Arizona Cardinals Carson Palmer Finding Groove

Nov 24, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer throws a pass in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Panic?  No not this guy.  After just a few games, many Arizona Cardinals fans and local media were ready to throw in the towel on the Carson Palmer experience.  People were calling for Drew Stanton to get his time in the sun.  I said stay the course until the season is no longer salvageable.  Amazing what happens when you stay the course.

I realize just like everyone else that Palmer was not playing well.  I know he is what he is, a stop gap quarterback.  I think he’s a more than one-year guy though as the Cardinals find the right guy to draft and groom for the future.  Over the last four games, Palmer has eight touchdowns and just two interceptions, none in the last two games.  He’s finding his groove.

He’s become what head coach Bruce Arians has expected him to be when he traded for him in the off-season.  The last month has been the reason why Arians named Palmer his starting quarterback the day he got here and hasn’t wavered since.  You can argue numbers and what not over the course of the entire season but the fact is Palmer is doing something that no other quarterback has done for the Cardinals since Kurt Warner four years ago – put his team in playoff contention.

Palmer isn’t Peyton Manning.  He isn’t Tom Brady.  He also isn’t John Skelton, Kevin Kolb, or Derek Anderson either.  He is though a winning quarterback in the 2013 NFL.  He had a 114 rating against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.  He is looking very comfortable and his throws are a lot crisper than they were earlier in the season.

Sometimes it just takes patience.  I understand Cards fans starting to run out of it but people were ready to run Palmer out of town way too quick.  Of course he could just go south in the last five games as fast as he’s gone north the past month but at this point there is no reason not to believe the best is yet to come.