Welcome back Carson Palmer

Yesterday, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer returned with the Oakland Raiders to face his old team. Now let me get this out of the way, the Raiders are hapless. They came out to Cincinnati with a record 3-7. The stadium was not sold out. So, would the Bengals seek revenge on Palmer who dissed the team when he refused to play for them last year?

The game was over after the first half. The Bengals ran over the Raiders and had a 24-0 lead at the end of the second quarter. They went on to win, 34-10. The Bengals made a statement by sacking Palmer twice during the first series. Boy, was it great to see Palmer get hit a bunch of times. And when the Raiders tried to stop the pass, the Bengals ran the ball with running backs BenJarvus Green-Ellis and the Runnin' Reverend, Cedric Peerman. And don't forget about Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. Three touchdown passes today. Here's the story with video.

But what about the return of Carson Palmer? Yeah from the crowd, it was loud. Loud as in boos. Listening to the radio, I could hear you Bengals Nation. And frankly, the Bengals defense may deny it, but they seemed inspired by his return. They hit Palmer about 13 times, forced him to fumble and throw an interception. I've always had a love-hate relationship with Palmer. Loved his talent and his will to come back after a bad knee injury. But when he said he didn't want to play for the Bengals again, it hurt. Yeah, he basically indicated we were a bunch of losers, the team and the city. And you want to know something? Palmer lacked guts to play here. Why? It's life. He was drafted by the woeful Bengals, well at least at the time they were woeful. One has to deal with it. The game was a lot like being dumped by a girlfriend and seeing her again. Except this time, you get to see her get heart broken. Yeah, it's a little cruel. But Tony Bennett sang about this type of heartbreak in "I Wanna Be Around." So that's how I feel.