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The can?t-miss quarterback and the kid who missed out on the first round were honored Thursday to culminate one of the most memorable months in Bengals history. Middle linebacker Odell Thurman became the first Bengal to win NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month and Carson Palmer became the fourth Bengals quarterback to win AFC Offensive Player of the Month in a 3-0 September that saw Cincinnati outscore its foes"]

 

Palmer, who leads the NFL in touchdown passes and completion percentage, and Thurman, who leads the team in tackles, made sure they pointed to their mates. Palmer praised a defense that has an NFL-high 16 turnovers and Thurman called out his defensive line by number instead of taking a shot at the draftnicks.

 

?Ninety-seven, 98, 90, 99,? Thurman said, ?I praise them all because it?s a team.?

 

Palmer matched Super Bowl ancestor Boomer Esiason with the award the former Bengals quarterback won in September of 1988, when he began his march to the NFL MVP award in taking the Bengals to the AFC title. Jon Kitna was the last Bengal to win it in November of 2003 when he engineered a four-win month, and Jeff Blake won it in November of 1994 when he went from No. 3 QB to lead the Bengals to their first two wins with a devastating long ball.

 

?It?s a great honor for this team,? Palmer said. ?The reason we?re throwing touchdowns and moving the ball is we?ve had good field position with the turnovers our defense has got, and we?ve done a good job running the ball, so it?s opened up the passing. It?s a great individual honor, but it also says a lot about this team.?

 

Thurman, a second-rounder out of Georgia, has been in the middle of the Bengals defensive surge that has featured 12 interceptions and four fumble recoveries. Thurman has one of the picks, he forced one of the fumbles, and he ran 23 yards with a fumble last Sunday in Chicago that doesn?t count in the stats because his own team fumbled it.

 

The only other Bengals rookie to win the honor in the nine years of the award is running back Corey Dillon in December of 1997 after breaking Jim Brown?s rookie rushing record in a Dec. 4 win over the Oilers with 246 yards. Like Dillon, Thurman fell into the second round because of off-field scrapes, but he has been nothing but solid on and off the field since he arrived.

 

?I felt like I should have been a first-rounder, but I didn?t come with a chip on my shoulder,? Thurman said. ?I?m just glad I got picked before the draft was out.?

 

 

:notworthy

But I have one question...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Who dey?

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