Carson Palmer & Chad Johnson Traveled to Indianapolis to Study Peyton Manning & Marvin Harrison

Carson Palmer shared a fascinating story on the Pardon My Take podcast about how he and Chad Ochocinco improved their sideline communication.

Palmer said Ochocinco would often come off the field insisting he was wide open, only for Palmer to look at the photos and respond, “There’s 19 guys covering you. You’re not.”

That led Palmer and Ochocinco to travel to Indianapolis to study Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. They wanted to see how the Colts’ stars communicated while their defense was on the field.

What stood out was that Manning approached Harrison and Wayne after every series—even after a three-and-out consisting entirely of running plays. They were constantly reviewing what the defense showed and preparing for what they could attack on the next possession.

Palmer and Ochocinco implemented that same approach in Cincinnati, creating a constant dialogue between series that helped them get even more on the same page.