Watkins - Beat Writers Report: Bruce Carter's benching

[boozeman]

Beat Writers Report: Bruce Carter's benching

October, 1, 2013


By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com


After four weeks the Cowboys are 2-2 and still in first place in the NFC East. As we do every week, we review, preview, comment and tell you about the Cowboys in our weekly Beat Writers Report.

•Bruce Carter stood on the sidelines for 18 consecutive defensive snaps in the second half before returning to the field with 2:42 to play in the fourth quarter. Carter's absence was explained in different ways on Sunday: Poor play, heat related issues and a coach's decision. Coach Jason Garrett added to the drama Monday when he said Carter sat because of a sore foot. Asked about the heat (it was 80 degrees at kickoff with a humidity of 27 percent with a slight wind) Garrett said that wasn't an issue. Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin said it was after the game. We're not sure why the Cowboys can't get their stories straight regarding Carter's absence but one thing is clear: he didn't have a good game. Carter had good coverage on a touchdown pass to Danny Woodhead, but quarterback Philip Rivers made a perfect throw over Carter's outstretched arm for the touchdown. On Woodhead's 13-yard touchdown reception, a wheel route, Carter just lunged at him and then took off. It was poor technique by the linebacker who can play better. One other play of note, regarding Carter, was a run where he stopped Ryan Mathews at the line of scrimmage, but couldn't hold him, allowing a seven-yard gain. Garrett wouldn't commit to Carter's status on the nickle defense, Ernie Sims is there, so there appears to be more changes coming.

•Left tackle Tyron Smith lost his left shoe in the middle stages of the fourth quarter. Smith came out for two plays and this is where Jermey Parnell took over. His first snap was OK, as Tony Romo completed a nine-yard reception to Terrance Williams. But the second snap, Parnell is flagged for holding. Smith got his shoe on and returned and Parnell watched the rest of the afternoon. Garrett talks plenty about players taking advantage of opportunities when presented and here Parnell got one only to struggle. The Cowboys are still high on him, but with security in Smith at left tackle and Doug Free at right tackle, there has to be some scratching of heads about the future of Parnell. He played well late last season in a platoon with Free, but struggled with his health in training camp and once he became healthy has just been OK.

•Two of the smallest and fastest players on the team, Lance Dunbar and Cole Beasley, played a combined 34 snaps Sunday. Beasley caught all three passes thrown his way for 16 yards and Dunbar gained seven yards on a pitch play with his only touch. Beasley is a good slot receiver who finds opens spots in the defense and uses his speed as an excellent yards-after-catch player. Dunbar can do the same, as evident by his work in training camp and in games. The negatives for Dunbar are ball protection, he fumbled once and his size, 5-8, makes it hard to trust him on pass protection, yet it's all about how he sets his feet. I think the Cowboys should get the ball more to these two players given how defenses are trying to take Jason Witten and Dez Bryant out with double-teams. DeMarco Murray is a solid running back but Dunbar should get more opportunities to make plays in the short passing game because he makes defenders miss. Beasley does the same thing because he gets into his routes quick and that's a positive for Romo who wants to get rid of the ball in less than two seconds.

•Bryant had six catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. In the second half, the Cowboys got away from him. Tight coverage and shading a safety near him were part of the reasons. Bryant is such a powerful player in tight quarters that by the time he gets open, Romo has moved on with his reads. In the first quarter of games, Bryant has seven receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Romo targeted him a team-leading 10 times in the opening quarter. In the fourth quarter, Bryant has been targeted nine times and has five catches for 43 yards with no touchdowns. Witten (13) and Murray (7) have been targeted more in the final quarter than Bryant. The Cowboys best offensive player is Bryant and the team has to find ways to get him open in the fourth quarter especially if they're trailing in games which was the case in losses to Kansas City and San Diego.

•Notes: Jerry Jones said Tuesday on KRLD-FM he wanted to see Gavin Escobar on the field more against the Chargers but understood why. Escobar, who got two offensive snaps, isn't a very good blocker and the Cowboys need him to improve in this area. ... Chargers targeted cornerback Brandon Carr twice on Sunday and completed one pass for 19 yards. ... Remember when everybody wanted Murray benched for Phillip Tanner or Joseph Randle or even Dunbar? Guess who's the third-leading rusher in the NFL? Murray has 356 yards. ... In case you forgot, Denver's Peyton Manning, whom the Cowboys meet this week, is 2-0 against Monte Kiffin and 1-0 against Rod Marinelli. In two of the victories, Manning needed a fourth quarter comeback to win.

