PFF on Carter & Sims vs New Orleans

[perrykemp]

PFF focused in on what they viewed as extremely poor performance by Carters and Sims in their grading of the New Orleans loss:

"With nearly the entire defense grading in the red, it’s not easy picking out the worst of the lot, but a few performances stood out. Starting at the linebacker level where Bruce Carter (-5.4) and Ernie Sims (-4.7) struggled in all aspects of the game, but especially against the run. Carter might be having nightmares that he’s glued to full back Jed Collins as he was moved out of the hole on several occasions. The offensive linemen had their way with Carter as well as he was kept away from the point of the attack for much of the game despite getting in on 12 tackles. For Sims, it was less about getting blocked and more about his inability to find the football. Whether over-pursuing or dropping into coverage on a goal line run right at him, there were a number of mistakes that led to Sims’ -3.1 grade against the run."​

It hard to tell IMHO how bad the LB corp played since the front-four has been decimated by injuries.

 

[Pessimist_cowboy]

We need two new LBs . Carter just doesn't have good agility , lacks quickness and he is too stiff to play in a 4-3 . He is a good 3-4 MLB , perhaps we could trade him for a 4th round pick ?

 

[Future]

An LB getting blown up by a FB has nothing to do with the DL injuries. It has everything to do with not being tough/physical enough at the point of attack.

 

[Nation]

We need two new LBs . Carter just doesn't have good agility , lacks quickness and he is too stiff to play in a 4-3 . He is a good 3-4 MLB , perhaps we could trade him for a 4th round pick ?

And how freaking depressing is that compared to where he was at a year ago at this time?

 

[JeffInDC]

We need two new LBs . Carter just doesn't have good agility , lacks quickness and he is too stiff to play in a 4-3 . He is a good 3-4 MLB , perhaps we could trade him for a 4th round pick ?

I know I may be in the minority on this, but I think Carter is still extremely salvageable in the 4-3........................but, as the SLB. He has gotten, it seems, too big for the WLB. In college, when he was a stud, he was playing in the 225-230 range. Lee lost weight for the transition this year, but Carter did not. His weight, however, could help him match up better with TE's than speedy RB's. Just a thought. Skewer away..........................

 

[jterrell]

I know I may be in the minority on this, but I think Carter is still extremely salvageable in the 4-3........................but, as the SLB. He has gotten, it seems, too big for the WLB. In college, when he was a stud, he was playing in the 225-230 range. Lee lost weight for the transition this year, but Carter did not. His weight, however, could help him match up better with TE's than speedy RB's. Just a thought. Skewer away..........................

Disagree completely.
Carter's issue was not being able to physically get off blocks.
That's a strength issue.
He played his best football as 3-4 (4-3 over) LB behind a Nose Tackle.
That's because he didn't have to take on blocks.
Carter is a legit athlete that needs to work on his strength.
An issue that was apparent coming out of college.
He's still a WLB but he needs to grow comfortable with who he is supposed to cover when and how to cover guys in the short flats.

As a SLB he'd get mauled right now.

The downfall of the rushmen theory is you lose the protection for your LBs.
Instead of the 3 285+ pound DL we now have 2.
So one free blocker to go get the MLB.
Sean Lee struggled with that a couple games before adjusting.
Carter is probably gonna be his best at MLB in this 4-3 we run.
The outside guys have to take on blocks and win.

 

[JeffInDC]

Disagree completely.
Carter's issue was not being able to physically get off blocks.
That's a strength issue.
He played his best football as 3-4 (4-3 over) LB behind a Nose Tackle.
That's because he didn't have to take on blocks.
Carter is a legit athlete that needs to work on his strength.
An issue that was apparent coming out of college.
He's still a WLB but he needs to grow comfortable with who he is supposed to cover when and how to cover guys in the short flats.

As a SLB he'd get mauled right now.

The downfall of the rushmen theory is you lose the protection for your LBs.
Instead of the 3 285+ pound DL we now have 2.
So one free blocker to go get the MLB.
Sean Lee struggled with that a couple games before adjusting.
Carter is probably gonna be his best at MLB in this 4-3 we run.
The outside guys have to take on blocks and win.

Hmmmm.........I had read that he WAS a good block-shedder coming out of college. Oh well..........so much for some of the scouts. I wonder if he gets first dibs at MLB now............... As for the line and the smaller Rushmen, I agree with you. I think 4-3's like the Bengals deploy and the Vikings had with the Williams Wall is the way to go. 3 pass rushers paired with a behemoth (325+) at the 1T that consistently pushes the pocket (even if they only get 1-2 sacks a year) solves so many issues. The inside run is negated effectively, and, because they CONSISTENTLY demand a double team because of the power push up the gut they provide, the 3T and DE's should generally have favorable matchups on every snap AND (like you were saying) keeps OL of the LB's. That is what made the Raven's D of 2000 so phenomenol. Lewis and Sharper NEVER got touched on their way to the ball carrier.

 

[CyberB0b]

An LB getting blown up by a FB has nothing to do with the DL injuries. It has everything to do with not being tough/physical enough at the point of attack.

Look at the 4th quarter drive around 11:00. Carter basically walked into the full back. 0 effort on that drive.

 

[dallasfan4lizife]

The change to a 4-3 literally hurt every one of our starters besides spencer and lee. The rest were negatively affected by the switch.

Awesome Jerry. Invest whole drafts and free agency money, only to switch the game plan at the last second.

