By Alex Kozora
For the final breakdown of the season, a recap of outside linebacker Chris Carter‘s performance against the Cleveland Browns.
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First Drive
Snaps: 1
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 1/0
Play-by-Play
1. 3rd and 7, 13:49 1st. LOLB, where he lined up nearly the entire game. Tries to get into right tackle Mitchell Schwartz’s pads but his hands are too high. Up around the ear holes. Then he slips as he tries to dip around the edge.
Second Drive
Snaps: 1
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 1/0
Play-by-Play
1. 3rd and 9, 4:12 1st. Rushes inside with Lawrence Timmons aligned outside, rushing wide. The Browns’ RG has zero problem anchoring against a bull rush, not moving back at all. Really highlights the lack of strength Carter has. Only upside is he recovers the forced fumble on the play.
Third Drive
Snaps: 3
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 3/0
Play-by-Play
1. 2nd and 10, 2:58 1st. Gets his arms extended but Schwartz doesn’t have a problem absorbing the rush.
2. 3rd and 10, 2:54. Carter basically flailing trying to get around Schwartz. At one point, he is literally five yards straight upfield from where he lined up. Allows Jason Campbell to scramble through the lane.
Ugly.
3. 4th and 4, 1:59 1st. His dip and inside spin counter against Schwartz both fail.
Fourth Drive
Snaps: 1
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 1/0
Play-by-Play
1. 3rd and 2, 13:36 2nd. Has difficulty shedding tight end Gary Barnridge. Pressure by Cameron Heyward forces Campbell to check down to the back.
Fifth Drive
Snaps: 4
Run: 1
Rush/Drop: 3/0
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 3:08 2nd. Run up the middle with Edwin Baker. Nothing doing here.
2. 1st and 20, 2:43. Screen to Baker. Another bullrush Schwartz rebuffs.
3. 2nd and 21, 2:01. Does show better pad level here and able to win leverage vs the RT. Still, lacks strength to walk him back more than a foot or two. Gets blasted by right guard John Greco, who comes over to help.
4. 3rd and 21, 1:56. Another inside rush with a corner blitz to the outside. Shows good pad level and able to get under Alex Mack, pushing him back.
Sixth Drive
Snaps: 2
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 2/0
Play-by-Play
1. 3rd and 8, 9:52 3rd. Again, slants inside with Timmons rushing wide. Not designed to really generate much pressure as it is getting Timmons one-on-one with the back. Also a stunt with Cameron Heyward looping over the top.
2. 4th and 3, 9:09. Counters with spin and able to stay on his feet after getting bumped by the right guard doubling him. Does generate a little bit of pressure but credit really goes to Heyward. The second GIF in my game breakdown shows this play.
Seventh Drive
Snaps: 1
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 1/0
Play-by-Play
1. 4th and 6, 14:14. Another slant with the team bringing an overload blitz to the outside. Will Allen and William Gay blitzing. Don’t like seeing Carter getting himself turned to the side. Needs to stay square so he can use his hands and try and shed. Shoulder is a nice aiming point for the guard who has no trouble with Carter.
Eighth Drive
Snaps: 1
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 1/0
Play-by-Play
1. 3rd and 6, 11:26 4th. Honestly, have no clue what Carter is trying to do here. Just shimmying in place. First he fakes a step to the inside, then outside, back inside, and finally to the outside. Dips and sheds late in the play. Tough to watch and not cringe.
Ninth Drive
Snaps: 1
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 0/1
Play-by-Play
1. 3rd and 3, 7:42 4th. Drops into coverage for the first time. Throw is away from him.
Tenth Drive
Snaps: 4
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 3/1
Play-by-Play
1. 3rd and 4, 4:56 4th. Quick throw from Campbell but Carter again unable to dip past Schwartz. Right tackle gets his arms extended and keeps the OLB at bay.
2. 1st and 10, 4:29. Outside tech, wide of the slot receiver. Rushes at a wide angle with William Gay blitzing between the guard and tackle. So Carter gets a pass here for being so far upfield.
3. 2nd and 10, 4:23. Shows enough bend that Schwartz eventually loses him. Dip is definitely Cater’s “go to” move.
4. 3rd and 5, 3:53. Lined up in the slot, dropping into a hook zone. Pass to the opposite side of the field.
Eleventh Drive
Snaps: 4
Run: 0
Rush/Drop: 4/0
Play-by-Play
1. 1st and 10, 1:38 4th. Lined up over guard as part of stack with Jarvis Jones I showed in my game breakdown. Stunts, loops to the outside. Isn’t picked up correctly and the guard carries with him instead of being passed off to the tackle. Still, the guard is able to shove him and knock him off balance and then anchor against Carter’s bull rush.
Linebacker’s hands are too high. Need to be in the chest, not the Adam’s Apple.
2. 2nd and 7, 1:30. Over LG in the same stack and stunt. Tries to spin off Joe Thomas but his spins are so slow and he oddly never really finishes them. So it looks more like the Heimlich Maneuver than a counter move.
3. 1st and 10, 1:06. Again, over LG. Nothing doing with just a three man rush on this play. Worth pointing out Carter is the only player with his hands on his hips after the play. Conditioning issue.
4. 2nd and 10, 1:03. Finishes the game with a decent rush. Able to get upfield and not pushed up the arc. However, Schwartz is able to stay laterally with him the whole way.
Total/Conclusions
Snaps: 23
Run: 1
Rush/Drop: 20/2
There is no sugar coating it. This was a bad game. Brussels sprouts for dessert bad. The Adventures of Pluto Nash bad. Awful. Horrendous. The paperclip in Word couldn’t come up with an adjective that would suffice.
The idea was to have Carter play on passing downs but the team would have been better off just letting Stevenson Sylvester dominate the snaps. Carter showed some strength against Green Bay but that came against a much weaker tackle in David Bakhtiari who fits their zone blocking scheme well. Against a stronger tackle in Mitchell Schwartz, Carter could not move him. He barely has any pass rushing moves off the edge, let alone any decent counters. It’s a dip and spin approach that gets him nowhere.
Pro Football Focus credited him with three hurries. There is no way that figure is accurate. If you’re REALLY generous, like donate everything you own charitable, you could give him 1.5 hurries. Not three.
Carter is under contract for 2014 but it seems unlikely that he makes the team. If he does, it’ll be nothing more as a special teamer. There is no reason to keep him around for any perceived upside he has as a rush linebacker. It isn’t happening.
