Peter King on Carr, Palmer

[MightyTExan]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...mqb/index.html

Very interesting......................

HOUSTON -- This is why Gary Kubiak is the best thing that ever happened to Carr:
Decision making
The other day, Carr threw a pass into a coverage scheme that he, and Kubiak, knew right away was the wrong pass at the wrong time. Terrible decision. And instead of soft-pedaling his criticism, which is the way Carr has been treated for four years as the Disappointing Golden Boy of Houston football, Kubiak offered this gem: "You've been in the league four years and you make that throw? There is no way you can make a throw into coverage like that!''


Staring down the receiver
You've got to love a coach who does not come in and kiss the franchise quarterback's hiney. Because smooching is not what Carr needs.

Last winter, when Kubiak sat down to study every game Carr played last year, he noticed something fatal to quarterbacking success: when Carr faded back to throw, he consistently looked to the side of the field that was his first option. Imagine how crucial this is. If you're a safety, and you've scouted Carr from the end-zone coaches' tape that every team sees, and you've seen that you can figure out the side of the field he's trying to throw to the second he begins his pass drop, wouldn't that be a huge advantage? When Kubiak first sat down with Carr to watch tape, he said, in so many words: Are you kidding me? You're an NFL quarterback, and you telegraph your throws so blatantly? So on this day, in this practice, Kubiak watched Carr take his drop and watched his eyes as much as his arm. He watched to make sure Carr was surveying the entire field on his drop, not just half of it.

[chuckm]

good read ..... Thanks MT

[TommyS]

palmer, pendry, capers and all the rest need to be seriously ashamed of themselves. what an awful job they did with the kid they invested so much in.

Thank *insert name of deity of choice here* for Gary.

[Porky]

Many of us on this forum have been saying for years that Carr locks in on an area or specific receiver. Of course, as always the Carr lovers chastised us. I remember a particular incident last year with Charley Casserly on his Friday 610am morning show. Either a caller, or one of the hosts specifically asked Casserly about Carr's habit of locking onto a WR, and Cass said in so many words - that's overrated and media and fan driven. Every QB locks onto his primary target. Heck, Manning locks onto his target. I lauged so hard, I had stuff coming out my nose that is usually reserved for my stomach. What a bunch of BS I thought. Anyway, it's so refreshing to have Carr getting real coaching. This portends the beginning of the end for the Carr excuses. I don't expect him to be his best this year, but I expect that he make significant strides in some of these fundamental areas. If not, we need to go another direction in 2007.

[southtexan]

Originally Posted by MightyTExan

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...mqb/index.html

Very interesting......................

HOUSTON -- This is why Gary Kubiak is the best thing that ever happened to Carr:
Decision making
The other day, Carr threw a pass into a coverage scheme that he, and Kubiak, knew right away was the wrong pass at the wrong time. Terrible decision. And instead of soft-pedaling his criticism, which is the way Carr has been treated for four years as the Disappointing Golden Boy of Houston football, Kubiak offered this gem: "You've been in the league four years and you make that throw? There is no way you can make a throw into coverage like that!''


Staring down the receiver
You've got to love a coach who does not come in and kiss the franchise quarterback's hiney. Because smooching is not what Carr needs.

Last winter, when Kubiak sat down to study every game Carr played last year, he noticed something fatal to quarterbacking success: when Carr faded back to throw, he consistently looked to the side of the field that was his first option. Imagine how crucial this is. If you're a safety, and you've scouted Carr from the end-zone coaches' tape that every team sees, and you've seen that you can figure out the side of the field he's trying to throw to the second he begins his pass drop, wouldn't that be a huge advantage? When Kubiak first sat down with Carr to watch tape, he said, in so many words: Are you kidding me? You're an NFL quarterback, and you telegraph your throws so blatantly? So on this day, in this practice, Kubiak watched Carr take his drop and watched his eyes as much as his arm. He watched to make sure Carr was surveying the entire field on his drop, not just half of it.

