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Bruce Arians on Carson Palmer: ‘The quarterback has to play better’

The Arizona Cardinals are coming off a narrow overtime win over the hapless Indianapolis Colts. It’s another game that saw veteran quarterback Carson Palmer struggle big time.

Palmer might have thrown for over 300 yards in the game, but he completed just over 50 percent of his passes with an interception against a bad Colts defense. That came on the heels of Palmer being picked off three times in Arizona’s season-opening loss to the Detroit Lions.

Following the game, the always boisterous Bruce Arians did not hold back on his quarterback.

“The quarterback has to play better, simple,” Arians said, via ESPN.

It might not be that simple, but Palmer is not currently playing at a high level. Including the first two games of this season, Palmer has thrown 10 touchdowns compared to seven interceptions in his past six starts. He’s also turned it over a combined nine times during that span.

For Arians, criticizing Palmer’s performance was easier because he knew how the 37-year-old veteran would respond.

“That’s why it’s so easy for me to say it, because he don’t give a s—,” Arians said.

It will be interesting to see what happens with the quarterback situation in Arizona should Palmer continue to struggle with turnovers.

Arians has been loud in his praise of backup signal caller Blaine Gabbert. But it seems highly unlikely the Cards would turn to the former Jacksonville Jaguars first-round bust.

Either way, Palmer needs to get it straightened out quick. If that doesn’t happen, any thought of Arizona making the playoffs following a one-year hiatus can be thrown out the window.

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