 

[1bigfan13]

Two offensive snaps from our 2nd round pick.

 

[boozeman]

Two offensive snaps from our 2nd round pick.

Unacceptable.

 

[boozeman]

 

[Smitty]

Kinda shocking. Bruce Carter looked so good last year.

 

[ravidubey]

Kinda shocking. Bruce Carter looked so good last year.

Kid's physically and mentally fragile. Unfortunately there's more of that going around on the defense, and it's the opposite of what you want especially on defense. Maybe you can get by with that from a CB, but not your linebackers. Those guys need to be setting the physical tone.

This season's hanging on a precipice. If Kiffen can't get better play from the backups, we are staring 6-10 in the face.

 

[Smitty]

Kid's physically and mentally fragile. Unfortunately there's more of that going around on the defense, and it's the opposite of what you want especially on defense. Maybe you can get by with that from a CB, but not your linebackers. Those guys need to be setting the physical tone.

This season's hanging on a precipice. If Kiffen can't get better play from the backups, we are staring 6-10 in the face.

I don't know about all that.

Chicago got by with linebackers about his size.

I don't think he's fragile, necessarily, he had an ACL injury, more of a fluke thing than a statement on nagging injuries.

 

[boozeman]

He's probably a better fit as a 3-4 ILB than a weakside 4-3 OLB.

 

[Smitty]

He's probably a better fit as a 3-4 ILB than a weakside 4-3 OLB.

I don't agree, he excelled as a 4-3 LB in college.

 

[Cotton]

Bruce Carter deals with his frustrations
October, 3, 2013

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- It's been a rough week for a couple of the Dallas Cowboys' twenty-something defensive players.

On Wednesday, cornerback Morris Claiborne, 23, dealt with the media's questions regarding a tough game in San Diego. A day later, linebacker Bruce Carter, 25, had his chat with reporters.

Carter allowed two touchdowns against the Chargers, and -- depending on who you believe -- was benched in the second half.

In practices this week, Ernie Sims and Carter shared reps on the defense, increasing speculation that the Cowboys could bench Carter as the team prepares to face the Denver Broncos.

Carter has admitted a bit of frustration with the process.

"I definitely want to play," he said. "I don't want to take nothing away from him, Ernie is my guy, I love him like a brother. I want to be out there as much as he does. I feel like, I don't know, it's out of my hands, I'll say that."

If Carter is benched, it would be a major blow to a young player who was a 2011 second-round pick who fell out of the first round because of a knee surgery. The Cowboys like Carter's abilities in the run and pass game. Carter's speed allows him to make solid open-field tackles against the run and keep up with wide receivers and running backs on pass plays.

But Sunday's game in San Diego fell apart for him. He was beaten for two scores by running back Danny Woodhead and allowed another reception because he didn't get far enough down the field in zone coverage.

"I would say it's one of the worst games I've had since I was a Cowboy," Carter said. "I just wasn't focused. I didn't come out with a lot of spark. That's just something I have to learn from and move on."

Carter was off to a good start this season but over the last few weeks his pass coverage skills have taken a hit. He's allowed 17 receivers to beat him on passes, tied for fifth-most in the NFL according to STATS LLC. Like Claiborne, Carter is dealing with playing more in zone coverage and sometimes that can be tricky. A defensive player has to guide a receiver to a certain spot of the field so a safety can pick him up. When that doesn't happen, big plays usually happen.

"It can be frustrating when you're all over the field," Carter said. "But that's the position. That's why they brought you in here to play so you've just got to do it."

 

[Cotton]

Bruce Carter says he was 'all over the place' against Chargers, played bad technique and lost focus

Bruce Carter used plain language to describe his game against the Chargers last week.

“I would say it’s one of the worst games I’ve had since I was a Cowboy,” he said. “I just wasn’t focused. I didn’t come out with a lot of spark. That’s just something I have to learn from and move on.”

The third-year linebacker, who got burned for two touchdowns by running back Danny Woodhead, said it wasn’t a matter of having or not having confidence. He said it was about losing focus.

