A Big Year? Palmer Is Certain of It

It looks as though Carson Palmer is ready to go out the same way he came in--with a strong start.

He did it with a touchdown drive in his first series as USC’s quarterback four years ago, when he was a true freshman. Now, as a fifth-year senior, he’s doing it with his words.

He didn’t waste much time getting to the candid comments assessing himself or the state of the program during USC’s media day Sunday:

“This is the best team I’ve been on, by far, since I’ve been here.”

“We don’t have the aura about SC that it had in the past. We definitely have lost that over the years. But we’re definitely not the underdogs. I don’t feel like we have to go into the season feeling like we’re Cal or somebody that just needs to scrap by and can hopefully knock some of the top teams off. I think we have a legitimate chance to knock Washington State off, to knock Oregon and Washington off.”

“It’s a great university and we should have great talent every year, we should have a great team every year. We haven’t lived up to those expectations, I haven’t lived up to my expectations. It would be easy to sit around and complain about it, but that’s not the way to handle it. The way to handle it is you try to exceed those expectations.”

Words alone won’t get it done. But what they do provide is an insight to his preparedness. The questions about Palmer were always his mind more than his body anyway, so if his head’s right, he could really take off.

It looks as though CP version 2K2 is comfortable with where he is right now. He knows where he went wrong and knows how to fix it. (He also looks as if he’s in great shape, with only a little cut on his knee from a bicycling accident.)

At USC there has been a shift away from emphasizing Palmer as the program’s only ticket to greatness. Safety Troy Polamalu is on the cover of the media guide. Polamalu’s name was the first running back Justin Fargas mentioned when he talked about team leaders. Much of the offensive talk focuses on the running-back crew of Fargas, Sultan McCullough and Malaefou MacKenzie.

Now Palmer is portrayed more as a buoy that could rise with the tide, rather than the captain of the ship.

“If we have a good season, if we play the kind of football that we’re capable of, then I think Carson’s going to be recognized as one of the best players in America,” Coach Pete Carroll said.

Everyone was ready to hang that tag on him four years ago, after he started the last five games of his freshman year. Trouble is, he believed the hype.

“I was 19 years old,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I am [a star]? We’re going to go the Rose Bowl next year? I’m going to do this? All right, that sounds good.’

“I took it the wrong way. I didn’t handle the situation right. I didn’t work as hard. I started listening to it. I thought, ‘Oh, if I could do all that as a freshman, I’m obviously going to do it this year and I don’t need to work that hard.’ I didn’t realize that you’ve got to work five times harder.”

His sophomore year was cut short when he broke his collarbone in Game 3 and he redshirted for the rest of the season. The next season was his most productive to date, then last year he had to adjust to the new coaching staff and offensive coordinator Norm Chow.

It appears Chow has had to make some adjustments as well. Last year he just figured his quarterback would pick up the offense, so he waited until the start of spring practice to start teaching it.

That didn’t work for Palmer. So this year they got together to watch game film, then spent more time reviewing edited clips from practice once spring ball began.

As a result, Palmer says, “As far as knowing our offense, knowing the personnel groupings, I feel comfortable.”

So there are no excuses now. The expectations are there from teammates and fans alike.

“The thing is, they want him to be great so bad,” McCullough said. “So he’s got to live up to that. You work to be great, but they want him to be great. He’s got to finally show it.”

Palmer has done well enough to complete 618 passes for 7,876 yards, which puts him within sight of Rob Johnson’s school records of 676 and 8,472. But he also has thrown as many interceptions as touchdowns (39), and the Trojans haven’t won a bowl game under his watch.

So there’s been plenty of criticism. Palmer read that too.

“There was a lot to read,” he said. “I think I learned from that situation. I read all the good stuff, which wasn’t true, obviously, I didn’t work as hard to get where I needed to be. I read all the bad stuff, and that’s where I am now.”

There’s one last set of clips to produce, and Palmer knows he’s responsible for its content.

“I’m fired up,” he said. “I’m so excited to get this thing going. I’m just fired up to give it one last shot with these guys.”

“Carson’s finally a senior,” Carroll said. “He’s finally in that position the players are where they make their notoriety. He’s been a noticed football player since his fast start as a freshman. But now he has the opportunity to bank on his experience and the wisdom that he’s gained through the years. He’s prepared himself perfectly to get ready for this season.”

It sure sounds that way.

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KEY DATES

USC

Camp: Practice begins today.

Opener: Monday, Sept. 2, vs. Auburn at Coliseum, 5 p.m., Ch. 7

UCLA

Camp: Practice begins Friday.

Opener: Saturday, Sept. 7, vs. Colorado State at Rose Bowl, 7:15 p.m., FSN