Bad start, worse ending — Ex-trojan QB’s Cody Kessler and Carson Palmer both lead their teams to losses on Sunday, as Kessler chokes comically in his very first series as a Pro, and Palmer throws FOUR straight Interceptions in the 4th Quarter
Rookie QB from u$c Cody Kessler started this season as the THIRD STRING Quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, one of the worst teams (if not THE worst team) in the NFL. But due to two major injuries to the players ahead of him on the depth chart, Kessler was forced into starting the Browns’ game this Sunday in Miami. And if you think he might suffer some debut JITTERS, you would be correct.
On Kessler’s very first play, he was so flustered that he apparently forgot to say “hike,” and he was penalized for Delay of Game. On the second play, Kessler FUMBLED THE SNAP, but Cleveland retained possession. On the next play, Kessler showed no pocket presence whatsoever, and no field awareness, as he held the ball for too long, got SACKED, FUMBLED, and Miami recovered.
This has to be the WORST NFL DEBUT for any Quarterback in the history of the League. To Kessler’s credit, he didn’t quit, despite his Coach turning to a Wide Receiver to play Quarterback instead of Kessler for many snaps throughout the game. Kessler kept plugging away, finally settling down and playing fairly decently for a guy in his very first game. Cleveland was an underdog, but they gave Miami all the Dolphins could handle, forcing Overtime before going down. And it WAS a Cody that ended up being the goat, but not Cody Kessler. It was Cody Parkey — the Browns’ brand new Placekicker — who choked away the game, missing 3 Field Goals, including one that would have won the game with 4 seconds left.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Cardinals were in Buffalo as Favorites, but the Bills really took it to them, taking a big early lead. The Cardinals came back and made a game of it, with several chances to seize momentum in the 4th quarter. But Carson Palmer threw Interceptions in all four of their final possessions, allowing Buffalo to escape with the upset win. I’m sure he will bounce back this Sunday, when the Rams come to Arizona. If he can’t beat the Rams (the Cards are 8-point favorites), Arizona may have to turn to their second or third string QB’s.
Speaking of First String, here are 49 more photos of the unbeatable UCLA Spirit Squad. Of course, this is Day 4 of photos from last Saturday’s game, so these photos themselves are kind of second-string shots — They didn’t make the first three cuts. I think they are still worthy of sharing, even if they don’t always do justice to the girls pictured.
