eriadoc
Texan-American
I see so many Carr-bashing threads out there that I wanted to say something. Most things on this site seem to be overblown and the Carr issue is no different, but it's still worth addressing. People are coming to judgment way too quickly on Carr, when I will say right now that I don't think ANY other QB (Manning, Pepper, whoever) would have done any better in the same situation for the past 3 years. Think about this - what are Carr's strengths and weaknesses? I'll put them down as I see it.
Arm Strength - Strength. I don't think there are many in the league that can claim any better.
Mobility - Strength. Aside from Vick, Pepper, and McNabb, Carr is probably the best.
Accuracy - Strength. This is where some will differ, but I will simply point out that Carr seldom overthrows or underthrows his receivers. He may miss altogether on a miscommunicated route, but that falls as much on the WR as Carr. Carr can thread in some beautiful passes and more often than not, hits his WR square in the hands. Completion % doesn't tell the true story, although Carr's was certainly respectable last year. I don't consider McNabb to be a very accurate passer, for instance, even though he completed something like 67% of his passes last season. Go back and watch some tapes (heck, the Super Bowl) of McNabb and see how many times he made completions, but put the ball in a spot that hampered his receiver from making a better play. Just an observation.
Toughness - Strength. I don't think anyone here can honestly say to themselves that Carr is not one of the toughest in the game.
Leadership - Weakness. I hesitate to put weakness here, because I really believe that everyone on that team respects him and he has command of the huddle. But he needs to stop letting his emotions get the better of him in games, IMO.
Field Vision - Weakness. I think everyone will agree this is Carr's primary weakness. I will say, however, that he's not really been given a chance to survey the field and learn to read defenses as well as we fans would like. I see people complain about Carr dropping back in the pocket and getting "happy feet" like he thinks he's about to be hit. Well, Pavlov's Theory - he IS about to be hit. He's been trained.
Decision-making - Strength. Here again, some will disagree with me, but think about it. Carr makes sound decisions with the football. He gets out of bounds, throws it away, what have you. He usually doesn't try to force the action too much. Maybe he should, but HE HAS BEEN COACHED not to. So by listening to his coaches, he is doing his job. I remember in Year One he took criticism for not dumping off, not throwing it away, not sliding, etc. He has learned these things. I saw in another thread someone said they didn't have a problem with Carr's decision-making, but rather his quick decisions. That may be a good observation, but in reality, he has to make quicker decisions than most other QBs in the NFL.
Anyway, I hope this will stimulate some rational discussion and counterpoints. I totally agree that Carr is not where we want him to be, but neither is the team. I reiterate my earlier statement - I don't think that ANY quarterback in the NFL would have done any better if they'd been put on this team as a rookie in the same situation - Manning, Pepper, McNabb, you name it.
Arm Strength - Strength. I don't think there are many in the league that can claim any better.
Mobility - Strength. Aside from Vick, Pepper, and McNabb, Carr is probably the best.
Accuracy - Strength. This is where some will differ, but I will simply point out that Carr seldom overthrows or underthrows his receivers. He may miss altogether on a miscommunicated route, but that falls as much on the WR as Carr. Carr can thread in some beautiful passes and more often than not, hits his WR square in the hands. Completion % doesn't tell the true story, although Carr's was certainly respectable last year. I don't consider McNabb to be a very accurate passer, for instance, even though he completed something like 67% of his passes last season. Go back and watch some tapes (heck, the Super Bowl) of McNabb and see how many times he made completions, but put the ball in a spot that hampered his receiver from making a better play. Just an observation.
Toughness - Strength. I don't think anyone here can honestly say to themselves that Carr is not one of the toughest in the game.
Leadership - Weakness. I hesitate to put weakness here, because I really believe that everyone on that team respects him and he has command of the huddle. But he needs to stop letting his emotions get the better of him in games, IMO.
Field Vision - Weakness. I think everyone will agree this is Carr's primary weakness. I will say, however, that he's not really been given a chance to survey the field and learn to read defenses as well as we fans would like. I see people complain about Carr dropping back in the pocket and getting "happy feet" like he thinks he's about to be hit. Well, Pavlov's Theory - he IS about to be hit. He's been trained.
Decision-making - Strength. Here again, some will disagree with me, but think about it. Carr makes sound decisions with the football. He gets out of bounds, throws it away, what have you. He usually doesn't try to force the action too much. Maybe he should, but HE HAS BEEN COACHED not to. So by listening to his coaches, he is doing his job. I remember in Year One he took criticism for not dumping off, not throwing it away, not sliding, etc. He has learned these things. I saw in another thread someone said they didn't have a problem with Carr's decision-making, but rather his quick decisions. That may be a good observation, but in reality, he has to make quicker decisions than most other QBs in the NFL.
Anyway, I hope this will stimulate some rational discussion and counterpoints. I totally agree that Carr is not where we want him to be, but neither is the team. I reiterate my earlier statement - I don't think that ANY quarterback in the NFL would have done any better if they'd been put on this team as a rookie in the same situation - Manning, Pepper, McNabb, you name it.