steelers. "It's a division game, they're all important." Well, no. Carson Palmer, of all people, has thrown down the heaviest smack ever. The Bengals quarterback officially set aside all civility when it comes to how the Cincinnati Bengals feel about the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I hate them," Palmer is quoted as saying, in this week's Sports Illustrated. "I hate them even more than I hate UCLA."

Mild-mannered Carson steps into the phone booth and comes out ... Chad Johnson?

What's Palmer going to do next? Make a List? "Who Stopped Oh-Nine in Oh-Six?"

"It's because I'm jealous and I want what they have. I guess I'm just not that evolved," Palmer said. Who knew?

When I asked a Bengals team official if he had heard Palmer say anything remotely like that to the local media, about any team, he said no. Palmer told The Enquirer's Bill Koch it might have been because no one asked.

Well, OK. But that's because the thought would never occur. Carson Palmer is to press relations what white is to bread.

He is pleasant, gracious and humble to a fault. Asking him if he "hated" something other than a blindside hit from Joey Porter would be like asking Gandhi if he hated grasshoppers.

Not anymore.

Even Johnson, aka Grandmaster Quote, was impressed. "Wow," Eighty-Five said. "Carson said that? That's serious." Johnson decided he wasn't entirely surprised. "He talks like that to me all the time," he said.

The SI story describes Palmer's anticipation of a Pittsburgh playoff loss, and his anguish when it didn't happen. "Can you believe this?" SI quotes Palmer saying to Jon Kitna, as the Steelers kept winning.

Beyond the rhetoric, the story is a clinic in put-you-there journalism, from Palmer's emotions upon leaving Paul Brown Stadium during the game to the single-mindedness of his rehab, fueled by skeptics who doubt his return. If anyone could come back ahead of schedule from a catastrophic knee injury, it's Palmer.

His head is so level, you could shoot pool on it.

By the way, Palmer is progressing nicely, as you guessed he might. Coach Marvin Lewis anticipates an opening-day return. All that's at stake is the long-term success of the franchise.

That's how important Palmer is to the Bengals. And now he is one of you.

Palmer might not hate the Steelers for the same reasons you hate them, or I dislike them - the arrogance of their fans, the way they've bullied the Bengals forever, the arrogance of their fans, their unmatched success in the division ... did we mention the arrogance of their fans? - but now you know where the QB stands. It's front and center with you, Steeler Hater.

That game got to Palmer for the same reason it got to every Bengal. On that day, in that moment, on that field, the Bengals thought they had it. They believed it was their time. That game wasn't a defining moment of the season; it was a fluke that has every Bengal player eager to right a wrong.

And now they have their leader out there, talking stuff.

You know how he will feel Sept. 24, when Cincinnati plays Pittsburgh for the first time since Kimo Von KneeBuster pretzeled Palmer's anterior cruciate ligament. Palmer might be more diplomatic then, especially if he's back in the lineup. But his cover has been blown.

In the SI piece, Palmer has made a mental circle around New Year's Eve, when the Bengals host the Steelers in the regular season finale he hopes will be "for all the marbles." Can you see it if that occurs? What a froth this place would be in, led by its formerly Clark Kent QB, Steeler Hater Carson Palmer.

"When it's hard to stay focused on rehab, I just keep thinking about that game. I can't wait," Palmer told Sports Illustrated.

The anticipation is already thick. Palmer, um, guaranteed that.

and to be fair...a response

Foote fires back at Palmer

By Joe Starkey
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, May 25, 2006

OK, it's not quite as advanced as Steelers-Raiders of the 1970s.

Not yet, anyway.

We haven't seen anything like the time Raiders safety George Atkinson sued Chuck Noll for slander after Noll accused Atkinson (who'd knocked future Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Lynn Swann cold) of being part of the Raiders' "criminal element."

But we're getting there.


The Steelers-Cincinnati Bengals rivalry has reached a boiling point. In May. We're two months shy of training camp, three shy of the teams' first clash of 2006 and six shy of the season finale New Year's Eve at Paul Brown Stadium (bring your party hats).

The latest salvo came from an unlikely source -- injured and normally mild-mannered Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer, who told Sports Illustrated that he "hates the Steelers" and was upset when they won the Super Bowl.

