Carson Palmer to Raiders: Why Veteran QB Won't Get Oakland to Playoffs

The Oakland Raiders paid a high price to acquire Carson Palmer in hopes of making the playoffs, but it is unlikely that Palmer will help lead Hue Jackson's club to a postseason birth.

Oakland worked quickly to find a replacement for the injured Jason Campbell because this is the first time in years that they have a shot at reaching the playoffs.

Jackson is optimistic that Palmer is the right man for the job, but it will be an uphill battle for him to establish a productive chemistry with his teammates. He has never been an elite quarterback in the NFL, and he will struggle jumping into the fray midway through the season.

Here are five reasons why Carson Palmer won't lead the Raiders to the postseason.

Working with the Receivers

During Palmer's best years in Cincinnati, he was surrounded by a wealth of receiving talent. Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chris Henry were all in the prime of their careers, so Palmer had a couple of Pro Bowl seasons.

In Oakland, the receiving corps isn't quite as stellar. He does have running back Darren McFadden to catch passes occasion, but Darrius Heyward-Bey and rookie Denarius Moore are the top wideouts.

Even though Palmer has played in Hue Jackson's system before, it will take a while for the quarterback to get in sync with his receivers. He missed training camp and the first six weeks of the season, and it's hard to make up for lost time like that.

Not Game-Ready

Palmer has been working out in Southern California during his holdout months, but there's not much anyone can do to prepare for the speed, intensity and physicality of an NFL game.

I think it will take Palmer a week or two to get comfortable with tempo of the game and the hard-hitting, high-flying atmosphere of NFL competition.

It's one thing to be throwing tosses to high school kids unguarded. It's quite another when you have linebackers blitzing you when you're down 13 points in the fourth quarter. The Raiders need wins now, they don't have time to wait for Palmer to get acclimated.

Schedule Concerns

The Raiders have yet to beat a team that's above .500 this season. When they played high-caliber opponents, they lost both times. Worse news: Palmer and company have some choppy waters ahead in their schedule.

They face San Diego twice. With an inconsistent defense behind him, Palmer won't be able to out-duel Phillip Rivers.

In addition to playing the Chargers twice, Oakland runs into Green Bay, Detroit and a tough Chicago defense. The Raiders will be lucky to win more than one of those games.

Turnover Concerns

Palmer's best touchdown to interception ratios were in 2005 and 2006, his two Pro Bowl seasons.

In the next four seasons, his numbers were unimpressive and the Bengals were unimpressive. In both 2007 and 2010, Palmer threw 20 interceptions. In 2009 his ratio was an underwhelming 21 touchdowns to 13 picks.

With a new team and a new receiving corps to work with, mistakes will be unavoidable. Some of these turnovers might cost the Raiders victories.

Elbow Concerns

Palmer's recent decline began with his 2008 elbow injury, when he had a partially torn ligament and tendon in his elbow.

Since then, Palmer hasn't displayed the cannon arm he once possessed. He lost some of his effectiveness to throw downfield, and his yardage totals have gone down. His total quarterback rating (total QBR) in 2009 was 53.2, and in 2010, it was 46.7.

Quarterbacks such as Tyler Thigpen, Dan Orlovsky and Seneca Wallace have posted better QBR ratings in recent years. Yikes.

These developments are not good news for the Raiders, especially since Palmer is a newcomer 7 weeks into the season. If he can't stretch the field to keep defenses honest, it will limit the effectiveness of Darren McFadden and the rest of the Oakland offense.