Carson Palmer has been pretty full of himself throughout much of his NFL career – especially for someone who I don’t think has ever even won a playoff game. He never has been the same QB after the 2007 season and he injured his knee on the first pass play of the playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005.

If you’ll recall, in 2010 Palmer demanded a trade and vowed to retire if he didn’t receive that trade. The Bengals, for their part, didn’t seem to care, drafted Andy Dalton, and Palmer wound up in Oakland. The Raiders have been trying to recover from vastly overpaying for the signal caller in Hue Jackson’s mercifully short head coaching tenure of one season. They had given up a first-round pick in 2012 and their 2nd-rounder in 2013. That’s this draft, and the Bengals have the 38th overall pick in the draft later this month as a result.

Palmer, who had claimed to have $80 million in the bank and “doesn’t need to play football for the money,” apparently does because he refused a pay cut this year with Oakland. Carson Palmer has always come across to me as just way too full of himself considering he never has won a playoff game in his NFL career.

Dec 22, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer (3) on the sidelines in the second half. The Panthers defeated the Raiders 17-6 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Flynn was traded from the Packers to the Seahawks before last season but rode the pine in favor of rookie sensation Russell Wilson from Wisconsin (via N.C. State). Flynn only has 2 career starts himself, and the Raiders apparently like Flynn’s $8 million per year salary over anything that Carson Palmer has to offer the club on the field.

It also means one of the most athletically gifted QBs in the NFL, rising 3rd-year pro Terrell Pryor from Ohio State, is not the option the Raiders want to start the season with under center.

So where will Palmer end up? The rumor mill says Arizona, who got rid of Kevin Kolb recently, but the Cardinals’ offensive line needs a ton of work as well.

Looks like Carson’s narcissism certainly hasn’t served him well. The 33 year old man needs to start acting his age as the sun begins to set on his chaotic career. He was due to make $13 million in 2013 and now? For his sake I hope he realizes his value to a given team is nowhere near that figure.

Chicago Bears 33, Washington Redskins 31 – RGIII looked more like a rookie in this one but he didn’t look horrible. He’s just having a few growing pains. QB Kirk Cousins threw 3 TD passes with the second team. Bears WR Alshon Jeffery looks like the player “they THOUGHT they were” (getting, that is – hat tip to Denny Green). The biggest concern was when Redskins OLB and Pro-Bowler Brian Orakpo injured his right pectoral muscle on a tackle – the same one he injured last year. Hopefully it’s just a strain, but a tear would keep him out possibly the entire season. It’s too early to know yet but listen for news as it develops. Redskins starting safety Brandon Meriweather hurt his knee, was helped off the field, and didn’t return in the game. I wonder if the GEICO caveman is gloating?

Houston Texans 20, San Francisco 49′ers 9 – Matt Schaub looked sharp once again and Andre Johnson looked horse-healthy on a 43 yard completion as the Texans’ first teams looked impressive once again. 9′ers RB Brandon Jacobs left the game after a tackler speared his right thigh/knee area on a tackle. It looked quite painful to be sure, but probably will wind up being a deep bruise. Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter are still the top two backs and that shouldn’t change. Jim Harbaugh seems to be interweaving his new receiving bodies into his run-based offense nicely and they’ll be a force in the NFC. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me all that much if this game is a Super Bowl Preview.

St. Louis Rams 31, Kansas City Chiefs 17 – Rams’ QB Sam Bradford looked sharp, throwing 2 TD passes on 6 of 9 passing and appears to be healthy again after an ankle injury hampered his sophomore season. Rookie WR Brian Quick had 3 catches and he was considered a talent who needs a little seasoning but seems to be developing nicely so far. Danny Amendola had 3 catches for 58 yards and a TD. Matt Cassel of the Chiefs had a nice outing as well while RBs Peyton Hillis and Jamaal Charles, both injured much of last season, got a little work and looked nice on a few runs. If that duo can get going, they could possibly be the best “Thunder (Hillis) and Lightning (Charles)” combo in the NFL if they live up to their talent…and if Hillis doesn’t get Strep Throat again. Rookie NT Dontari Poe’s struggles continue as he recorded a single tackle on the contest.

Seattle Seahawks 30, Denver Broncos 10 – 38 year-old WR Terrell Owens dropped a sure 48 yard TD pass from QB Matt Flynn, but the Seahawks won anyway. Peyton Manning had a good day other than a couple of interceptions – one on a tipped pass and the other on a throw that drifted on him a bit when he had to make a perfect pass. Don’t worry about Manning; he’s Manning and will be fine. Fantasy owners should take notice that Brandon Stokley and Manning seem to be getting familiar with each other again. Keep tabs on the pair; Stokley might be worth a late-round pick as a bit of a sleeper that some owners will pass over due to his age and injury history, but might see some production in this offense.

