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The only reason we drafted Carpenter was because A.J Hawk made him look good in Ohio and Hawk is still doing good but Carpenter has nobody to lean on at middle linebacker
The spirit of my post was draft but if we're talking about any player....
hmmmmmmmmmmmmm................
Man you just may be right.....
The only reason we drafted Carpenter was because A.J Hawk made him look good in Ohio and Hawk is still doing good but Carpenter has nobody to lean on at middle linebacker
Are we including Supplemental draft? If so, I'd vote for Steve Walsh.
Carpenter has been solid when he's been in there for the most part. Certainly not first-rounder worthy (more like third), but the Cowboys have gotten less value on many draft picks.
I guess this includes anyone you want.
Steve Walsh is an interesting name
AJ was such a stud in college that teams often times ran to the opposite side of the field to avoid him which was Bobby's side. Because of that it inflated his numbers. I still think he is a good player and will be in the league for awhile, but he isn't 1st round caliber.
I'm still not sold on Carpenter being anything more than a special teamer and backup. Dallas should see how bad the Tuna really likes the kid and get something in trade.
I will say this in defense of Bill…I have heard him say over and over since he got here that "In the draft, it you hit on half of them its an amazing draft"
I guess that’s true
sherrard?
For me that was the biggest waste of not one, but two 1st round draft picks.
Im not sold on Carpenter being a bust or not, I haven't seen him play much. He was a 1st round pick so he should of seen the field by now, but we have been pretty solid at LB so its been hard for him to break into the starting lineup.
I think we will see him on the field more this year with Akin out of the picture, and even with Zack Thomas on the team.
I have changed my mind completely. You're right.
Losing those two first round picks screwed this organization for many years afterwards. Even though I was thinking draft only, over all it has to be the Joey G trade.
This team is strong enough to where they can absorb the Bobby bust, the weren't when they mortgaged their future for Joey.
I still say a true first round pick should have forced their way onto this team by now for a least a respectable amount of playing time. He isn't good enough for at least 30% of the plays to give other guys a breather?
Maybe Carpenter just isn't good enough? Either way the Cowboys are in great shape as far as linebacker depth goes.
wow...thats some serious comedy right there.
on the flip side of that though, they had lost Irvin for good to his injury in Philly and needed a playmaker badly. Then he wrecks his knee in his first game for dallas and never gets a chance to play with Aikman who retired after his concussion against Washington in 2000.
Then he had to put up with Quincy Carter, et al for the rest of his time in Dallas.
But yeah, two number 1's was a high, high price to pay.
Dwayne Goodrich 1999 or 2000.2nd round. Guy stunk plus he killed 2 people a few years after he was drafted and I think he is in jail still.
He was very good in that game.
the only reason why we drafted carpenter is because his father plyed for the "tuna" when he coached for the giants he really isn't 1st round material. More like 3-4 round we should have shipped him off to miami instead of ayodele. he was a solid 3 down linebacker
IRVING, Texas - Today, call me Curious Mick.
See, I'm just curious how everyone seems so sure Bobby Carpenter can't play, that the 2006 first-round draft choice is a bust and should be traded for a 50-pound bag of salted-in-the-s peanuts.
Now I'm not saying he can or he isn't. Maybe he can't and he is.
But how do we know? How are so many so sure? My point is, we really just don't know.
Ever since Carpenter set foot in The Ranch, he's been a man without a position - a man without a legitimate chance to succeed or totally fail. He's only been able to nibble.
The Cowboys drafted the Ohio State 4-3 outside linebacker with the idea of moving him to the strong outside linebacker spot in their 3-4 defense. He was going to be insurance, albeit expensive, against defensive end Greg Ellis failing to make the same conversion to outside linebacker in the 3-4 rookie defensive end DeMarcus Ware did in 2005 or continuing to balk against the move.
Well, as it turned out Ellis finally gave in - begrudgingly - at the start of training camp and became a hit over there. And since that outside linebacker spot was the only place veteran Al Singleton could play and with Kevin Burnett behind Ware, the Cowboys moved Carpenter inside.
Great. Just what you want to do with a rookie. Not only change his position once at the highest level of football, but twice in the matter of a few months. Plus, while he dabbled at inside linebacker in college, that was not in a 3-4 and not the strong-side middle guy.
Now don't start rolling your eyes, acting as if I'm making excuses for Carpenter. I'm not, and the best thing about Carpenter, he doesn't want any excuses either. Even when I offered him one, he said, "This is a performance-based business and you got to come out and perform. I would not ever justify failure."