Not exactly lawsuit material, but eye-opening nonetheless.

"I keep thinking about how much, back in college, I hated UCLA," Palmer told SI's Michael Silver. "I hate the Steelers more than I hate UCLA. Yeah, it's because I'm jealous and want what they have. ... It's how everybody in our locker room feels."

I dutifully brought this quote to the Steelers' attention Wednesday.

"Carson Palmer only beat us one time, so he should hate us," said linebacker Larry Foote, who knows the Steelers are 4-1 against the Bengals in the Palmer era. "I'd hate a team, too, if I only beat them one time and (lost) in the playoffs."

I asked Foote to gauge the Bengals' bitterness toward the Kimo von Oelhoffen hit that blew out Palmer's knee early in the Steelers' playoff victory.

"They self-destructed and started crying," Foote said. "But, you know, that's the game. People get hurt. You just have to get yourself together, get your composure. They lost it. ... When teams are forcing your will on you, it's going to make you do crazy stuff."

Cornerback Ike Taylor didn't know quite what to make of Palmer's comments.

"Wow," Taylor said. "He said he hates the Steelers? That's pretty much a strong statement, but, hey, everybody's entitled to their own opinion."

Here's one: The Steelers-Bengals rivalry has become the hottest in the NFL. Its official launching point, I'd argue, was when Troy Polamalu plastered Palmer -- his former USC teammate and housemate -- at the goal line to clinch a 28-17 victory Oct. 3, 2004, at Heinz Field.

It heated up in training camp last year, when Bengals receiver Chad Johnson insulted the entire Steelers' secondary, and continued through a Steelers' victory in Cincinnati and a Bengals victory at Heinz Field, one that all but clinched the AFC North title.

After that one, you'll recall, Johnson compared the Steelers to a black-and-white TV.

A little more than a month later, immediately after the Steelers gained revenge in the playoffs, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis took an indirect shot at Roethlisberger, and NFL Films captured Steelers coach Bill Cowher performing a version of the Bengals "Who Dey" chant in the locker room.

He would do the chant again -- repeatedly -- at the Super Bowl parade.

Think that'll be replayed in Bengals camp during Steelers week?

"They can do whatever," Foote said. "They know deep down inside what we bring to the table. They know it, and they're just not ready yet. Our coaches and our players were just a step ahead of them. Hopefully, we keep it going. We're going to play them twice again and maybe in the playoffs. I'm looking forward to it."

Who's not?

holierthanthou?

Oh wait, he's a Browns fan.

Good to see the players get some shit-talking in, though.

This is awesome. Football hatred, and it's not even June yet.

I hate the steelers too, wahhhhh jerome, wahhhhh, he's so cool

Thanks Peeps, love them Bengals

Go Bengals! Good for Palmer, that is what I like to see out of a leader. I hope there are no more freak injuries keeping these teams from being at full strength. I want the all the Steelers healthy so the Bengals can smack them around like they deserved last year before Palmer went down.

i don't care what palmer says - WE BROWNIES HATE THE STEELERS MORE THAN ANY OTHER FANS-PLAYERS. HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HAT HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE . I FUCKING HATE THAT TEAM

i think carson palmer has the potential to pass peyton manning as the best qb ever. also, i love the fact that he's talking shit.

ok...he's second to randall

maybe ever is pushing it b/c im only 22 and was just a little shit when joe montana was tearing it up, but i think peyton manning is incredible.

So just so we're clear, the state of Ohio hates, Pittsburgh?

Heh, fair enough. But I don't think Peyton's even the best QB currently playing.

brady? jake the snake?

*nods*

The Manning vs. Brady debate is kind of like the Montana vs. Marino debate from 15-20 years ago.

Montana was the guy that wins the Super Bowl with a good supporting cast and exceptionally smart play while Marino was the guy with the average supporting cast who was an unbelievable passer and never won the big one.

Replace Montana with Brady and Manning with Marino.

What's funny is each QB grew up idolizing the QB they ended up getting compared to. Eerie.

i'm from New york- but yes i have a pretty good idea that the sate of ohio hates Shitsburgh

dude that has to be the most uncool pic i have even seen anybody post here . i hate you