Dalton or Palmer in 2013?

Cincinnati has certainly moved on from the good and the bad of Carson Palmer now that he has been gone for three seasons. Palmer brought the Bengals back to relevancy after a decade of terrible teams under Dick LeBeau and Dave Shula. He looked like a top three quarterback in the league in 2005 and 2006 while leading the Bengals through the Palmer, Ochocinco, Houshmandzadeh, and Rudi Johnson era. Palmer is now on his third team in four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and the Bengals have a stable situation at the quarterback spot in Andy Dalton. This post will examine both quarterbacks in their respective situations and decide who is on track to have the more productive 2013 season.

Experience: This one has to go to Palmer. Although Palmer is in a new situation with new coaches, he has been a starter since 2004 and knows what it takes to play well in the NFL. Palmer has been all over the West Coast since leaving Cincinnati, and is now hoping to see a resurgence in his career just like Kurt Warner with Arizona. Dalton is in a pivotal year three with the Bengals, and will look to take command of the entire team with his charismatic leadership ability and tendency to win games. All Dalton has done in the NFL is win, and his leadership traits are certainly more evident than Palmer's were while he was with the Bengals.

Supporting cast: Dalton has the better offense around him. Arizona features Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, but the other relevant receivers are Andre Roberts and Ryan Swope. Fitzgerald and Floyd can be forces in any system, but without proven players who can get open besides them, it will be tough for Palmer to find Fitzgerald and Floyd open consistently. Rashard Mendenhall, Stepfan Taylor, and Andre Ellington are all decent running backs, but none of them are special players. Ryan Williams has a chance to be the best running back Arizona has, but he usually ends up getting hurt early on. None of Arizona's tight ends stick out on paper. Palmer will have to find a way to develop a chemistry with Fitzgerald, or it will be a difficult season for the Cardinals.

Dalton now is surrounded with talent on an offense many experts say is stacked this year. AJ Green is a better receiver than Larry Fitzgerald right now, and Mohamed Sanu and Andrew Hawkins can contribute to an offense. Cobi Hamilton and Marvin Jones are also playmakers and may become impact wideouts. Jermaine Gresham and Tyler Eifert make the offense special. Gio Bernard and Benjarvus Green-Ellis will be an excellent one-two punch at the running back spot. The Bengals also have a better offensive line than the Cardinals.

Coaching: Bruce Arians was arguably the best coach in the NFL last season filling in for Chuck Pagano with the Colts, but it is difficult to see the Cardinals performing at the same level the Colts did in 2012. Marvin Lewis has been in the league for a decade and has more playoff experience as a Head Coach than Arians. I'll take Lewis over Arians this season, although Arians will develop into a top level Head Coach down the line. Dalton has been mentored by Offensive Coordinator for three years now, and Gruden has turned Dalton into one of the most successful quarterbacks in the history of the league in his rookie and sophomore seasons. Palmer will be coached by Harold Goodwin, a Bears, Steelers, and Colts assistant. The Bengals coaching staff is one of the best in football, so I expect Cincinnati to have the upper hand in this category.

Skill Set: Palmer has a rocket arm and is a standard drop back quarterback in the NFL. He has thrown for almost 30,000 yards in his career, but has also thrown 130 interceptions. Palmer is not as accurate as Dalton in short and intermediate passing, but Palmer is the better deep ball thrower by quite a wide margin. Dalton is probably more adept at squeezing the ball into tight coverages and finding the open receiver quickly, although Palmer goes through more progressions. Dalton also has the ability to run the ball much better than Palmer, who prefers to always stay in the pocket and will take sacks if the pocket collapses. Dalton is only twenty-five while Palmer is thirty-three. Palmer looks more the part of a prototypical quarterback with his 6'5 stature as Dalton stands at 6'2. However, with the way Drew Brees and Russell Wilson have succeeded as shorter quarterbacks, it's looking more and more like height really doesn't matter all that much at the position. Palmer threw for over 4,000 yards and twenty-two touchdowns last season with the Raiders as he had the more explosive statistical season than Dalton. Dalton did have the better quarterback rating and more touchdown passes, not to mention the much better team, but he also had more picks than Palmer in 2012. The Bengals had one of their most lopsided victories in quite some time against Palmer in 2012. They won 34-10 as Dalton threw for 210 yards, three touchdowns, and earned a quarterback rating of 109 as opposed to Palmer's 64.1. I think Palmer's raw ability to throw the football is slightly better than Dalton's heading into this season, but I do think Dalton has room to grow and become a top ten quarterback statistically starting in 2013.

The Edge: Emphatically the edge goes to Andy Dalton. Palmer may have a couple more 4,000 yard seasons left in him, but he is on the tail end of his career and is reckless with the ball. Dalton is just getting started in the NFL and the Bengals have complete trust in him. Palmer may be on a short leash if he struggles with Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley on the bench. Dalton will never be pulled from a game because the Bengals have put the trust of their entire franchise into him as the starter. Palmer is not indispensable and is really a stop-gap player for the Cardinals for when they select a future starter in the draft. The Cardinals may have a decent season statistically, but they are in the toughest division in football with the 49ers, Seahawks, and Rams, and they have too many new players to gel so quickly. The Bengals are a dark horse team to make a Super Bowl run.

Rich Hidy
Cincy Sports Spot