But again, these are just the facts.
So let's see, Ellis blows out his Achilles in the ninth game of the 2006 season. The veteran Singleton becomes the starter, yet struggles. He just wasn't built right to play that outside spot in the 3-4. The Cowboys began to struggle against the run and the hard-working Singleton was no threat to rush the quarterback.
Yo, Carpenter, get your butt back to outside left linebacker. Hurry! Slowly he made his way onto the field. He got a sack of Michael Vick in Game 14. Recorded a then career-high three tackles the next week against the Eagles. And in Game 16 against Detroit, Carpenter earned his first NFL start, recording two more tackles and a pass breakup.
That earned him the start against Seattle in the playoff game, the Cowboys realizes they needed his speed and versatility on the outside. He would produce the best game of his NFL career: Five tackles, one for a loss and three passes broken up. He was part of a defense which limited Seattle running back Shaun Alexander to 69 yards rushing, with 20 of those coming on that run from the Seahawks one in the final minute after the Cowboys botched the potential game-winning field goal attempt.
Well.
But what happens in the off-season? Fearing Ellis might not return from his torn Achilles, the Cowboys draft another college defensive end in the first round (Anthony Spencer) with the idea of converting him to an outside linebacker. The Cowboys were short on inside guys. Not to worry, Carpenter can do it, and here he went, back inside once it became apparent Ellis would be able to get back in time for the start of the season.
Now he got a chance to start in place of Bradie James in a preseason game. He did not play well, burying himself in the minds of the new coaching staff. He would become a full-time special teams player.
Funny, though, my final 2007 season stat sheets says he finished with 21 special teams tackles, second to only Patrick Watkins and three ahead of Burnett and special teams ace Keith Davis.
Yet so many remain convinced he's a bust.
Maybe not Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips anymore. He said as much toward the end of last season, admitting Carpenter got buried after his horrible performance in that preseason game at a position he wasn't very familiar with. And he said it again after the draft, saying they probably need to give Carpenter a legitimate chance once and for all to see what they can get out of their first-round pick.
Yeah, the Cowboys signed 12-year veteran Zach Thomas in the off-season, their only free-agent signing so far. And yeah, Thomas' presence was the impetus for including two-year starter Akin Ayodele in that trade with Miami.
But this Cowboys coaching staff also had in mind clearing the way to give Carpenter and Burnett a chance to earn snaps at Ayodele's position, the weak inside linebacker spot better known as "Mo," as opposed to James' "Mike." Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart had a sit down in front of the racquetball courts with Burnett the day the Ayodele deal went down, telling last nickel's inside linebacker in the final year of his four-year contract how this was his big chance. Phillips told Carpenter as much.
"Wade told me he was moving me to where Akin was playing," Carpenter said, "and I'm excited to play 'Mo,' excited about the move."
The move makes sense for both guys. Where James must take on more blockers in the middle, the "Mo" spot is covered up, giving that linebacker a better chance to freely run to the ball and makes plays. Ayodele didn't hurt the Cowboys his two years starting, but Phillips wanted someone who made more plays - someone to make a bigger impact.
"I think Bobby's got a wonderful at ude and he works very hard at it," Phillips said, "and I'm hoping he comes through, not only for us but for himself because he has a lot of pride, and like I said, he's one of the hardest workers we have.
"He was kind of demoted last year and didn't get to play a lot, and he practiced just as hard, every day, and tried to do everything he could on special teams. He's a great kid, and I'm hoping things work out well for him - and that would help us, too."
Carpenter, when he got his two chances to start in 2006, showed he does have ability to run to the football. And he did a good job of sealing the outside against the run and jumping outside into the flat to defend the short passes to the running backs and fullbacks teams riddled the Cowboys with late in that 2006 season, starting with New Orleans.
Carpenter can't wait. He's a proud kid, the son of former Giants running back Rob Carpenter, and he knows what's been said about him. He knows how the media has written him off. He didn't - or probably couldn't - turn a deaf ear to all the trade insinuations being made in the past months, having become every blogging Tom, and Harry's favorite piece of trade bait.
He even figured I thought he "was going to get traded," and while he didn't "anticipate getting traded," just getting moved to a position more suited to his skills already is boosting his confidence. He figures at least now, providing there are no more position changes, he's got a legitimate chance to compete for some playing time.
"Hopefully I've found a home there," Carpenter said.
Which would be a first with the Cowboys.
And maybe now we'll finally be able to tell if he can or if he can't, if he is or if he isn't.
Aren't you curious, too?
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