These are some uneasy times in Cincinnati. Will Carson Palmer be back? Will he really walk away into retirement if Bengals owner Mike Brown doesn’t adhere to his quarterback’s trade demand?

I don’t believe that Carson Palmer is bluffing in his demand to get traded out of Cincinnati, and the right move is for the Bengals to be proactive in dealing with the situation.

NFL Network analyst Solomon Wilcots reminded us that any team interested in Plaxico Burress will have to be patient.

Jordy Nelson seemed like an improbable candidate to have a monster game in the Super Bowl. But the opportunities were there for the third-year receiver against the Steelers, and he took advantage of nearly all of them to the tune of nine receptions for 140 yards and a touchdown. A career game in every way.

Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger have some strong similarities, but they also have some stark differences to their games. The quarterback matchup in Super Bowl XLV goes to Roethlisberger, because of his ability to break down the traditional concepts of defense.

If anyone should be given the benefit of the doubt about playing through adversity of a physical nature, it should be Jay Cutler.

The biggest surprise of wild-card weekend was the Seahawks’ win over the Saints, but it shouldn’t be as big of a shock as most people tend to think.

NFL Network analyst Solomon Wilcots predicted in a live chat that Colts’ experience will carry them over the Jets in a close 27-23 finish.

Vince Young’s reputation of lacking leadership, maturity and work ethic often played out in a public forum, and what we saw was likely only the tip of the iceberg. It finally caught up with him.

Solomon Wilcots chats with newly re-signed Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who says his shares the belief with owner Mike Brown that the organization needs to develop young players more quickly.

From start to (almost) finish, the 2010 season has provided us with several dramatic transformations. No one would have predicted at the beginning of the season that the Patriots, Chiefs and Bears would be where they are right now.

The AFC South title has resided in Indianapolis so often that the Colts might as well create a symbolic championship belt with a horseshoe in the middle of it. Well, there will be another top cat this year, say two of three Playbook analysts.

There’s no doubt a lot is on the line right now for everyone involved with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

It’s an annual rite of passage for the NFL’s prognosticators. A surprise team exceeds expectations and forces the experts to rethink their original forecasts.

When I had the chance to sit down with Brett Favre last week and talk football, we had an interesting conversation about what has changed in the league during his 20-year career.