Archer: Carter's starting spot might not be secure

boozeman

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Carter's starting spot might not be secure

August, 14, 2014


By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com




OXNARD, Calif. -- The more Rolando McClain impresses, the more Bruce Carter might be fighting for playing time.

It was apparent leading up to the first preseason game that the Dallas Cowboys were doing what they could to get McClain first-team snaps at middle linebacker with Justin Durant moving to the weak-side spot occupied by Carter.

When McClain pulled up lame for a few days because of a case of knee tendinitis, those plans went on hold. McClain returned to practice Monday and performed well in the two practices against the Oakland Raiders, his former team.

"It's amazing how players respond to competition for their job and for playing time," Garrett said. "So, Rolando needs to keep growing and developing every day, but at the end of this thing, we're going to decide who our best three linebackers are and figure out where they should play. We've got to give guys opportunities to play in different spots as we go through this process. If he shows us in practice and a game that he deserves to be one of them, we're going to figure out how to do it."

Garrett loaded praise on Durant, who has played mostly middle linebacker and had his best practice Wednesday. He also said he is "very happy" with strong-side linebacker Kyle Wilber, and gave notice to Anthony Hitchens and DeVonte Holloman.

Asked about Carter's camp, Garrett was lukewarm. In the last two practices Carter took turns in pass-rush drills as an outside rusher. He's also been practicing on a lot of the special teams' units.

"Bruce has done some good things," Garrett said. "I think Bruce like the other guys needs to be a consistent player day in and day out. I think he is getting more comfortable in the scheme and he is certainly in the mix of it. He has got a lot of ability. He's got a lot of strengths. We have been using him as a rusher a bit more. He does that well. Again, you try to figure what the guys do well and who the best ones are and put them out there and give them a chance to do what they do best. Be good at things that happen a lot in games. It's our job to make sure to give them a chance to do those things."

A year ago, Carter was viewed as a foundational piece in the Cowboys' transition to the 4-3 scheme. This year he might be a reserve.

"There are a lot of ways to do this and we've just got to figure out who the best three guys are and who deserves the playing time," Garrett said. "We'll make those decisions as we go."
 

Cotton

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Anything to get that lumbering dolt out of coverage is fine by me.
 

boozeman

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Anything to get that lumbering dolt out of coverage is fine by me.
He's just disappointing.

But I partially blame the scheme switch.

He looked to be fine as a RILB in a 3-4.
 

Jiggyfly

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Its funny how Carter is the whipping boy, the same could be said about 10 other guys yet Garrett seems to go out of his way to put Carter on notice.

I have no issue with ramping up the pressure, but Garrett needs to do that with more guys or the whole dam team.
 

boozeman

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Its funny how Carter is the whipping boy, the same could be said about 10 other guys yet Garrett seems to go out of his way to put Carter on notice.

I have no issue with ramping up the pressure, but Garrett needs to do that with more guys or the whole dam team.
Carter is an easy target because of the position he plays in the scheme.

He is supposed to be the playmaker, the Derrick Brooks.

Not really his fault in a manner of speaking, but I get why the focus is more on him.
 

L.T. Fan

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Its funny how Carter is the whipping boy, the same could be said about 10 other guys yet Garrett seems to go out of his way to put Carter on notice.

I have no issue with ramping up the pressure, but Garrett needs to do that with more guys or the whole dam team.
I agree. Every position on the squad needs to put put on the spot regardless of how long they have been around or where they were drafted.
 

Cujo

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I agree. Every position on the squad needs to put put on the spot regardless of how long they have been around or where they were drafted.

Especially this season. What the hell do we have to lose?
 

Genghis Khan

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He's just disappointing.

But I partially blame the scheme switch.

He looked to be fine as a RILB in a 3-4.

that's exactly right. It was extremely irresponsible and stupid of us to get rid of Rob Ryan so quickly. Especially when he was a scapegoat for the true problem, which was Garrett. especially also since we went to a completely different scheme change, but didn't think we needed to change the players for that scheme. We had players designed for the old scheme not the new scheme and some of them are no longer a good fit. Carter is one of them. and this is a mistake that we are paying for severely to this day.
 
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Genghis Khan

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Agreed. It is sad too because I thought he would be the LB benefiting most from the change to the 4-3.
yep. I had high hopes for both him and Spencer in the new scheme. carter especially looked like a guy who could fly to the ball. But so far that has not been the case. It's a shame.
 

ravidubey

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boozeman; said:
He looked to be fine as a RILB in a 3-4.
Possibly the least demanding starting 22 position in the NFL.

Unfortunately for Dallas depth is so bad at LB they have to carry this waste.
 

Jiggyfly

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Possibly the least demanding starting 22 position in the NFL.

Unfortunately for Dallas depth is so bad at LB they have to carry this waste.
So now Carter is a waste that should be released immediately?

You really need to tone down the hyperbole its getting hard to take you seriously about anything and you do have some good insights when you don't go to extremes.

Carter has been a disappointment, but he is an average starting LB who still has plenty of upside, hardly a waste.
 

Cotton

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Carter sucks monkey nuts in coverage, and if last year is any indication is a real liability to the defense, so yeah, I can agree with the thought process that he is waste.
 

Jiggyfly

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Carter sucks monkey nuts in coverage, and if last year is any indication is a real liability to the defense, so yeah, I can agree with the thought process that he is waste.
So lets forget everything else he has done and cut a young guy because he struggled in coverage on possibly the worst defense in team history.

And while we are at it just discount he was the 2nd leading tackler on the team, only an idiot would consider him a waste.

I mean how exactly is he hurting the team who is he keeping on the bench if he is a waste does that mean he has no value whatsoever?
 

Cotton

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So lets forget everything else he has done and cut a young guy because he struggled in coverage on possibly the worst defense in team history.

And while we are at it just discount he was the 2nd leading tackler on the team, only an idiot would consider him a waste.

I mean how exactly is he hurting the team who is he keeping on the bench if he is a waste does that mean he has no value whatsoever?
I agree that he shouldn't be cut, but only because our depth at the position sucks ass and we have injuries at the position. Otherwise, he would be gone. If a SLB can't cover I don't give a damn what his tackling stats look like.
 
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