3. I think the interesting test for Houston's Williams will be whether he can handle all the crapola the first pick in the draft has to put up with. He's chafing at it right now. A defensive end out of North Carolina State, Williams is a good kid but has started to whine a bit about the media demands. Imagine going from one of three very good players on a decent college team's defense in a small market to the first pick of the NFL draft in a top 10 market. Courtney Brown hated the public side of it when Cleveland picked him No. 1 in 2000. Other guys have had problems with the intense time demands too. And what happens when Williams goes four games in a row without a sack and the fans are screaming for his head? It's going to happen. Being the first pick in the draft is one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for kind of things. The money's great, the draft-week adulation in New York City's great, all the free stuff is great. But it all goes away if you stink, or even if you're just average. I wonder what fond memories Tim Couch has of going No. 1. Or Dan Wilkinson, or Jeff George.
Wonder if this is accurate.

[tsip]

Originally Posted by Porky

Many of us on this forum have been saying for years that Carr locks in on an area or specific receiver. Of course, as always the Carr lovers chastised us. I remember a particular incident last year with Charley Casserly on his Friday 610am morning show. Either a caller, or one of the hosts specifically asked Casserly about Carr's habit of locking onto a WR, and Cass said in so many words - that's overrated and media and fan driven. Every QB locks onto his primary target. Heck, Manning locks onto his target. I lauged so hard, I had stuff coming out my nose that is usually reserved for my stomach. What a bunch of BS I thought. Anyway, it's so refreshing to have Carr getting real coaching. This portends the beginning of the end for the Carr excuses. I don't expect him to be his best this year, but I expect that he make significant strides in some of these fundamental areas. If not, we need to go another direction in 2007.

Good Post. It's kinda scary to think so many people could see what was going on with the team, except those in a position to change things. My biggest concern now is whether Carr will be able to elevate his play to the next level and that begins with leaving the past behind--all the excuse making and 'coddling' are history--can Carr accept that? Now, he's accountable. How will he respond to that? When faced with a pass rush, will he be able in a timely manner to make the right decision and quick throw? It's going to be an entirely new experience for Carr to walk off the field as a success or as a failure and know the 'honeymoon' is over and he's part of the result---good or bad.

[Lucky]

From Peter "I'd rather be watching girls lacrosse" King.

I wonder what fond memories Tim Couch has of going No. 1. Or Dan Wilkinson, or Jeff George.

I hope Mario remembers that at the first opportunity, Peter King compared him to a bunch of draft busts. Has King watched Williams play a down of football? No. And that doesn't matter to a hack like King. Someone in H-town pissed in his low fat-double expresso-extra whipped cream-hazelnut caffé mocha venti, and Peter will make us all pay.

Another gem from Peter the Great:

Petty and sportswriterish, yes, but when I finished listening to all the speeches (during which I aged about 17 years), my first thought was, Warren Moon made a mistake in not crediting John McClain, the Houston Chronicle sportswriter who made one of the best cases I've ever heard for a candidate in February in presenting Moon's case to the 39 selectors. Quite frankly, I wasn't voting for Moon before McClain spoke that day, but afterward I was a Moon man. Very powerful. I just think Moon would not have been standing there Saturday with a pedestrian presentation, and he should have thanked McClain in front of the world.

Well, at least we can agree that you're petty and sportswriterish (if "sportswriterish" is defined as self-important, phony, and lazy). So you weren't voting for Moon, until someone did the research for you that proved Warren was indeed a hall of famer? I'm glad Peter King takes his responsibility as a HOF voter seriously. And a Moon TD pass isn't a TD pass until "journalists" like McClain and King say it's a TD pass.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by TommyS

palmer, pendry, capers and all the rest need to be seriously ashamed of themselves. what an awful job they did with the kid they invested so much in.

Hey, it goes all to the way to the very top. Old man McNair has got nobody to blame but himself because he got so thick with the HC and even the coachs family/wife that he bestowed the handle of "Karen's Caper" on one of his very favortie KY properties.

[thunderkyss]

oh MY.... I hope Jerek and Infantrycak don't see this, or they'll accuse Coach Kubiak of not knowing a thing about football.... accussing David of staring down a reciever, and not acting like a 4 year starter....

oh my indeed.

[jerek]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

oh MY.... I hope Jerek and Infantrycak don't see this, or they'll accuse Coach Kubiak of not knowing a thing about football.... accussing David of staring down a reciever, and not acting like a 4 year starter....

oh my indeed.

