Friday, June 26, 2009

DC.com: Carson Palmer Feels If Romo Listens to Kitna He'll Have a Huge Year

By Tim MacMahon/Blogger

Jon Kitna's arm strength is the most obvious reason he's a significant upgrade for the Cowboys at backup quarterback. Unlike Brad Johnson, Kitna can still put plenty of zip on his passes.

Perhaps more important, however, is the impact Kitna can make on Tony Romo. Just ask Carson Palmer, whom Kitna taught the NFL ropes after the Bengals drafted him with the first overall pick.

"If Tony just follows what he says and listens to him, he's going to have a huge year," Palmer said during an ESPN Radio interview. "I thought that was a great point that not a lot of people picked up on."

Johnson made clear immediately after he signed that he wasn't coming to Valley Ranch to serve as Romo's mentor. It's not that the quarterbacks had a bad relationship, but Johnson viewed his job as making sure he was prepared to play.

Kitna emphasized after his trade from Detroit that a large part of his responsibility with the Cowboys would be helping Romo in any way possible.

If Romo is willing to listen, Kitna could certainly be a well of information when it comes to getting the most out of coachable WR Roy Williams, whose best seasons came with Kitna at QB.