Oakland Raiders and the Carson Palmer Experiment: A Success or Failure?

Standing at 4-2, Oakland lost their beloved quarterback and were standing out as a heavy favorite to win the AFC West.  Desperate to keep what looked to be the first playoff appearance in nearly a decade, Hue Jackson threw all his cards (and his job) on the table to acquire Carson Palmer.

Now that the 2012 season has ended for Raider Nation and emotions have settled, we have yet to answer the question, "Was it worth it?"  

Overall, Palmer walked away as the 19th-ranked quarterback in the league this year, with a paltry 80.4 rating.  There is a reason this is fairly encouraging, seeing as Palmer did not get his first start until Week Nine.  

Many people forget that Palmer only got to start in nine games, a little over half a season.  So instead of looking at the QBR, it would seem more productive to rank some compelling stats to get a true feel for what Palmer accomplished.

Palmer not only beat Drew Brees when it came to yards per attempt, but in total he ranked No. 4 in this category.  In the day and age of the quarterback, it would seem as if this is a massively compelling stat.

He ranked 17th in plays over 20 yards, but more interesting is that he only ranked 25th in total attempts.  Seems to make sense as to why his YPA was so high—it helps to have speedsters like Moore and Ford too.

Now let's be honest, Palmer made some bad passes and got picked off a ton (ranked seventh overall), but be patient, Raider Nation.  To be honest, the running threat that existed prior to Carson's arrival disappeared as Darren McFadden never shared a snap with this gunslinger.  In addition, it takes time to develop rapport with receivers, understand how they run routes and where they will catch the ball.

To be honest, six weeks into the season this gentleman was doing more reps with a Cheetos bag than with dumbbells.  If Palmer can continue to show the growth he did this season, I would say the future looks very bright for the vertical passing game in Oakland.