My thoughts on the Palmer trade

Of all that's being written about the Bengals' recent on- and off-field success lately, the most backward viewpoint has to be that which Peter King expressed in his recent MMQB: I think if the season was seven weeks long and I had to vote today, my Executive of the Year would be Mike Brown. It's not just the Palmer trade. It's sticking to his guns on draft day and waiting, waiting, waiting for Andy Dalton at the 34th overall pick. Let's be clear: the end result of the team's quarterback controversy, in essentially replacing Carson Palmer with Andy Dalton and a first-round pick (or possibly even swapping a second-rounder for a first-rounder as well), is undeniably beneficial, certainly for the Bengals' future and maybe even present chances. However -- as King himself somehow points out without realizing the larger truth -- Mike Brown did not plan for any of this to happen, or at the very least, did not sufficiently attempt to execute a plan. Dalton c...