[CHRON] Carr rejoices in hard work of fresh start

I like that Kubiak and Calhoun will continue to push and push, until this QB shakes off the last 4 years of antsies. I really hope he turns things around.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/texans/3898813.html

By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

There are days when David Carr has had too many things thrown at him, days when he looks like he's in over his head.

"I get him rattled sometimes," Gary Kubiak said.

At times like these, Kubiak does something that hasn't been done to Carr enough. Kubiak keeps pushing and coaching and demanding.

"I've been hard on him," Kubiak said. "But I expect a lot from him. As I told him, 'That's the way I'm going to stay. That's the way we're going to work. Because you're going to play well for this team.' "

They're joined at the hip, this first-year head coach and fifth-year quarterback of the Texans. Kubiak isn't subtle about what's on the line.

"How David Carr goes, this team is probably going to go," he said. "We've got to get him going right."

There are days when Carr gets lazy with his delivery and allows his arm to drop too low. There are days when he's casual with his footwork, when his throws don't have the zip or accuracy they should.


Lots of yelling
Kubiak — or offensive coordinator Troy Calhoun — rides Carr constantly about these mistakes. They believe he won't be making them in September. They're impressed with his resolve.

"He wants to be pushed," Kubiak said. "He's responsive to all that."

There's such a different feeling around the Texans these days that it barely seems like the same NFL team.

"There must be 30 new faces here," Carr said. "It feels like a fresh start for all of us."

Kubiak has assembled an aggressive, teaching-oriented coaching staff. They are hyperactive, they scream, and they're unlike anything the Texans had before.

If there was less screaming at Thursday morning's session, it was because some assistant coaches were hoarse from the previous day's practice. That aggressiveness has prompted a feeling of confidence, a feeling that things are going to be dramatically better.

"It's different — put it that way," cornerback Dunta Robinson said.


Owner impressed
Nothing matters until September and October when they're playing for real. So this first minicamp offers nothing more than a glimpse into whatever progress the Texans will make. Even small steps matter.

"I love the way they work," Texans owner Bob McNair said. "If they see somebody make an error, they correct it right there. They don't wait to look at the film and go over it. It's very fresh in the minds of the players. I think the players like the way they're being coached. They like the tempo."

Carr was the first player back in the weight room after last season. He was one of the first to approach Kubiak and Calhoun and asked to be put to work.

Carr and Calhoun have been meeting at 6:45 most mornings. If Calhoun is asking his quarterback to come to work so early, is he at least serving him a hot breakfast?

"Yeah, he gets a few grits and a little bit of bacon," Calhoun said.

Carr is being asked to do less on the field than in the previous system. At one point last season, one NFL talent evaluator speculated Carr was being asked to make more on-the-field reads than most other NFL quarterbacks.

The West Coast offense he's now learning will be simpler in that he'll be asked to drop back quickly and run through his checklist of places he can throw the ball.

There will be a cleaner read of the routes and, with an array of new offensive talent, more opportunities to succeed. It still all begins with Carr and his ability to finally become what the Texans hoped he would be when they drafted him four years ago.

"There's a place for you to go in this offense every time," Carr said. "There's always an outlet. There shouldn't be any reason to have sacks. They set it up to have three or four guys in the route. There's less pressure on the offensive line. It's on me to get it out of my hands."

First, though, he has to learn the routes, protections, terminology, snap counts and tempo. In a sense, he's starting over.

"There are so many intricacies in this offense," Carr said. "It's simpler, but you've got to know where you're going with the football because there are so many different plays, so many different formations. I've got to know where everybody is at."

At the heart of the decision to draft Mario Williams instead of Reggie Bush was Kubiak's belief he could do great things with the offensive talent already in place.

"It's on me to score enough points," one team official quoted Kubiak as saying on draft day.


A clean slate
Kubiak told Carr he wasn't going to judge him on those first four seasons. He knew the history. He knew about the 208 sacks and all the rest.

"Confidence comes with success," Kubiak said. "As I told David, 'The first thing you need to understand is if we don't put 10 good guys around you, it doesn't matter. Give us a chance to do that. Give us a chance to build this offense and put guys around you that can make plays.'

"I'm also putting a lot of pressure on him. That's the way this thing has to be done. The quarterback has to be willing to put that on his shoulders for a team to win in this league. Every indication — and his work habits — tell me he's going to get there."

Calhoun is cautious — and optimistic.

"You don't really know a guy until he faces some adversity," he said. "Until he gets hit between the teeth or has a tough one on Sunday, you don't really know. The fact that he has hung in there for four years ought to tell you something. There's nothing tentative in him."


Success at hand
There were times the last two seasons when Carr seemed almost a zombie — like as he tried to say the right things about a system that was broken and a coaching staff that wasn't very good.

His excitement these days is palpable. He knows there are years of work ahead, but he finally sees things moving in the right direction.

"As much confidence as they've shown in me, we haven't done anything yet," Carr said. "But it feels like a fresh start. This offense is a whole other level. You know if you do it right, you'll have success as a team and a quarterback. That part of it is exciting.

"We've gotten so much more accomplished out here than we ever did before."