By Bart Lopez
For a limited time try AccuScore sports betting system membership Free for 7 days or get 50% off our annual rate from a year ago...sign up for ALL-ACCESS membership
Jason Campbell suffered what is expected to be a season-ending injury on Sunday. While the Raiders still got the win moving to 4-2, the loss of Campbell put a real damper on their playoff chances.
Oakland is currently half a game behind San Diego, and is looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002. Oakland, unsatisfied with Kyle Boller as its starting quarterback, decided to look outside the organization for help at the position. Tuesday morning the Raiders traded two first-round picks, one in 2012 and the other a conditional pick in 2013, to the Bengals for Carson Palmer.
| OAKLAND RAIDERS |
W (Current) |
W (Rest) |
W% (Rest) |
PLAYOFF |
DIVISION |
| w/ Kyle Boller |
-- |
4.5 |
45.0% |
31.4% |
15.8% |
| Jason Campbell |
4 |
5.3 |
53.0% |
50.7% |
29.6% |
| Carson Palmer |
-- |
5.4 |
54.0% |
51.2% |
30.7% |
This forecast assumes Palmer starts Week 9 after the Raiders’ Bye Week
The table above represents three different scenarios for the remainder of the Oakland Raiders season. The first is if Kyle Boller started the rest of the season. The second is if Jason Campbell never got injured. The last is if Carson Palmer starts in week nine after Oakland’s bye week. Had Campbell never broken his collarbone, the Raiders would have had a 50.7% chance of making the playoffs and just under a 30% chance of winning the division. Boller is the worst quarterback option for the Raiders going forward as their playoff chances dwindle to 31.4% with him taking the snaps. Palmer, however, is a very different story. With Palmer behind center Oakland’s winning percentage, playoff percentage, and division win percentage all rise and even top those of Campbell.
The issue going forward is integrating Carson Palmer into the Raiders system after six weeks of play. These projections are contingent on any player assimilating quickly and seamlessly as a part of the offense. If Palmer is able to learn and adapt quickly the Raiders could be better off with him than with a healthy Campbell. Luckily for Palmer, coach Hue Jackson won’t be asking him to win games with his arm as the Raiders rely on their running game led by the league’s leading rusher Darren McFadden. Palmer’s job will be to manage the offense and keep turnovers to a minimum, which should make his transition into the offense easier than if the Raiders relied on the pass.
Whether or not Palmer was worth the two draft picks is a question that will linger over the remainder of the season and into the future.
