Carson Palmer 22 USC 3 QB PLAYER AGE SCHOOL NO. POSITION

Height  6'6" Weight  230 lbs. Year  Sr. 2002 stats  256-412, 3,214 yards, 28 TDs, 8 INTs Career stats  874-1,492, 11,090 yards, 67 TDs, 47 INTs

QB SPECIFICS Arm Strength A Carson has a big arm. His arm strength is at the highest level, and everyone knew that when he arrived at USC. Throwing the ball hard enough and far enough has never been a problem for him, and there is no doubt he can get the ball out there. Escape Ability A- This is an unknown facet of Carson's game. He is very tough and determined. He knows when to scramble and is fearless when he does. Carson is a good athlete, and his ability here is better than most people think. He is not a scrambling machine that defenses gear up to stop, but he makes the plays when he has to, and that is good enough. Quick Setup A Carson has beautiful mechanics. He was well-coached in high school and has improved throughout college. I don't see a flaw in the way he sets up. Accuracy Long A He has been unbelievable lately. You could count on one hand the number bad long throws Carson has made in the last five or six games. His receivers know that if they get open by one or two yards he will hit them in stride. His accuracy has been uncanny; he is having the hottest streak of deep balls I have seen in a long time. Accuracy Short B+ This is what Carson really needed to work on when he came to USC, and offensive coordinator Norm Chow has helped tremendously over the last two years. Quarterbacks have to make quick decisions in Chow's offense, reading defenses and throwing the ball to a lot of different options. Carson has gotten much better in terms of confidence in throwing the short balls and being a quick decision-maker. One of the unknown things about throwing short passes is that the quickness of the decisions has as much to do with being successful as having a strong arm, and that is where Carson has really improved. Locate 2nd Receiver A/B This is still the one area Carson needs to perfect. His improvement has been night and day, but he needs to perfect the process of quickly going from one side of the field to the other and one receiver to the other. It's not a process of going 1-2-3-4 through the progression but rather eliminating 1-2 or 3-4 on the first step, and he is getting better at it in Chow's offense. He is way ahead of the game compared to most college quarterbacks, but he will need to get better at as a professional. Carson gets an A as a college passer but a B at the pro level. Running Ability B+ His running is better than advertised. Carson is decisive when he runs and knows what he needs. Quickness of Delivery A Wonderful delivery. Effortless. He can throw the ball at any time and is able to read his hot routes on the way back in the pocket. I've seen him throw those hots on the way back. I've seen him wait until the last second to let it go. He can do that because he has a quick release. Judgment A- This is an area in which Carson has really improved over the last couple of years. He has had a similar experience to Chris Simms in starting to understand how to be a quarterback. Chow has taught Carson how to be better in his judgment, and it is now making him a good passer. His judgment has improved by leaps and bounds; there is no doubt he has figured out the college game. Poise A+ Carson has been through so much, playing in a big-time city with the spotlight on him for five years. He has handled it impeccably all the way through. Carson has gone through a coaching change, and the press has ridden him as someone who didn't live up to the hype -- things players usually don't go through until they become pros. He is battle-tested and has gone all the way in this area. He ranks up there with guys like Rex Grossman, Craig Krenzel and Byron Leftwich.

SUMMARY I saw Carson in his first collegiate game back in 1998. I have seen his struggles and his maturity as a quarterback. He has proven you can make a go of it if you have talent and patience and are lucky enough to be with the right coach. Carson is a wonderful example of someone who did not let the critics get to him. He believed in himself, had a coach who believed in him, and it worked out great. It's a great story for all young quarterabacks, about a highly-recruited kid who struggled to meet high expectations but then surpassed them. Norm Chow has made a huge difference for Carson with his understanding of the position and how the offense can help the quarterback. Chow had to break Carson down a little bit and knew it would take a year to build him back up, but Carson has been very fortunate to work with him.

Former NFL quarterback Gary Danielson is a college football analyst for ABC Sports.