The Curious Case of Brandon Carr

[AzorAhai]

The Cowboys have not been secretive in their desire to get Brandon Carr to take a pay cut. Currently Carr’s contract has two years left with cap hits of 12.7 and 13.8 million. Based on 2015 cap hit alone Carr is the third most expensive cornerback in the NFL. Obviously Carr doesn’t belong in a group with guys like Darrelle Revis, Patrick Peterson, Richard Sherman or Joe Haden based on talent but that’s where he sits in terms of cap hit.

Before the draft the Cowboys had very little leverage in talks with Carr. Orlando Scandrick was the only solid cornerback on the roster. Morris Claiborne is once again coming into training camp hurt and while Tyler Patmon showed some good things in limited playing time as a rookie, he can’t be counted on to fill a starting spot.

Now that the Cowboys have selected Byron Jones many fans believe the Cowboys have the leverage necessary to play hard ball with Carr. While the Jones addition certainly makes it easier to live without Carr it certainly doesn’t make Carr expendable. Even if Claiborne comes into camp healthier than expected he still needs to prove he can be effective. A top three of Jones, Carr and Scandrick with Claiborne and Patmon as depth off the bench would be a great position to be in.

Then there’s the other issue with cutting Carr: he’s actually a solid starter quality cornerback. I know that it is hard to fathom but take a look at the player not the salary. The problem with Carr isn’t always his play but the fact that he is paid so much. A cornerback making over 10 million shouldn’t be solid, he should be a playmaker. Since joining the Cowboys three years ago Carr has just six interceptions, with zero in 2015.

But just because he isn’t the flashy playmaker that his price tag suggests doesn’t mean he isn’t valuable to the Cowboys. One positive trend of Carr’s performance is his late season play. It has long been said that strong defensive line play can cover up for bad secondary play. Likewise, some believe that a strong secondary gives the D-line more time to get to the quarterback. The two really go hand in hand and if one area is extremely weak, like the Cowboys pass rush last season, the other area is exposed.

Starting from the Cowboys week 9 game against the Arizona Cardinals I went back and watched every pass thrown against the team. I used this game as the starting point due to the fact that it was DeMarcus Lawrence’s first game back from injury. While Lawrence didn’t notch his first sack until the playoffs, he dramatically improved the Cowboys pass rush. Below are my notes on Carr.

Continue reading at
http://valleyranchoutsiders.com/the-curious-case-of-brandon-carr/

Decent writeup of the situation with Carr and his play last year. Worth the read.

 

[xwalker]

The Cowboys have not been secretive in their desire to get Brandon Carr to take a pay cut. Currently Carr’s contract has two years left with cap hits of 12.7 and 13.8 million. Based on 2015 cap hit alone Carr is the third most expensive cornerback in the NFL. Obviously Carr doesn’t belong in a group with guys like Darrelle Revis, Patrick Peterson, Richard Sherman or Joe Haden based on talent but that’s where he sits in terms of cap hit.

Before the draft the Cowboys had very little leverage in talks with Carr. Orlando Scandrick was the only solid cornerback on the roster. Morris Claiborne is once again coming into training camp hurt and while Tyler Patmon showed some good things in limited playing time as a rookie, he can’t be counted on to fill a starting spot.

Now that the Cowboys have selected Byron Jones many fans believe the Cowboys have the leverage necessary to play hard ball with Carr. While the Jones addition certainly makes it easier to live without Carr it certainly doesn’t make Carr expendable. Even if Claiborne comes into camp healthier than expected he still needs to prove he can be effective. A top three of Jones, Carr and Scandrick with Claiborne and Patmon as depth off the bench would be a great position to be in.

Then there’s the other issue with cutting Carr: he’s actually a solid starter quality cornerback. I know that it is hard to fathom but take a look at the player not the salary. The problem with Carr isn’t always his play but the fact that he is paid so much. A cornerback making over 10 million shouldn’t be solid, he should be a playmaker. Since joining the Cowboys three years ago Carr has just six interceptions, with zero in 2015.

