Before this turns into another Carson bitch sessions let’s also point out that on Palmer’s worst day he’s still better than 50% of the stiffs that call signals in the NFL (just don’t tell that to Ron Jaworski).

Jan 1, 2012, Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer (3) throws a pass against the San Diego Chargers at the O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

With Palmer there are certain allowances that must be made. Just take a look at his performance against Denver last season. In that game you pretty much saw all that Palmer has to offer. From his unreal TD toss to Marcel Reece to his overthrow of a wide open Denarius Moore it was all on display – the good and the bad of Palmer.

Palmer’s good is still good enough to border on great. That’s the good news.

The bad news is his bad is bordering on Rex Grossman awful.

Somewhere in between is where Dennis Allen needs his QB to be this season.

Unlike Jason Campbell, Palmer is completely unafraid of taking risks. That’s a great thing when you’ve got the weapons Palmer has around him. As much as I loved JC his paint-by-numbers approach just didn’t allow Oakland’s offense to be all it could. With Palmer pushing the pedal to the metal you feel like this team is on the verge of becoming a top 5 offense.

Of course with that mentality also comes some Favre-ian moments. Palmer’s placement of his high risk passes isn’t always the best and when your margin for error is none then…well…you just can’t err at all. That goes without saying.

So the real question now is how will Greg Knapp’s play calling get the most out of Palmer while also minimizing his tendency to try and do the impossible?

The reality is no matter Knapp’s play calling if Palmer sees a window to throw into then he’s going to make like a paperboy on a Friday and throw it without thinking twice.

That’s why Allen, Knapp and Raider Nation as a whole will just have to accept the good and bad of Palmer. The hope is simply that the good outweighs the bad. He might not be in the Aaron Rodgers category but he’s not anywhere near the Charlie Frye zone. Somewhere in between is a quarterback capable of leading a highly productive offense. The key is getting him to take calculated risks while also knowing when to just toss it out of bounds, take a sack or (God forbid) check it down.

2009 is a big year for the development of Russell.

Want to start a fight in the Black Hole? Just mention the name JaMarcus Russell.

There is no more divisive a topic among Raider faithful than the differing opinions of the third year signal caller in Oakland.

As a life long Raider fan, and stubborn believer in JaMarcus Russell, I feel it is my duty to help calm the storm if even for just a few moments. Here are 5 things to keep in perspective when rooting for or against JaMarcus.

5. Watch game tape of Ryan Leaf – No matter how bad things might get, no quarterback could ever be as big a bust as Cryin’ Leaf. The fact that those bandwagon fans in San Diego were forced to root for him should never be lost on Raider Nation.

Kiffin might have been the worst thing to happen to JaMarcus.

4. Follow Lane Kiffin at Tennessee – Every time you’re ready to throw Russell under the bus just tune in to an SEC clash involving the University of Tennessee. That punk of a coach on the Knoxville sideline with his mother’s breast milk still on the tip of his tongue and the scent of Summer’s Eve following him everywhere he goes was actually the man responsible for developing JaMarcus into the face of the franchise. That alone stunted Russell’s growth worse than forcing a toddler to pump iron for 8 hours a day.

3.  Remember this is the AFC Worst – Look around the division. 8-8 was good enough for not only a playoff berth but a divisional title and home field in the first round in 2008. Aside from Philip Rivers, they aren’t any other quarterbacks in the AFC West that scream out franchise potential. Kyle Orton played behind Rex Grossman, nuff said there. Matt Cassel has to prove he can still ball without the aid of either Randy Moss or the Hoodie’s camcorder.

2. Russell can’t do it alone – The quarterback is always the one who we look to first in either a win or a loss. However, no quarterback wins alone. Tom Cable needs to find creative ways to get Darren McFadden, Michael Bush, Zach Miller, Louis Murphy and Darrius Heyward-Bey involved so Russell is not being asked to do it all on his lonesome. Even though the defense is much improved, that last drive against San Diego still looms large. Also, don’t overlook the fact that Russell and the injured Chaz Schilens were really developing a chemistry. The injury to Schilens was a crushing blow to Russell and his progression in the preseason. 

1. Don’t tune in until the 4^th quarter – As bad as Russell has looked at times, you can’t deny his clutch ability. In week one he returned from a fourth quarter injury to instantly read San Diego’s broken coverage on a crucial fourth down and threw a beautiful 57-yard bomb to Louis Murphy that gave the Raiders a lead late in the game. After three painful quarters in Kansas City, Russell shook off his poor play by engineering a game winning drive including converting a 3^rd and 15 to keep the hope of victory alive.

The facts are that Russell is still very young and will be given every chance to prove himself as evidence by Cable’s unwillingness to bench him in Kansas City this past Sunday. JaMarcus needs to learn on the job, that is the only way in the NFL. For better or for worse, he is our quarterback Raider Nation. I’m not saying you have to like it, but you’d better make your peace with it now because Al Davis will make sure that he’s here to stay.