San Diego Chargers 28, Dallas Cowboys 20 – Dallas loses their second preseason game but their starting defense is really looking good. All of the Chargers’ points came in the second half. Lots going on in this game. First, Chargers’ apparent #1 receiver Vincent Brown broke his ankle and will miss at least 8 weeks. The Chargers WR group as a whole isn’t the most durable even while they have depth. QB Philip Rivers continued throwing picks like last year. It’s not all his fault, however, as his line is giving up ground so he can’t step into some of his throws. That Cowboy first-team looks pretty good on both sides but especially on defense as they have yet to allow a score in two games. Undrafted rookie free agent Cole Beasley from SMU had 7 catches and 104 yards as he stated his case for the #3 WR behind Miles Austin and Dez Bryant. Bryant made a would-be spectacular one-handed catch in the back of the endzone, leaping high to snag it out of the air. He came down JUST out of bounds and there was a holding penalty anyway, but the spectacle clearly demonstrated his talent and ability. They don’t make many like him.

First, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Atlanta Falcons in the Georgia Dome last night, 24-19. I watched most of that game and the Bengals look to be for real indeed.

As the starters battled in the first half, it became more and more apparent that the Bengals are picking up where they left off last season. While both teams were tackling extremely well for the early preseason, that’s to be expected of a veteran defense like the Falcons. The fact that the Bengals looked every bit as good should be encouraging for fans starved of a winner up until last year. Oh sure, they’d have a season here, a season there that they would do okay, but they appear to finally be putting some good pieces on the table.

Aug 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green (18) scores a touchdown while being dragged to the ground by Atlanta Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel (22) during the second quarter at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-US PRESSWIRE

Second-year pro A.J. Green looked like the top-ten WR that I believe he is. His ability to separate almost at will was on display, and his incredible hands, strength, and body control were all shown off on a 50-yard TD strike down the right sideline from supposedly candy-armed QB Andy Dalton as Green pushed, twisted and turned his way across the goal line before falling out of bounds on the good side of the pylon.

The play also showed that Andy Dalton has plenty of arm to get things done in the NFL, if he hadn’t proven it last year. Rookie WR Mohamed Sanu added a 12 yard touchdown reception from Bruce Gradkowski in the second half.

Injuries have already bitten the Bengals, which makes their strong showing even more promising. Former Panther and starting Bengals’ left guard Travelle Wharton was lost for the season in last week’s game against the New York Jets, while rookie Kevin Zeitler is starting at the right guard spot. TE Jermaine Gresham had a nice catch and run, but apparently got his foot caught in the turf on the tackle and awkwardly fell to the ground. He did not return, but the injury doesn’t appear to be serious.

Defensive lineman Carlos Dunlap will miss the entire preseason with a sprained knee and his status for the game one opener is questionable. First-round pick Dre Kirkpatrick, a CB from Alabama, is in a similar situation.

The good news is that everyone but Wharton should be ready by either the opener or week two, depending on how things go.

As for the Falcons, Matt Ryan hit on 18 of 21 attempts for 174 yards and a TD. He spread the ball around and Julio Jones reminded us that A.J. Green wasn’t the only promising young WR on the field with several nice catches of his own.

The Browns’ victory over the Packers shouldn’t concern Green Bay fans as the Packers have their offense in order and are protecting AR-12 (QB Aaron Rodgers) as much as possible during the preseason. For the Packers, the 2012 preseason is about settling their starters on defense and generating a pass rush.

Cleveland Browns rookie QB Brandon Weeden has been named the starter for a few weeks now and went 12 of 20 for 118 yards, but had a would-be interception dropped by Packer LB A.J. Hawk and another dropped by Casey Hayward. Weeden was lucky last night and clearly has work to do. Colt McCoy, now the second-string QB, went 4 of 6 for 58 yards on a long touchdown drive and actually looked better than Weeden. Interesting.

This is more a case of Green Bay’s backup QB, Graham Harrell, playing poorly than anything else. He completed only 12 of 24 passes for a measly 100 yards and 2 interceptions. That’s 4 yards per ATTEMPT and throwing short passes shouldn’t generate interceptions like that. He wasn’t so “lucky” as Weeden and also had an intentional grounding penalty.

The Packers appear to be in trouble if Aaron Rodgers were to ever get injured. No Matt Flynn this year; he’s wearing a different shade of green.