But just because he isn’t the flashy playmaker that his price tag suggests doesn’t mean he isn’t valuable to the Cowboys. One positive trend of Carr’s performance is his late season play. It has long been said that strong defensive line play can cover up for bad secondary play. Likewise, some believe that a strong secondary gives the D-line more time to get to the quarterback. The two really go hand in hand and if one area is extremely weak, like the Cowboys pass rush last season, the other area is exposed.

Starting from the Cowboys week 9 game against the Arizona Cardinals I went back and watched every pass thrown against the team. I used this game as the starting point due to the fact that it was DeMarcus Lawrence’s first game back from injury. While Lawrence didn’t notch his first sack until the playoffs, he dramatically improved the Cowboys pass rush. Below are my notes on Carr.

Continue reading at
http://valleyranchoutsiders.com/the-curious-case-of-brandon-carr/

Decent writeup of the situation with Carr and his play last year. Worth the read.

They can wait until they see how other players are doing in training camp before forcing the issue with the pay cut.

 

[Craig]

I dont think carr is dumb enough to think the cowboys would be better off without him than they are with him. I wouldnt take a paycut if i were him.

 

[Nightman]

He can play a little, but he is nowhere near worth another 8m in salary or his 12.7m cap hit

That money can be used elsewhere, even if they just roll it over

He had 0 INTs last year and was ranked 90th out of 108 CBs

I would have no problem rolling with OScan, BJones, Claiborne, Patmon, White and a vet signed after cuts and camp.

 

[JBS]

He can play a little, but he is nowhere near worth another 8m in salary or his 12.7m cap hit

That money can be used elsewhere, even if they just roll it over

He had 0 INTs last year and was ranked 90th out of 108 CBs

I would have no problem rolling with OScan, BJones, Claiborne, Patmon, White and a vet signed after cuts and camp.

No way.

 

[superonyx]

I believe Carr should be given the benefit of the doubt. We all scream about how we have no pass rush. You can have Sherman and Revis back there and if the QB is comfortable you will give up lots of yards all day.

Judging a CB without a pass rush is like judging a QB without any pass blocking. He can't do much when he is under pressure non stop and a CB can't do much when he is asked to cover a man for 6 seconds all day.

 

[JBS]

What's the typical time frame for a player to fully recover from the injury that Mo suffered? A full year?

 

[AzorAhai]

Another thing to consider is the scheme we were running most of his time here. Carr is better in a press man role and struggled when playing off the line and in zone. Latter in the season he played much better when we switched to more man coverage. He basically shut Jordy Nelson down in GB. Jones is also a better press man CB and with the switch last year at the end of the year, I think we will see a lot more of that this season. The improved DL should help him as well. He may not play at a $10m skill level, but I think he can be a solid contributor.

 

[superonyx]

What's the typical time frame for a player to fully recover from the injury that Mo suffered? A full year?

The leg injury or the injury to his self esteem and confidence? It may never heal properly.

 

[jazzcat22]

He can play a little, but he is nowhere near worth another 8m in salary or his 12.7m cap hit

That money can be used elsewhere, even if they just roll it over

He had 0 INTs last year and was ranked 90th out of 108 CBs

I would have no problem rolling with OScan, BJones, Claiborne, Patmon, White and a vet signed after cuts and camp.

Where will the money be used...no one is out there that would be better and anyone that may be ok, still cost money as well as not knowing the system as Carr does. No way we role the dice with just who we have without Carr.
He hasn't lived up to his pay, but he's not horrible either. He has never been a big INT guy. And I would bet he plays much better with a decent pass rush as well as the rest of the secondary.

