'I'm getting there'

QB Palmer acknowledges progress after first scrimmage

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) -- Carson Palmer, the overall No. 1 draft pick this year by the Cincinnati Bengals, played in his first intrasquad scrimmage Friday.

Palmer was 8-of-14 for 62 yards. He threw an interception into the end zone to end his first drive, but tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sean Brewer on the scrimmage's final play.

"One was a good pass, one was a bad pass," said Palmer, the Heisman Trophy winner last year at Southern California. "It's just that simple."

Palmer said he entered the scrimmage feeling confident, but a little unsure of what he would face.

"I wasn't really sure what to expect, how much of the playbook we were going to have in by now, how many plays we'd be running," Palmer said.

Palmer faced several blitzes but was never knocked down -- the quarterbacks were off-limits in the otherwise full-contact scrimmage. He entered on the second series -- after starter Jon Kitna led a 70-yard TD drive -- and guided the offense from its own 40 to the defense's 15.

On a third-and-9, Palmer's pass overshot wide receiver Ron Dugans and was intercepted by strong safety JoJuan Armour.

"I'm getting there," Palmer said. "But that's going to take some time. I'm getting closer to that."

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis declined to assess Palmer's scrimmage performance before looking at film, but said the quarterback has made good progress in training camp.

"He has been working extremely hard and he handles things very good," Lewis said. "He's got such a good stature. He's handling the pressures. Today he seemed to handle pointing things out" during the scrimmage.

"I'm pleased with his temperament," Lewis said. "I'm pleased with what he's done during this training camp. He knows what he's here to do, and that is to become a great quarterback."

That's an assessment echoed by Kitna.

"He's doing awesome," Kitna said of Palmer. "He really is so much better than I thought a rookie really could be at this point. ... He's done great since he got here, and he's only going to get better. It's going to be exciting for him."

 

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