“I was just all over the place, and I kind of didn’t read my keys like I should have, and I didn’t zone in and focus,” he said.

He said he got frustrated covering a player as fast as Woodhead, but that he has to do a better job of “carrying” the receiver on his route.

“It was a zone coverage, but I just have to get my angle right coming out,” Carter said. “It’s more of a technique thing. It’s something that you just have to work in practice and just be focused in and be tuned into your man and have man eyes and be keyed in the whole time.”

After getting pulled last week and then splitting reps with backup Ernie Sims this week, Carter said he can read the writing on the wall about who will be starting on Sunday against Denver.

“It’s frustrating. I definitely want to play,” he said. “I don’t take nothing away from him. Ernie is my guy. I love him like a brother. I want to go out there just as much as he does, but if they feel like, I don’t know, it’s out of my hands. I’ll say that.”

-- Carlos Mendez

 

[Cotton]

 

[1bigfan13]

Looks like Carter is a good player that needs a tough coach that will ride his ass to keep him focused.

 

[Cotton]

Stephen Jones: Bruce Carter wasn't benched for 'unforgivable effort'

By SPORTSDAYDFW.COM

​

Cowboys Vice President/COO Stephen Jones joined the Ben & Skin Show on KRLD-FM 105.1 The Fan on Friday. Here are some highlights from the interview.

On Bruce Carter being benched for 'unforgivable effort':

“I would disagree with that. I really would. You know how stories can go and how things can get passed down. I think at the end of the day we have high expectations for Bruce Carter. We expect him to play at a certain level. I would say this: Monte and Rod, that defensive staff over there, have expectations for how our players should perform at certain levels and they certainly hold players accountable. If it means at some point somebody has reduced play time over the fact that they believe might not be they’re potential, then certainly that can happen but I’ve never even heard of such things, in my mind, in terms of unforgivable. That’s certainly in my mind, not the case.”

On the attitude of the team when it’s facing a juggernaut like the Broncos:

“The competitor comes out in them more than ever. We’re not talking about people who put their pants on any different than our guys do. Our guys get paid and they’re guys get paid. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to step up and show what kind of team we can have. … You look for opportunities to face people like this. We’ve certainly done it before and we’ve had success against Peyton. We’ve had success against him here in Dallas and we’ve certainly had success against him on his home turf.”

On the struggles of the defensive line:

“I think Coach Marinelli would be the first to say we’re unpleased with how our front played, that we have to play better than that. At the same time you have to give San Diego’s quarterback, Rivers, a lot of credit. He’s one of the best in the business. He was getting the ball out quickly. But that’s no excuse. We have to play better. Truthfully, we had a great opportunity with a minute there in the first half to not let them get anything there and then come out, make a statement and that could’ve been our ball game. But we didn’t and we certainly didn’t play our best football, there, especially in the second half.”

On Miles Austin on the injury report again:

“Injuries are a part of this game. If you want to go to who’s the most frustrated, it’s certainly Miles. No one’s a bigger competitor than him. At the same time, it’s a long season. … It’s a long season, and we have to remember that. It’s not about right now. We know we’ve got to put our best guys on the field but we’ve also got to make sure Miles plays a majority of the games, not just this one game.

 

[1bigfan13]

I am so glad that we took a stab at WR with Terrence Williams. I'm done with the Miles Austin experiment.

Milk whatever production we can get out of him this year then move on.

The Cowboys are complete idiots if they choose to sign up for another year of this.

 

[Smitty]

I am so glad that we took a stab at WR with Terrence Williams. I'm done with the Miles Austin experiment.

Milk whatever production we can get out of him this year then move on.

The Cowboys are complete idiots if they choose to sign up for another year of this.

The only thing might be if it costs more to cut him then keep him. As soon as it's financially feasible, though.

 

[Clay_Allison]

The only thing might be if it costs more to cut him then keep him. As soon as it's financially feasible, though.

Did we restructure his deal?

 

[Cotton]

Did we restructure his deal?

Yes.

 

[jester]

I am so glad that we took a stab at WR with Terrence Williams. I'm done with the Miles Austin experiment.

That's the issue. The front offce views Miles as integeral part of this organization and mitigate his inabilty to stay on the field by his flashes of game changing results.