 

[Nightman]

Where will the money be used...no one is out there that would be better and anyone that may be ok, still cost money as well as not knowing the system as Carr does. No way we role the dice with just who we have without Carr.
He hasn't lived up to his pay, but he's not horrible either. He has never been a big INT guy. And I would bet he plays much better with a decent pass rush as well as the rest of the secondary.

I already said we would be better off just rolling it over.

But I also said we could add a vet after cuts or camp

If the pass rush is that much better, it is all the more reason not to pay Carr. He actually has been pretty horrible.

 

[AzorAhai]

Where will the money be used...no one is out there that would be better and anyone that may be ok, still cost money as well as not knowing the system as Carr does. No way we role the dice with just who we have without Carr.
He hasn't lived up to his pay, but he's not horrible either. He has never been a big INT guy. And I would bet he plays much better with a decent pass rush as well as the rest of the secondary.

Basically it comes down to whats more valuable, Carr on the field this season as one of the top 3 CBs or $8m in FA cap room either now or rolled over for the start of FA. I think his play will be more valuable than the $ right now.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Since there is ultimately no gain to cutting Carr right now... I can't see doing it.

 

[Nightman]

Since there is ultimately no gain to cutting Carr right now... I can't see doing it.

If he gets hurt at any point going forward we owe him the full 8m.

If he won't take at least a 50% pay cut I would just June 1st cut him, or is it May 12th now, and get it over with.

 

[TonyRomo17]

Another thing to consider is the scheme we were running most of his time here. Carr is better in a press man role and struggled when playing off the line and in zone. Latter in the season he played much better when we switched to more man coverage. He basically shut Jordy Nelson down in GB. Jones is also a better press man CB and with the switch last year at the end of the year, I think we will see a lot more of that this season. The improved DL should help him as well. He may not play at a $10m skill level, but I think he can be a solid contributor.

Broaddus mentioned that Marinelli plants to call more press man coverage this season

 

[JoeyBoy718]

They can wait until they see how other players are doing in training camp before forcing the issue with the pay cut.

Haha that sig

I'm usually on my phone so I never see people's sigs.

 

[xwalker]

Where will the money be used...no one is out there that would be better and anyone that may be ok, still cost money as well as not knowing the system as Carr does. No way we role the dice with just who we have without Carr.
He hasn't lived up to his pay, but he's not horrible either. He has never been a big INT guy. And I would bet he plays much better with a decent pass rush as well as the rest of the secondary.

You can't just look at the salary cap 1 year at a time in a vacuum. They can roll any unused cap space forward. Ware was cut before 2014 but they didn't really use the savings until 2015.

 

[Chuck 54]

Again, unless we are over the cap or need the money to sign a difference maker in free agency, who cares that he's overpaid. Lots of guys are overpaid. We have backup players who are overpaid. Saving money on Carr's contract means absolutely nothing unless we want to do something with that money. Even if he were our 4th CB going into game one, it still comes down to what do you actually gain with the savings. If we like our team and don't need the money, again.....who cares that he's overpaid? It's our fault, not his.

 

[Bluefin]

They can wait until they see how other players are doing in training camp before forcing the issue with the pay cut.

Unfortunately, no.

Brandon Carr isn't going to be allowed out on the training camp practice field with his current $8M base salary if the team intends on forcing a pay cut.

If Carr were to get injured, he'd get all $8M.

If a pay cut is in the works, Carr also won't be allowed to participate in the mandatory mini-camp (June 16-18) unless he has already agreed.

OTAs start May 26th, and Carr will probably be held out of those as well without taking the pay cut.

 

[xwalker]

Unfortunately, no.

Brandon Carr isn't going to be allowed out on the training camp practice field with his current $8M base salary if the team intends on forcing a pay cut.

If Carr were to get injured, he'd get all $8M.

If a pay cut is in the works, Carr also won't be allowed to participate in the mandatory mini-camp (June 16-18) unless he has already agreed.

OTAs start May 26th, and Carr will probably be held out of those as well without taking the pay cut.

Yes, good point, that would be a risk.