Carson Palmer appears set to start for the Raiders just five days after arriving in Oakland.
Offensive coordinator Al Saunders strongly suggested that Palmer will be the man for the Raiders on Sunday against the Chiefs when he was asked today on Fescoe in the Morning on 610 Sports Radio what Palmer needs to do to be the Raiders’ starter.
Saunders answered, “As long as he’s breathing.”
Saying that Palmer will start “as long as he’s breathing” doesn’t speak well for Kyle Boller, who came in to replace Jason Campbell after Campbell was hurt on Sunday. But Saunders said he was extremely impressed by what Palmer was able to do on Tuesday, just after the trade became official.
“He walked out on the field yesterday and everybody kind of looked at everybody and said, ‘You know what? This is a real quarterback,’” Saunders said. “That was the comment made by a couple people as they watched him throw. It just depends on how quickly he feels comfortable in what we’re doing and that shouldn’t take too long.”
For the Raiders, the question isn’t whether Palmer knows the whole offense. It’s whether he knows enough of the offense that he can be better than Boller. And it sounds like a few days’ work is all Palmer will need to be better than Boller.