This is why I was so against drafting Carr becuase. .. I figured let some ole Has Been take all the lumps [i.e. Vinnie testaverde] . . while you groom your QB At least let someone suck so hard for a few games than the new QB looks like gold [they should have let Tony Banks take the lumps for the 1st season or something . .. then brought in Carr maybe the last 2 or 3 games to look 'promising'] Much of Carr's Downfall is management as much his own Rocket River
I don't know much about the Texans, because I don't watch them or live Houston. Though at times, I do find myself giving him a benefit of doubt. He quite possibly had the worst offense line in history. I remember he got sacked a record number of times. Look it up....and it was 78x in 16 games. Got injured in season 2, I wonder why? Sacked 49 in 3rd season and 61 in the 4th. That has to be some sort of record. Not saying he is great QB, but I don't think you can develop much when your brains getting mashed in with sub-par offensive coaches. I think Carr could've actually done decent on a slightly above average team with very good coach.
Take my word for it from watching the Texans: A lot of the sacks were Carr's fault. No joke. The worst pocket presence and instincts you can imagine. Plus, he just didn't have the work ethic and off the field dedication it took to be a top-flight QB in the NFL. The Texans definitely deserve some of the blame for Carr's problems but he was flawed. He wasn't the first wildly successful college QB who wasn't cut out for the NFL and won't be the last.
Alex Smith has had a different Offensive Coordinator every year. I think. My vote is for Carr as the bigger bust. Smith still has 2 more years to prove himself.
Not sure how narrowly focused the question was but Young played in the USFL and then with Tampa Bay before being acquired by the Niners... he wasn't drafted by the Niners to succeed Joe Montana.
A lot of the sacks were Carr's fault, and a lot of it was the offensive line. The one thing about Carr was he never looked down field. He'd always check down to the short routes. Most good quarterbacks can feel the pocket collasping and will try and step up to avoid a sack, but Carr expected the pocket to break down and would move to a spot where he would get sacked. Not all the time, but after the record breaking sack season he got really scared to stay in the pocket.\ The offensive line was horrible too, but Carr had to do with a lot of his failures. Also Carr was never the type of player to put in the extra work. He was one of the last ones to practice and one of the first ones to leave the locker room. It's no knock on him because he was the type of person that football came second to family. Family is very important, but he never made football his priority over family. I know he was in the USFL and drafted by Tampa...but I meant it was hard for a team to get a stud QB after a Hall of Fame QB retires or gets traded
That little tidbit is a bit overblown, though. One of the amazing things about Carr setting the record for receiving the most sacks in a season was the he stayed healthy enough to take another. Dude was tough, if nothing else. There have been other offensive lines in history that were much worse than the Texans that year, but their quarterbacks just didn't survive long enough to set the record that Carr eventually did. I remember reading an article that while the Texans gave up 70 something sacks that year, there were other teams that had given up much more than that throughout history. The O-line was bad, real bad, but so was Carr. Maybe Carr would have realized some degree of success had he been drafted to a team that gave him good protection, but I'm not entirely convinced that would be the case. The guy still had flaws outside of his shell-shocked play.
Carr was a bust. There is no question about it. However, it must be noted that the Texans failed him as much as he failed the Texans.
