You Can't Blame Him : David Carr Was Destined to fail - 24's Blog

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You Can't Blame Him : David Carr Was Destined to fail

Posted on August 21, 2010 at 05:33 AM.

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When we think of the NFL Draft one word always comes to mind Bust. What is a bust you may ask. Well a bust (in my definition anyway) is the following

Bust: A player who does not live up to the expectations he was drafted for.

I will make a generalization and say that is what most people consider a bust to be. Often Bust's occur when a highly touted player out of college lacks some of the key skills to succeed in the NFL. A good example of this is a player like Andre Ware. Andre Ware more or less was the beneficiary of a college offense which maximized the skills he possessed known as the run and shoot. This offense was made to create mismatches with the opposing defense so the offense could essentially read what formation the defense was under. This system gave the illusion that Ware could indeed read a defense thus allowing him to put up very respectable numbers which led to his high draft pick.

Another example of a bust is when a player is often regarded as a "physical freak" and is drafted because of the intangibles he possesses. Prime example of this is Tony Mandarich. Sport's illustrated was quoted saying

"He weighed 304, ran the 40 in 4.65 seconds, did a standing long jump of 10'3", leaped vertically 30" and bench-pressed 225 pounds an unheard-of 39 times

Now while these facts may be indeed true that does not translate to success in the NFL. You can have all the tools in the world to succeed if you can not use said tools properly and efficiently than you will not succeed. Case in point with Tony Mandarich who produced 6 lackluster seasons in the NFL

You also get Players such as the famed Todd Marinovich who had many inner demons that he simply could not handle. Drugs, Crime, something that inhibits them from ever reaching their potential

But once in a blue moon you get a bust who has everything. He Understands the game quite well. He came out of a pro style offense, he has a high football I.Q, He has the ability to make plays happen so on and so on. The question is then asked well if this man has all of this talent and knowledge how does he fail? and there is one simple answer to that question which is : This player fails because of the team around him.

There are a few examples of this in the NFL one of the most recent ones is former number one overall draft pick David Carr. Carr was touted by many as one of the next great QB's his game was refined. Scout.com reported on him saying he was a

Nice sized passer effective in a variety of offensive schemes. Quick setting up in the pocket with good ball placement, shows decent footwork and patient, buying time for his receivers. Scans the field, goes through receiver progressions and has a nice sense of where his wide outs are. Quick setting and throwing off a three step drop. Nice overall release and arm strength; short and intermediate passes have zip, puts his deep passes out in front of wide outs and his throws immediately get to the intended target. Hits receivers in stride. Intelligent; does well with his reads, takes what the defense gives him and does not force his throws or make bad decisions. Stands in the pocket and takes a hit in order to get the throw off or gets to the outside and throws with proper mechanics on the move, losing nothing on his passes.

Fast-forward to the draft. Carr is draft by the Houston Texans. The new expansion team of the NFL that when push came to shove had no offensive line. Carr was sacked 76 times his rookie season an NFL Record. Despite everything against him David Carr Still posted respectable numbers in his seasons as the Texans QB but was ultimately doomed because despite having everything needed (in terms of his own talent) he was surrounded by an incompetent coaching staff and for the most part of his career a horrid offense. It is no wonder why he failed. If you were to give Carr the current Texan's offense i can guarantee that he would throw for 4000 + yards and 25 + touchdowns. It just goes to show you that some players have no choice in the matter as they were destined to fail

Comments

# 1 Beastly Wayz @ Aug 21

I think Ryan Leaf, Jemarcus Russell or Charles Rogers, would have had no chance even if they played for the Colts, Saints, or Steelers. They are the REAL DRAFT BUSTS....

Let's not Forget about NCAA All Time Leading Rusher Ron Dayne - fat ***

# 2 nolan273 @ Aug 21

I have to agree with your assessment of Carr. Anyone expecting him to be the Savior (Creator?) of an expansion franchise was nuts. Not because he couldn't play, but because he was a young QB on a bad team. And as every football fan knows, it takes time and lots of talent at key positions for young QBs to be successful.

I watched Carr in college and thought that he would be special as a pro. Too bad for him that the Texans felt the same way.