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GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is at it again.
Palmer is picking his Bengals to win the AFC North because he believes the lessons learned from previous seasons are finally sinking in. And he thinks a demanding schedule will play a big role in who survives the four-team race that has resulted no repeat division champions since its inception in 2002. "Tough one to predict. I predict that we win it," Palmer said from the Bengals' training camp at Georgetown College. "I can't tell you the won-loss record. Who knows? It's a crapshoot this year."
Palmer said the combination of AFC North teams beating up on each other, while also playing teams from the NFC East (New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins) could take a toll over a 16-game schedule.
"Someone made a comment the winner of our division could end up 8-8 just because of the schedule," said Palmer, who last season re-set his franchise records for passing yards (4,131) and completions (373) in a season. "Everyone's got a brutal schedule, especially Pittsburgh. You've got to take your lumps but find ways to win." In addition to playing teams from the NFC East, the AFC North also faces the AFC South (Jacksonville, Indianapolis, Tennessee and Houston). However, where the Bengals get Kansas City and the New York Jets, the Steelers play San Diego and New England. New England and San Diego met in last year's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers won the division with a 10-6 record in 2007. Cleveland also finished 10-6 but lost a tiebreaker to the Steelers. Cincinnati went 7-9 in coach Marvin Lewis' first losing season with the Bengals. Baltimore fired longtime coach Brian Billick following a 5-11 campaign, hiring newcomer John Harbaugh to replace him. "Other than the NFC East, it's got to be the toughest division, top to bottom," Palmer said of the AFC North. "Especially now that Cleveland's come so far and made the strides they have. Baltimore's always good. Pittsburgh's always good. I think we're going to surprise a lot of people and be really good, fight for that division championship and hopefully a playoff spot." The Steelers were 6-0 against AFC North opponents in 2007. Cincinnati finished 3-3. "The best way to explain it is frustrating," Palmer said. "It was a number of things. Injuries. Miscommunication. Guys not playing up to their potential. Playing down to our competition level at times." Lewis said the Bengals are on the verge of becoming a better team because they understand the importance of creating ways to win, instead of making excuses for losing. "When we lost that playoff game to the Steelers (2005 season), everybody thought we lost because of Carson," said Lewis, referring to Palmer's knee injury earlier in that game. "But no, we lost because we didn't make enough plays, and they outplayed us. You have to make it happen. I think we've added some guys who have helped us that way, and I think other guys have matured and understand that now. It doesn't matter how many Pro Bowls you go to. You don't get any wins for that." The Bengals had two receivers make the Pro Bowl last season (Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh), but they missed the playoffs for the second consecutive year. "I think more than anything we're efficient," Palmer said. "We've really been efficient on offense from practice to practice. When we've had a down practice we've backed it up with a great practice. I think that's what really good teams do. It's easy to hang your head and get down on yourself in training camp. We haven't had that attitude. We've come out to work and understand it's going to take hard work to get where we want to get."
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