Not at all. I've freely admitted he's done both. There's just a difference in the implied level of blame. Your writing, whether intentional or not, assigns Carr blame in spite of all of the obvious negative factors; i.e. Carr just sucks. My take leans more toward a causal relationship; Carr performs poorly primarily because of bad supporting cast and laughable coaching.

It's like asking you or anyone else to deliver a package to a destination ten miles away and then, rather than giving you a car to use, making you walk it. Sure, maybe you're not in shape, and if it's late, it might be true that you could have walked faster, jogged it out even. It's another thing entirely to act like you should have gotten the package there in ten minutes despite you not having a car.

Look, I'm not going to debate this any further with you. If you can't see that Carr is human and makes mistakes, maybe even more than many other great quarterbacks, and has had zero support to cover him on those mistakes, then there's nothing much I can say or do to convince you otherwise. Other than to say "I told you so" when Carr has a good year this time around ... though I suppose you will attribute that one to his teammates and coaching. Some guys just can't win, no matter how you slice it.

[TwinSisters]

Yes, interesting story indeed.

A rumour that Casserly is going to be working for CBS ( not in the NFL's highest office ). Once Casserly is assured not to be working in the NFL, then I suspect the NFL's east coast writers will start to tear into Carr and Casserly like they did with Casserly's mentor Beathard and his fatal mistake Ryan Leaf.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

oh MY.... I hope Jerek and Infantrycak don't see this, or they'll accuse Coach Kubiak of not knowing a thing about football.... accussing David of staring down a reciever, and not acting like a 4 year starter....

oh my indeed.

Nice BS Boudreaux--where have I said anything contradicted by this article?...class...Bueller?

What has become clear this off-season is there was an almost complete abdication of responsibility by the old regime for coaching their QB. You can call it coddled or anything else you want--the best description is ignored.

From the article:

Carr is definitely one who wants and needs to be coached. He is no prima donna and he wants to be around people who will make him better. To him, those aren't just words. And with Kubiak and offensive coordinator Troy Calhoun micromanaging his every move, there's no doubt in my mind Carr's going to be a better player this year.

[Runner]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

What has become clear this off-season is there was an almost complete abdication of responsibility by the old regime for coaching their QB. You can call it coddled or anything else you want--the best description is ignored.

Couple that with the fact that we've never had an o-line coach experienced in coaching **gasp** an offensive line, and it's no wonder the Texans were such an offensive juggernaut. Make that just naught.

I just can't see how the offense won't be greatly improved. I don't know what will have more impact - the coaching or the new talent. Taken together, we should be fun to watch.

[MightyTExan]

Just the playcalling alone should make things more intersesting.

[joetexan]

I don't think Peter King deserves the extensive criticism offered in an above post. Most of what he writes is informative and well-done. And, let's be honest - I really like Mario, but given what we know now about DD (see the post about the Rick Smith interview where he said DD needs to realize his knee will never be the same, and the Chronicle article that noted Kubiak was concerned about DD when he took the job, weeks before the draft), we need Bush more than we need Mario.

Face it, guys - we have zero depth at RB, and as much as everyone loves to chime in and say, "Defense wins championships" and "we need to pressure Peyton to move forward", neither of those means a thing if we can't put points on the board and keep pressure off of Carr. And, as much as everyone loves to rally around "the system", I'm not all that comfortable with putting all my faith into Antowain Smith, Wali Lundy, Vernand Morency, and Chris Taylor. Not exactly a pick-your-poison, murderers row.

IMO, the signing of Weaver and the transformation back to a 4-3 helped accomplish making the defensive side a lot better; the drafting of Bush would have helped make the offense (and the team) more complete. Instead we've got a great defensive line (again, not hating on Mario) and (unless one of the above RBs turns into the second coming of Terrell Davis), a one-trick pony offense with Carr trying to get the ball to Andre (and/or Moulds).