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Here are a few of my takes on what has transpired during the OTAs.

JaMarcus is making progress

JaMarcus Russell’s progress - Depending on who you ask, Russell either looked like he was taking one giant step towards Ryan Leaf status or he was slowly progressing into the team leader Tom Cable challenged him to be. There is not a more galvanizing member of the Raiders than JaMarcus. Either you believe Jeff Garcia was brought in to mentor Russell or to take his job. I don’t want to go Allen Iverson and belittle practice, but Russell looked great at the end of last season and if he had a couple bad practices in May (while learning yet another offense), so what? According to most reports, he looked better in the last few OTAs and he’s supposedly going to be holding private practices with his receivers between now and training camp.

My take: JaMarcus is young; he’s going to make mistakes, Raider fans have to be patient, the guy turns 24 in a few months. He has been at every OTA (only missing a couple days with an excused absence) and he’s doing all the right things. Even if Cable is forcing him to act like a franchise QB at least he’s buying-in and not throwing a Jay Cutler fit.

Darrius Heyward- Bey’s hamstring – He was the talk of the draft and he’s since done little to dispel the early “bust” talk. DHB has missed his share of the offseason workouts with a tight hammy and he notoriously dropped three straight passes before the first time his hamstring flared up. It is way too early to start the “I told ya so” anthem. We all knew that DHB was going to be a project. He got a taste of the NFL when Nnamdi Asomugha showed up and locked him down so Darrius knows he has work to do. Known as hard worker at Mayrland, Heyward-Bey should bounce back strong come July…that is if he’s under contract.

My take: I can’t pretend that it is not little troublesome that he seems to already have a nagging injury. Last thing we want is to see our top pick spend the season slowed by injuries ala Darren McFadden in ’08. At the same time, DHB is not under contract and the Raiders have yet to even contact his agent. Cable and company could just be protecting their investment by having him sit. Again, you’ll have to give this kid time. There really isn’t any reason to panic at this point.

Michael Mitchell and the rest of the safeties – The most infamous pick of the ’09 draft didn’t participate in many of the OTAs due to NFL rules (he was still in school in Ohio). When Mitchell did show up it was reported that one of the coaches had to tell him to tone it down a little in practice. Tyvon Branch and Hiram Eugene played with the first team most often while Michael Huff was a no-show at the last OTA. Huff looks all but done leaving the door wide open for Mitchell.

My take: No telling how Mitchell will react once he gets his first taste of the NFL in a actual game but I’ve got to admit his highlight reel combined with his “let me at ‘em” attitude in an OTA has me fired up. Perhaps he’ll be no better than Gibril Wilson in pass coverage but I don’t think its coincidence that Brandon Marshall wants out of the AFC West now that he knows there’s a hitter waiting for him in Oakland.

Blitzes!!!! – That’s right! John Marshall is using his defense to occasionally blitz and put pressure on the QB. Was this just show for May and June?

My take: When Cable said the defense wouldn’t be much different than last year, I cringed. When I heard that Marshall was blitzing in OTAs, I cheered. If he can keep Tommy Kelly from jumping offsides, I’ll be on board with Marshall. For now, this is a good sign that he’s shaking things up a little, even if its doing something as obvious as blitzing.

What to do with Javon Walker? – He was the worst free agent signing of ’08 and now he’s looking like a bigger waste of space than Euro Disney. Walker had a secret knee surgery this offseason and did not participate in a single OTA. He restructured his deal because he knew it was the only way he’d still be collecting an NFL check.

My take: The time has come to end this debacle. Cut Walker and just pony up whatever he’s owed. Chaz Schilens has looked great and he’s poised to breakout. Walker is a veteran but he’s not the mentoring type. I say drop Javon and bring in Bay Area Native Amani Toomer to work with Johnnie Lee Higgins, Schilens, DHB and Louis Murphy.

One final thought on Russell and Jeff Garcia – This is the biggest hot button issue of the offseason. To me, there is no quarterback controversy. The Raiders drafted DHB and are opening the playbook in order to bring back the vertical passing game. Garcia might be more “ready-to-play” but he’s not the thrower you want in a vertical game. He’s gone out of his way to let the world know he doesn’t want to be a mentor and he was a no show at a few of the sessions. Russell has been putting in the work, he’s giving the company lines and he’s stayed around the facility this offseason.

My final take: Even if Garcia looked better in OTAs, he still has not done enough to earn any consideration for the starting job. If JaMarcus looks like Rex Grossman or Matt Leinart in the preseason we’ll revisit this, until then, this Russell’s team and he should be given every chance despite a few bad throws in May.