Jesse Palmer has his excuse

October 4th, 2007 | Posted by PostmanE

When, in perhaps his greatest show of authoritarian strength yet, Roger Goodell decided to prevent NFL cheerleaders from warming up in front of opposing teams, I scoffed. Surely, in a league that values intensity and toughness above all else, players wouldn’t fall prey to temptations of the flesh that easily, would they?

Oh, right. They would:

While starting for the New York Giants in Week 16 versus the Dallas Cowboys in 2005 (actually 2003), I found out just how distracting cheerleaders can be. In that game we started several drives inside our own 20-yard line, with each drive following a TV timeout. With my back to the end zone in the huddle, I became frustrated because I couldn’t make eye contact with any of my 10 teammates as I was trying to call our plays; they were all staring right at the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders who were performing in the end zone.

I remember our offensive linemen shaking their heads in utter amazement, but the classic line came from our tight end, Visanthe Shiancoe, who interrupted me in the middle of a play call and said, “Jesse you really need to turn around and see this…”

It’s not as if Jesse Palmer would have been a good quarterback even if he and his mates would have shared a telepathic connection, but still: this rule might require some legacy revision. Who knows what Palmer — and Akili Smith, and now Rex Grossman — could have accomplished without their incessantly burning loins?