The problems piling up for Raiders first-year coach Dennis Allen are so vast and varied that it could take months — if not years — for the franchise to be fixed. Instead, Oakland has three days, and Allen won’t be around for most of them. Read More

For 15 long seasons, the drought endured. The Cincinnati Bengals, since their last playoff appearance and winning season in 1990, had toiled in football hell. Then Carson Palmer arrived. And come today in Cincy, Palmer will arrive again. “I have a pretty good feeling how that’s gonna go,” Palmer said, smirking, of the reception he’ll receive when he takes on his former team — a team he quarterbacked to two postseasons in 2005 and 2009. Read More

Carson Palmer knows he will have to have a big day to get the Raiders back on the winning track. With a defense that has allowed 97 points the past two weeks, a running game decimated by injuries and the high-powered New Orleans Saints offense led by Drew Brees coming to town, the Raiders (3-6) will be counting on Palmer even more than usual. “Being a quarterback you don’t want to think that,” Palmer said Wednesday. “You still want to go through your reads.”” Read More

Ronde Barber and Carson Palmer spent years in the NFL mastering familiar systems that helped them excel at their crafts. Coaching changes in Tampa Bay and Oakland this offseason led to new roles for the two veterans that both feel have energized their careers. After a bit of an early learning period, the two stars have regained that comfort level heading into today’s meeting in Oakland between Barber’s Buccaneers (3-4) and Palmer’s Raiders (3-4). Read More