Good foresight and planning shown once again by Jerry and his twin son!

 

[jobberone]

PFF focused in on what they viewed as extremely poor performance by Carters and Sims in their grading of the New Orleans loss:

"With nearly the entire defense grading in the red, it’s not easy picking out the worst of the lot, but a few performances stood out. Starting at the linebacker level where Bruce Carter (-5.4) and Ernie Sims (-4.7) struggled in all aspects of the game, but especially against the run. Carter might be having nightmares that he’s glued to full back Jed Collins as he was moved out of the hole on several occasions. The offensive linemen had their way with Carter as well as he was kept away from the point of the attack for much of the game despite getting in on 12 tackles. For Sims, it was less about getting blocked and more about his inability to find the football. Whether over-pursuing or dropping into coverage on a goal line run right at him, there were a number of mistakes that led to Sims’ -3.1 grade against the run."​

It hard to tell IMHO how bad the LB corp played since the front-four has been decimated by injuries.

I give you my personal testimony FWIW from just the game film that those two were shameful. Now I haven't seen the coaches film to see how poorly the DL did as far as releasing them but in our defense that's not their primary role. They play some gap control or even shoot and hold but a lot more is just shooting the gaps. And that's the problem with that concept. You run yourself out of the play or make yourself more vulnerable to be blocked in a number of ways. Lee is not as quick or fast as either but they don't move like he does. He just is one of the best instinctive LBers I've ever seen. He reminds me of Jack Lambert (I hate giving props to Steelers even when they deserve it) and Howley. There are others those two just jump out at me.

 

[big dog cowboy]

We need two new LBs .

Just add then to the list.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

Look at the 4th quarter drive around 11:00. Carter basically walked into the full back. 0 effort on that drive.

I completely agree, he went into blocks against o-linemen and the FB with his arms extended as if to say "I give up you can block me." I have no doubt that Carter was thinking a lot more about making sure he wasn't too sore for his week off work than he was thinking about tackling a running back.

But remember we are only bringing in "right kind of guys" like Carter and Ratliff - the process is working!

 

[perrykemp]

This thread is depressing for this reason:

I don't think the Cowboys can afford to have Carter not end up being a top echelon player like he flashed last year. I don't know if it is coaching, self motivation, or whatever but Carter needs to turn his season around NOW. Lee is out -- this is Carter's chance.

 

[03EBZ06]

I remember many posters on here were raving about Carter for about season and half and now he is a JAG. Yes he was horrible against Saints but the truth is, he hasn't been all that good, he made few plays but most of time I really didn't understand why so many posters were raving about him.

Sims? I'm just going to smh.

 

[dfense]

PFF focused in on what they viewed as extremely poor performance by Carters and Sims in their grading of the New Orleans loss:

"With nearly the entire defense grading in the red, it’s not easy picking out the worst of the lot, but a few performances stood out. Starting at the linebacker level where Bruce Carter (-5.4) and Ernie Sims (-4.7) struggled in all aspects of the game, but especially against the run. Carter might be having nightmares that he’s glued to full back Jed Collins as he was moved out of the hole on several occasions. The offensive linemen had their way with Carter as well as he was kept away from the point of the attack for much of the game despite getting in on 12 tackles. For Sims, it was less about getting blocked and more about his inability to find the football. Whether over-pursuing or dropping into coverage on a goal line run right at him, there were a number of mistakes that led to Sims’ -3.1 grade against the run."​

It hard to tell IMHO how bad the LB corp played since the front-four has been decimated by injuries.

I've been completely disappointed in Carter. Guy lacks toughness, leadership, and appearently football instincs. He was suppose to be a playmaker. He can't even stay on the field.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

This thread is depressing for this reason:

I don't think the Cowboys can afford to have Carter not end up being a top echelon player like he flashed last year. I don't know if it is coaching, self motivation, or whatever but Carter needs to turn his season around NOW. Lee is out -- this is Carter's chance.

Get ready to be disappointed, then get ready to be pissed once you see how league-average Claiborne is.

 

[WoodysGirl]

FWIW, Garrett praised Carter for his play in N.O. --->> http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4719284/garrett-praises-bruce-carter

*shrug*

 

[Alexander]

"He played well the other night in the game, better than he's played," Garrett said of Carter. "He was active and he's played well the last few weeks and responded to the challenge we put forth to him."

Hmmm. Who to believe?

 

[CyberB0b]

FWIW, Garrett praised Carter for his play in N.O. --->> http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4719284/garrett-praises-bruce-carter

*shrug*

Watch 11:00 in the 4th.You will be disgusted for 5 minutes of game time.

 

[diehard2294]

Disagree completely.
Carter's issue was not being able to physically get off blocks.
That's a strength issue.
He played his best football as 3-4 (4-3 over) LB behind a Nose Tackle.
That's because he didn't have to take on blocks.
Carter is a legit athlete that needs to work on his strength.
An issue that was apparent coming out of college.
He's still a WLB but he needs to grow comfortable with who he is supposed to cover when and how to cover guys in the short flats.

As a SLB he'd get mauled right now.

The downfall of the rushmen theory is you lose the protection for your LBs.
Instead of the 3 285+ pound DL we now have 2.
So one free blocker to go get the MLB.
Sean Lee struggled with that a couple games before adjusting.
Carter is probably gonna be his best at MLB in this 4-3 we run.
The outside guys have to take on blocks and win.

nailed it