Raiders' Palmer: No-huddle won't work if it's overused
Carson Palmer has heard the talk that the Oakland Raiders should simply be done with the whole idea of huddling up.
Palmer has done some of his best work in a no-huddle offense, including a 26-23 overtime win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Fans prefer it in part because they're frustrated with offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, who has retooled the offense that was gaining more yards and scoring more points under the direction of former offensive coordinator and head coach Hue Jackson.
But Palmer maintains it's not a realistic scenario.
"If that's all you're going to come into the game with, you completely limit yourself, from personnel groups to formations to protections, in the red zone, on third down, (when you're) backed up," Palmer said. "It's not feasible. It's a good change-up. It gets us out of a rut every once in awhile ... it's not something you can run all the time."
As for the contention that Palmer running the no-huddle essentially bypasses Knapp as the play-caller, Palmer said, "A lot of times in the no-huddle, coach Knapp's calling the plays ... the majority of the time."
Palmer has passed the ball more frequently than planned with the struggles of the Oakland running game, completing 61.4 percent (148 of 241) of his passes for 1,732 yards, a pace that through six games would put him within range of Rich Gannon's single-season standard of 4,689 yards in 2002.
As a Raider, Palmer has 4,485 yards passing in 16 games and 15 starts. The most yards he ever threw for with the Cincinnati Bengals was 4,131 yards.
The hope is, however, that Palmer's numbers will go down and those of running back Darren McFadden and other backs will go up.
"We want to run the football," Palmer said. "That's what we talk about, that's what we work on. That's what coach is always preaching. You run the ball better, those (rushing) yards go up and the passing yards go down.
"The more you run the ball, the more defenses focus on it and then you really get a chance to throw it downfield and the naked bootlegs and long play-action."