I think the same could apply to alex smith. The 49ers had no offensive line and they threw smith to the wolves his rookie season. Hers an article on debating if the 49ers failed Alex Smith. CHICAGO — Here's the $24 million question: Did Alex Smith fail the 49ers or did the 49ers fail Alex Smith? The quarterback arrived as the No."‰1 pick with an enticing blend of arm strength, mobility, intelligence and attitude. Four seasons later, it all has gone terribly awry. Smith enters tonight's exhibition against the Chicago Bears with only a scant chance of retaining a starting job. He probably will lose out to a career third-stringer making the NFL minimum salary. If Coach Mike Nolan does anoint J.T. O'Sullivan his man for 2008, it also would be a tacit admission that Smith has fallen short of the expectations that greeted the quarterback on April 23, 2005. Instead, Smith looks like a bust. But did the 49ers bust him? Smith supporters argue that the promising kid got a raw deal from a team that was supposed to nourish and develop his raw talent. Smith skeptics say it's time to stop making excuses for a player who clearly doesn't have what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. It's about the only debate left in the 49ers quarterback competition. Revolving coordinators Blame the 49ers: Smith has had four offensive coordinators in four years, a dizzying blow for someone with a reputation for needing time to adapt. Urban Meyer — Smith's college coach at Utah — warned as early as draft day that the brainy quarterback would be "non-functional" until he could intellectualize the system. The revolving door of coordinators has ensured that Smith remains non-functional. Blame Smith: There was nothing the 49ers could do to stop Mike McCarthy and Norv Turner from leaving for head-coaching jobs elsewhere. They made a mistake with Jim Hostler last year but rebounded with a Super Bowl-proven guru in Mike Martz. Handling change is part of life in the NFL, and most quarterbacks would be lucky to have the cast Smith has learned under. Injury controversy Blame the 49ers: Nolan undermined Smith with public swipes at the quarterback last year when Smith suffered a separated shoulder. Nolan insisted that the quarterback was fine, even when Smith was so obviously ailing that even opposing players such as Seattle linebacker Julian Peterson took note. Frustrated, Smith confessed that the shoulder was "killing" him — resulting in an ugly public squabble between quarterback and coach. Blame Smith: Smith violated a major tenet of the locker-room code by blaming poor performance on an injury. An athlete isn't allowed to say that, even if it's true. Doing so had consequences with his teammates. And it is telling this season to hear so much talk about O'Sullivan's leadership. Surgery controversy Blame the 49ers: Though Smith suffered his shoulder injury Sept. 30 he had to hold off on surgery until December. The 49ers initially hoped that time and rehabilitation would be sufficient. (Nolan once described Smith's shoulder separation as ''not very severe'' for a Grade III.) Waiting so long meant that Smith still was working his arm back into shape in the spring instead of focusing solely on Martz's system. Blame Smith: The 49ers said they were reluctant to cut into their quarterback's shoulder, an understandable sentiment considering the financial investment. Nolan said the team's medical staff believed rest was a viable option. Still, even with the delayed surgery, no one is questioning Smith's arm strength. Nolan has said he has the best arm on the team. Rushed into action Blame the 49ers: Nolan announced during Smith's first training camp that Tim Rattay would be the starter. Nolan abandoned that play after a 1-3 start and promoted Smith. "I like the look in Alex's eyes,'' he said then. The game Nolan picked for Smith's first career start was against a top-ranked Colts defense. Smith delivered four interceptions and a fumble to kick off a rookie season that included one touchdown pass and 11 interceptions. Blame Smith: Smith took his lumps as rookie, which makes him no different from many No."‰1 picks who came before him. (Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions his first season). The point of playing time was to learn from his mistakes, but he doesn't look dramatically different today. No mentor Blame the 49ers: Rattay was the only semi-experienced quarterback on the roster when Smith was a rookie. The 49ers traded Rattay when Smith became the starter, leaving Ken Dorsey and Cody Pickett as the backups. Smith could have used someone to show him the ropes. Blame Smith: The team eventually hired a mentor for Smith by signing Trent Dilfer, a Super Bowl veteran, with a reputation for helping the Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck find a new level of play. There was no indication Dilfer had much effect on Smith. No receivers Blame the 49ers: Manning had Marvin Harrison. Troy Aikman had Michael Irvin. Tom Brady, who hardly needed the help, got Randy Moss. But the 49ers have yet to support their No."‰1 pick with a top-flight receiver. The team hasn't had a 60-catch receiver since Terrell Owens left in 2003. Antonio Bryant and Darrell Jackson were major disappointments. Blame Smith: The quarterback has a chance to thrive with support from Frank Gore, a dynamic running back who commands most of the defensive attention. Gore had 40.5 percent of the team's yards last year, the highest rate in the NFL, according to Stats Inc. Teams are so worried about Gore that they dare the 49ers to pass — and they still can't do it. http://www.mercurynews.com/sportsheadlines/ci_10259511?nclick_check=1 Smith probably never was going to be a Great QB like Manning or Brady, but he could have been a decent QB if teams knew how to properly develop a QB.
