Palmer says Lambeau is his favorite

ALAMEDA -- Carson Palmer has played exactly one exhibition game and one regular season game at Green Bay's Lambeau Field in his nine-year career.His assessment?"It's my favorite place to play," Palmer said. "It just reeks with history. It's a special place, a special atmosphere, the environment is great. It's fun when it's cold. I'd rather it be a little chillier than warmer. Just obviously with what's happened there and...and there's been subtle changes to the stadium over the years, but just an awesome environment to play in."Wait, what?
Palmer's first experience in the Land of the Cheeseheads came on Aug. 11, 2008, in 76-degree weather and under clear skies to open the preseason. He completed five of nine passes for 33 yards and a touchdown in that practice game.
His second trip to the "frozen tundra" came on Sept. 20, 2009, in Week 2 of that season, when it was 68 degrees and sunny.Of course, there's something downright nostalgic about playing in such a locale that sometimes, games bleed together. But there's no denying Palmer outplayed Aaron Rodgers in the lone regular season meeting between the two.In that 2009 game, a 31-24 Cincinnati victory, Palmer was 15-23 passes for 185 yards and three TDs with two interceptions and a 93.3 passer rating. Rodgers, meanwhile, was 21-39 for 261 yards and a TD for an 83.4 rating.The difference this time is that , besides Palmer being under center for a different team in the Raiders, Rodgers and the Packers are the defending Super Bowl champs, and they are riding an 18-game winning streak, which is tied for third-longest in NFL history.Even if the Packers were taken to the wire by the New York Giants on Sunday. Besides, it gives the Raiders a blueprint, of sorts, right?"Yeah, it's encouraging," Palmer said, "but as the season goes on for them, the longer they stay undefeated, the bigger that bullseye gets on their back because everybody's trying to be the one that knocks them off. So, if they're going to go for that undefeated record and continue to play, I expect games to be closer and closer because teams are going to give them everything they've got."We're going to give them everything we've got. We're going to go in there and expect to win and it's tough to do as seasons gets later and later in the year -- you saw it with the Giants (the) last time a team was undefeated and New England was there and the Giants took them down. We expect to give them a run and see how we stack up."And all in the Raiders quarterback's favorite venue, where it is supposed to snow Friday night but be sunny with a high of 36 degrees on Sunday. Just how Palmer says he likes it.