Bengals' Chad Johnson, Carson Palmer took commitment to excellence to a "fan level"
The peak of Carson Palmer's time with the Cincinnati Bengals was undeniably fun. The Bengals had a high-scoring offense with a terrific trio of receivers catching passes from the former No. 1 overall pick. What also made it a great product to watch was the antics Chad Johnson would come up with in-between 100-yard performances […]
The peak of Carson Palmer's time with the Cincinnati Bengals was undeniably fun. The Bengals had a high-scoring offense with a terrific trio of receivers catching passes from the former No. 1 overall pick.
What also made it a great product to watch was the antics Chad Johnson would come up with in-between 100-yard performances as a phenomenal route runner. From touchdown dances, to keeping a list of cornerbacks he'll face in his locker room, Johnson was a content machine.
Palmer and Johnson accomplished much together in the form of raw production and two AFC North crowns, but they weren't always on the same page as players. To help with this, the duo attended an Indianapolis Colts game not to watch what Peyton Manning and his receivers did on the field, but on the sidelines.
"We went down there to see like what those guys were doing when the defense was on the field," Palmer said on Pardon My Take. "What was Peyton doing? Was Peyton sitting by himself, was he looking at pictures? What was Marvin doing? Was Marvin goofing off like Chad was? We went to learn, we saw them communicate. They literally talked every series, and it was never Marvin going over to Peyton, it was Peyton coming over to Marvin and Reggie. And so that was just something we implement."
Sitting in the family section of the old RCA Dome courtesy of tickets from Colts running back Edgerrin James, Palmer and Johnson were focused on the communication from two of the all-time greats when no one else was looking. Their process helped Cincinnati's QB and WR get even better.
"Seeing that constant dialogue and talking about this, talking through that, that was something that helped Chad and I get even more on the same page," Palmer said. "Whatever it was, they were getting ready. It looked like they were getting ready for that next series, and that's something that Chad and I implemented in our game."
Many memories associated with Palmer and Johnson involve their exits from the team, or the aforementioned antics that eventually led to Ochocinco, but the success they achieved on the field didn't come by accident. They were supremely talented players who knew what steps needed to be taken to get even better.
Emulating from two of the best to ever do it is not such a bad idea. Maybe a QB-WR duo will do the same to Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase one day.
