THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

IN BENGAL-DOM, IT ONLY GETS WORSE

You reap what you sow in life. And now we see more of what Mike Brown has planted. It's so bad in Bengal-dom, Carson Palmer is apparently willing to leave $50 million dollars on the table rather than continue to be the Bengals starting quarterback.

He's a modern day Elvis Grbac.

In case you missed it, ESPN's football smart guy, Chris Mortenson reported Sunday that Palmer has requested that the Bengals trade him. And if they don't, Palmer is reportedly willing to call it a career. The last Bengal to try this was Ochocinco, a couple of years back. That worked out so well, he all but crawled back to the Bengals, kissing Brown's ring upon arrival.

Palmer is a different story. He's the franchise quarterback, under achieving certainly in recent years. But he is the epitome of a good soldier. He always says the right things in public, stoic on the field and never in headlines outside of the sportscasts.

There's a temptation to say, if (and if is a very big operative word in this case) this is true, Palmer is quitting on his team mates. He's quitting on Bobbie Williams and Andrew Whitworth and the rest of the offense charged with protecting his butt and helping score touchdowns. But can you blame him?

None of this was in the brochure, when the Bengals drafted him with the number one overall pick in 2003. There was nothing in the brochure about dealing with diva wide receivers, idiot team mates who got arrested with regularity in 2006-2007. There was nothing in the brochure about an owner who stubbornly refuses to operate his team like a 20th century business. You couldn't expect in your wildest dreams it would operate as a 21st century business, now could you?

Years ago, when the Bengals were desperate for a quarterback (as they've been far too often in the last 20 years), they chased Elvis Grbac, a free agent who'd spent some notable time with the Chiefs and Ravens. Grbac was a free agent, looking for a new team. The only team that showed an interest were the Bengals. They dropped a very big offer on him, something not befitting his resume. Grbac, instead, opted to retire rather than play in Cincinnati. Now, reportedly, Palmer is at that same destination.

What he wants to remain here isn't clear. Maybe it's a new offensive coordinator, and few would blame him for wanting that. Maybe is a return to the normalcy that contending football teams operate under. You don't hear about the nonsense that goes on in Bengal-dom in any other franchise that consistently contends. Maybe he wants the Bengals to staff a front office with personnel people who can find the kind of talent that teams like Pittsburgh and Baltimore can find. Maybe it's all of that or maybe he's just tired of it all.

But I do know this: if Palmer is traded, or allowed to simply quit, good luck to Mike Brown trying to resurrect this mess anytime soon. Good luck attracting quality free agent talent with your franchise quarterback walking on you. Good luck selling club seats and suites with Palmer wanting out on the heels of yet another atrocious season.

You reap what you sow. Barren is a word that's coming to mind today.

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