Andre Carter: has he shed his bust status?

[Drift Reality]

I must say I feel optimistic that Carter is turning into a strong player for us and possibly justifying the signing.

To me, this could be a real blessing because it means we have one less hole in our front seven. I think the key to fixing the rest of our front seven would involve the following:

1. Figure out a way to get some solid play from the ROLB spot. This is almost as confusing as when Holdman was starting over Arrington. Our season is over so why not let some of our younger players (read: McIntosh) get some playing time here.

2. Find someone who can platoon with Marshall in the middle. Maybe the person is already in our system, maybe not. We really need someone who is a run-stopper back there though because I feel like Washington is being forced to do more than cover his own assignment due to the lack of explosion from Marshall. Maybe McCune can contribute here.

3. We still need a solid, young DE. Daniels and Wynn are really in the eves' of their careers. I believe Evans is a solid back-up, but we really need to find a way to bring in a guy who can play the run and be a pass-rusher. I'm not saying I want a Julius Peppers here, but a solid young DE would be nice. Maybe this is a potential area we need to think about using the draft to address.

[dall-assblows]

while i was listening on the radio, larry michaels said andre carter was playing different then in past weeks. i think that is b/c of the tom friend article where a player said that andre carter wasn't being used properly.

maybe GW is letting him play his game?

[MTK]

The D lately seems more vanilla, less exotic blitzing and more straight ahead rushing the QB. That's what we turned to last season when we got hot and it seems to have made a difference for Carter too. Just let them get after the QB.

[JWsleep]

I agree that Carter has looked a LOT better, but I'm still a bit worried about his run defense. They run to his side a lot, and he has trouble holding the point of attack. But he's looked good in pass rush, which is clearly why we got him.

(Yeah, I know, 11 tackles means he's doing his job in the run game. Maybe that's right. But 250 yards given up IS A PROBLEM!)

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by JWsleep

I agree that Carter has looked a LOT better, but I'm still a bit worried about his run defense. They run to his side a lot, and he has trouble holding the point of attack. But he's looked good in pass rush, which is clearly why we got him.

(Yeah, I know, 11 tackles means he's doing his job in the run game. Maybe that's right. But 250 yards given up IS A PROBLEM!)

Like pretty much any speed rusher, he's going to struggle when you run right at him. So you get DTs who are good against the run to force the opposition to bounce it outside where the LBs clean up.

GW tried to get a every down pass-rushing specialist, not realizing I think that his scheme already created a pass rush, but now our run D has a hole in it (our run D on the whole this year has actually been above average, but 3 different teams have had huge games vs us).

Carter is bad for THIS scheme, but that doesn't mean we can't gut the D and create a scheme where he can be successful.

[Beemnseven]

I guess the question depends on what we all expected with the signing of Andre Carter. He averaged only 4.5 sacks per year in San Fransisco. I remember reading that if anything, his presence alone would open things up for Philip Daniels.

After 12 games, they each have 3 sacks. Right now, it looks as if we can count on these two guys to give us a big play every 4 games or so. Judging by the current state of the defense, I don’t think anyone could rationally argue that their production has been nearly enough.

[mooby]

I've already given Archuleta the label of bust. I wasn't ready to give Carter this label yet because I still believed that he had something left in him. Now he looks like he's finally getting back to being a good pass rusher.

[The Zimmermans]

I've been saying it for weeks that carter is getting better with each start. He's one of the only speed guys we have on defense. We were too slow to catch vick, without carter it would have been worse

[Bill B]

Originally Posted by Gmanc711

He's been getting better. He has been getting better for the past 3-4 weeks or so. He hasent had a great season, but he's playing better and I think it still remains to be seen how good he can be.

The only person I want to label a bust on this team right now is AA.

You have to label Brandon Llyod a bust as well. For the amount of money we gave Llyod he has given the Redskins this: 20 catches for 295 yards, 0 TD's - how can you not lable Llyod a bust as well?

[steveo395]

Originally Posted by Bill B

You have to label Brandon Llyod a bust as well. For the amount of money we gave Llyod he has given the Redskins this: 20 catches for 295 yards, 0 TD's - how can you not lable Llyod a bust as well?

A lot of that has been bad QB and o-line play

[BeastsoftheNFCeast]

I only saw half the game so I cant say this for sure, but it seems that Carter has stopped doing that gay spin move that never worked, I think that has a large contribution to his improvement. I think he is not a bust, but he hasnt proven to be a star in my eyes either, Gandy is a shit tackle, once Carter does this consistantly against good o lines, Ill acknowledge his greatness.

[SouperMeister]

As an early-season critic of Carter, I have to give him his due. He was extremely active against both the run and the pass yesterday. I'd still like to see how inserting Rocky McIntosh would impact our run defense on that side of the field.

[Beemnseven]

Originally Posted by The Zimmermans

I've been saying it for weeks that carter is getting better with each start. He's one of the only speed guys we have on defense. We were too slow to catch vick, without carter it would have been worse

Worse than 256 yards rushing? Yeah, thank heavens for Andre Carter.

[freddyg12]

i think AC may be getting more comfortable here personally. It's a big transition to move to the east coast after living in CA most of your life. My guess is that now that the pressure is off he's focusing on football more, which is good since he gets paid big $ to do so!

[dmek25]

carters play has steadily improved, from week to week. i think the skins would love to move marshall back outside. does anyone know if mcintosh can play inside? he is only about 240lbs, and thatguy, are there any mlb's available, via free agency, or the draft, for next season?