LB Carter Hoping For Subpackage Chances - Dallas Cowboys Forum

Doomsday101 · 12-21-2011

His torn ACL from last November fully recovered, rookie linebacker Bruce Carter made his NFL debut against the Eagles in Week 8, saying at the time he expected mostly special teams work this year, but was hoping to take on a nickel role by the end of the year.

Half the season has gone by since then, the second-round pick having been proven correct as far as the special teams aspect of his predication. Now that the Eagles have come back around for the second game of the season series, and it's the end of the year, this could be a good week for Carter to see some playing time on defense.

"That's what I'm hoping for," Carter said. "It'll really show what I can really do as far as covering athletically skilled guys, especially a situation like this with (LeSean) McCoy and (Michael) Vick, that'll help me just use the tools I have."

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/jo...tId=b logDest

Cowboys&LakersFan · 12-21-2011

I think he'll get some playing time. He's gonna need to if we plan on slowing down Vick and McCoy.

JohnsKey19 · 12-21-2011

We need him going forward. In this passing era with many excellent pass-catching TEs and explosive RBs, the typical 2-down ILB who cant run is a huge liability in today's NFL.

Doomsday101 · 12-21-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnsKey19

We need him going forward. In this passing era with many excellent pass-catching TEs and explosive RBs, the typical 2-down ILB who cant run is a huge liability in today's NFL.

If Rob thinks he is ready to go then put him in. I have got to trust those who see him day in and day out as opposed to fans like myself who do not see him and how he is doing in terms of understanding what the coaches want.

JohnsKey19 · 12-21-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doomsday101

If Rob thinks he is ready to go then put him in. I have got to trust those who see him day in and day out as opposed to fans like myself who do not see him and how he is doing in terms of understanding what the coaches want.

I agree. I'm referring to next season. I'm glad we have him already in place so we can potentially have a speedy/athletic tandem in the middle with Carter and Lee inside.

Fletch · 12-21-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnsKey19

I agree. I'm referring to next season. I'm glad we have him already in place so we can potentially have a speedy/athletic tandem in the middle with Carter and Lee inside.

Next year we are going to have a stud in Carter. We already have a stud in Lee! Combine the two and you have yourself another Bruce Lee!

jaybird · 12-21-2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fletch

Next year we are going to have a stud in Carter. We already have a stud in Lee! Combine the two and you have yourself another Bruce Lee!

Not so sure. I expected a little more. He's not where Lee was at last year.

AsthmaField · 12-21-2011

I honestly feel like Carter is going to end up being a terrific ILB for us in the future. He has rare athleticism for his size, and he's a smart guy. Pro Football Weekly, in their draft guide called Carter "an athletic marvel with explosion, speed, fluidity, and Bend". They also said that "Carter is a lottery pick based on raw talent". PFW had him listed second to Von Miller in the LB's and they're almost exactly the same size. Miller measured 6-2 5/8, 237 pounds at the combine while Carter was 6-3, 235 pounds. While neither Miller nor Carter ran at the combine, PFW estimated Carter's speed to be a little better than Miller's.

That's not to say that Carter will be as good as Miller, but rather to illustrate the extent of Carter's athleticism to those that might not know just how rare his physical traits are in a LB.

PFW Draft Guide is one of the few draft publications that I pay a lot of attention to (although I do less now that Buchsbaum passed away).

Having said all of that... I'm not sure that Carter has been able to learn enough to be trusted in some sub-packages just yet. All the athleticism in the world won't help if he doesn't know what to do. I do think that Lee will help him early on with his responsibilities before each play and point him in the right direction, so to speak, but that still might not be enough to make Garrett and Ryan comfortable enough to play him against Philadelphia.

I do hope that if the Giants win and the game against the Eagles is (relatively) meaningless, that they give Carter significant playing time to get his feet wet... or if the Giants lose and Dallas beats Philadelphia, I hope they play Carter a lot in a meaningless last game at NY the final game of the regular season. One game for Carter to learn from and the coaches to see what he does and doesn't do well might go a long way towards getting him ready to play some snap in the playoffs, if Dallas makes it in the tourney.

No matter what happens this year though, I think Carter will have a huge impact starting next year. The guy is too smart and too great of an athlete not to.