And, I know I'll be just blasted for this, but as much as I like Mario (and I do - for the fourth time in this post), there are things that concern me about him, like his many comments about playing in the heat, or his toenail problems, or his "chafing at the media attention" as Peter King calls it. Those aren't exactly indicative of a solid future warranting a No. 1 overall pick. I really hope Mario has it in him to live up to his talent potential and expectations, but I am concerned. And yes, I know that's probably too early to say since we've had exactly zero games this year to see him in action on the field. But, I still think we'd be better off with Bush than Mario given what we know about DD. (And I do like Mario - he is a beast with a lot of potential.)

I think that's what Peter King and a lot of NFL analysts outside of Harris County think. Just because you don't agree with him doesn't make him a hack or a moronic sportswriter. Heck, I hope I'm wrong, he's wrong, they're all wrong. But for the moment, while I'm excited about the upcoming season, I am left to wonder what this team might have looked like (and what kind of attention and credibility nationally it would have generated for the Texans) had Bush been the No. 1 pick.

[infantrycak]

Originally Posted by joetexan

Just because you don't agree with him doesn't make him a hack or a moronic sportswriter.

What makes him a hack or a moron are statements like this: "I think the Colts gained more with the addition of Adam Vinatieri than they lost with the subtraction of James."

So replacing the most accurate kicker in the history of the NFL is going to help more than it hurts to loose a top 5 RB?--sure it does Petey.

[tsip]

" Some guys just can't win, no matter how you slice it."

I made a post the other day about some of the 'things' that Kubiak was saying to/about Carr, like this quote, and hinted that maybe K is concerned about Carr's progress--maybe a little suprised at some of the 'basics' of his position that he has not mastered. I'm not professing to know what is behind this type of coaching skill, but it is interesting.

I can understand the volumes of rhetoric about 'all' that has been lacking in Carr's development that was beyond his control, but I have a difficult time accepting his lack of basic mastery skills of his craft. I mean-for example-if you're going to hire a person to be a NASCAR racer, you'd at least think he knows how to drive a car...

I'll be the first one to admit right here that my hat is off to Carr if he can turn around his performance in the next few weeks!!..if so, bring on the crow.

[tsip]

Originally Posted by infantrycak

What makes him a hack or a moron are statements like this: "I think the Colts gained more with the addition of Adam Vinatieri than they lost with the subtraction of James."

So replacing the most accurate kicker in the history of the NFL is going to help more than it hurts to loose a top 5 RB?--sure it does Petey.

...so, why can't he have an opinion w/o the name calling? Too, accuracy is one thing, kicking in 'crunch' time is another..

[KKHouston]

Originally Posted by joetexan

Rick Smith interview where he said DD needs to realize his knee will never be the same, and the Chronicle article that noted Kubiak was concerned about DD when he took the job, weeks before the draft), we need Bush more than we need Mario.

I am left to wonder what this team might have looked like (and what kind of attention and credibility nationally it would have generated for the Texans) had Bush been the No. 1 pick.

If you know anything about Rick Smith or Gary Kubiak, signing your life away for a pick like Bush would never have happened. The just don't believe a back like Reggie would be worth the high outlay, and looking at their success record, they're correct until proven wrong. I respectfully disagree we needed Bush more than Mario.

And yes.. attention would have been generated, but why credibility? That makes no sense. You become credible when you draft a back with Potential to be successful? Hmmm... I don't know abou that.

[HoustonFrog]

Originally Posted by Porky

Many of us on this forum have been saying for years that Carr locks in on an area or specific receiver. Of course, as always the Carr lovers chastised us. I remember a particular incident last year with Charley Casserly on his Friday 610am morning show. Either a caller, or one of the hosts specifically asked Casserly about Carr's habit of locking onto a WR, and Cass said in so many words - that's overrated and media and fan driven. Every QB locks onto his primary target. Heck, Manning locks onto his target. I lauged so hard, I had stuff coming out my nose that is usually reserved for my stomach. What a bunch of BS I thought. Anyway, it's so refreshing to have Carr getting real coaching. This portends the beginning of the end for the Carr excuses. I don't expect him to be his best this year, but I expect that he make significant strides in some of these fundamental areas. If not, we need to go another direction in 2007.

So true Porky. I pounded those two points and was just yelled at by the hair patrol.. Hope everyones doing well!