As the Oakland Raiders prepare to take on the Miami Dolphins in South Beach, quarterback Carson Palmer joined WQAM in Miami with Gino Torretta and Steve White to to talk about what it's been like gaining his rhythm week by week, and what it'll take to keep Oakland ahead in the AFC West standings here on out.
Carson mentioned the difficulty of essentially going from sitting at home to playing quarterback again, noting it's been one of the hardest things he's ever done in the game:
What have the last few weeks been like for you. Has it been easy to get back into rhythm?:
"It definitely hasn't been easy. It's been a huge challenge, probably the biggest challenge of my career, but it's been exciting. It's fun just to have a fresh start and really try to get up to speed as quickly as possible. ... We're looking to try to get to the playoffs, but we're taking it one game at a time."
When asked about the AFC West, Palmer noted that he (as well as the Raiders) don't fret over what over teams are doing, all they can do is focus on what they are doing:
Do you take a look around this goofy division at all or just focus on the Raiders?:
"We're at a point where we're very fortunate to control our own destiny. We don't need to worry about what other teams do. We don't need to be looking in the rearview mirror. ... We still have Green Bay and Detroit and a big division game in Kansas City and have to play the Chargers again. We just need to take it one game at a time and control what we do."
Carson also talked about how his relationship with his young receivers is maturity as well:
What has it been like working with a group of young receivers?:
"It's a work in progress right now. We've only been at it for, I think, four games. I'm still a little bit off in my rhythm and timing with them. ... We watch a lot of film together, we talk a lot ... and really just trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible. It's something that it just doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't happen right away."
With a win a Miami, the Raiders will be setting themselves up nicely for a playoff berth, but a lot of that rests on the shoulders of No. 3.
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