The Cincinnati kid: laugh at the Bengals if you want, but Carson Palmer is proof they can get something right

Bratkowski, whose dad, Zeke, is a former NFL quarterback, devises the game plan. In his 14th year as an NFL coach, he is the wise and aggressive mentor, plotting the bigger picture of how to grow Palmer, giving him enough each week to challenge him but not overwhelm him. And good thing, too. "I'd come up to the line last year thinking, 'Oh, God, what is going to happen to me now?'" Palmer says. Everything was a blur, so complex and unnerving. But beginning with his 10th start, against the Steelers, it all changed. He had thrown 12 interceptions and just seven touchdowns in his first nine starts; over his last four (an injured knee forced him to sit out the final three weeks), he had 11 touchdowns and six interceptions and began the string of 100-plus ratings. It has only been better this year: 13 touchdowns and two interceptions and the league's second-best rating: 113.6.

Not even Palmer can fully explain the turnaround. For sure, the game gradually slowed down. He started to recognize defenses faster, anticipate blitzes better, make quicker decisions. But still ... "We had seen progress," Bratkowski says, "but it was one step forward and two back, and we anticipated that is what would continue. Then all of a sudden he got comfortable enough so the ton of ability he has started to show up." This season, he's not thinking as much, and he's reacting more. And he's better able to fix on-field problems as the clock is ticking instead of waiting between series.

All the while Kitna, intense, inquisitive, a future high school coach, continues to serve as a combination counselor and relief valve. He is the first guy Palmer usually talks to coming off the field, and he is the one who will go to Lewis during the week about issues bothering Palmer. Lewis is prodding Palmer to voice his own concerns, but that's not easy for this unaffected, unassuming man.

It's that personality that also has helped accelerate Palmer's advancement. He gladly welcomes advice, sincerely embraces coaching. Last year at camp, the Bengals filmed his reaction after every practice play. They wanted to show him how sometimes his body language wasn't good, that he lingered too long on his mistakes, wasn't in command. Now during games, he is a flat-liner emotionally no matter the situation, showing a calmness his coaches believe is essential to his growth. "Brady-cool," Wilcots says.

It's just the way Palmer goes about life. At a golf tournament, he and Lewis were playing with a corporate chief executive. The man marveled at Palmer's natural abilities. "I see it every day," Lewis told him. "But you would never know he is so good at everything. He just shows up, performs great and sort of slips out the door."

Well, not exactly. Lewis works his players as hard as any coach in the league. On a recent Thursday, Palmer began his day with a 7:30 a.m. weightlifting session; he didn't leave for home until almost 6. This season, the Bengals installed a coaching station in his home so he could study tape just like the staff. "In college, it's football for three hours a day during the week," he says. "Here, it's lots of long days. I had to get used to that. Sometimes, the last thing I want to do when I go home is study my call sheet for two more hours. But I know if I don't, I will fall behind. I'm sure Peyton and Brett Favre still are thinking, 'If I don't put in the work, those young guys will catch me.' " During this past offseason, Palmer lost 20 pounds on his own; his coaches want him to be less reluctant to move away from pressure, and he knew being lighter would aid his mobility. He and Zampese also broke down 40 or so NFL defensive alignments; Palmer learned the responsibilities of every defender within all of them. That process has helped reduce his anxiety and increase the precision of his audibles.