When the Oakland Raiders announced that they had traded for former Bengals QB, Carson Palmer, optimism ran high in Oakland.  The Raiders would finally have that franchise QB that they had been searching for and the cost of acquiring him (two first-round picks) was going seem like a bargain.  The team was going to march to an AFC West title and reach the playoffs right away.  

Instead, the Palmer trade is morphing into an absolute disaster right in front of their eyes.  Palmer has 9 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions in just a hand-full of games as the starter.  His reputation as an inaccurate passer is coming home to roost in Oakland. The best part?  He's under contract for three more seasons.

Palmer is a gun slinger, no doubt.  He's a gun slinger who is shooting blanks and is only getting older.  Broncos fans can smile knowing that the Raiders mortgaged their future for an aging QB who is going to lose more games than he wins for Oakland.  And, with Kansas City and San Diego both likely to be installing new sytems in 2012, the AFC West should be ours to lose for the foreseeable future.  Nice work, Raiders!