Posts tagged CrisCarter at FanHouse

Last night I pointed out that Terrell Owens, according to sources, had concerns with how Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was utilizing his awesomeness during games. No specifics, but some vague mention of being frustrated with his lack of touches (wait, what?), especially in the deep passing game.

Turns out, T.O. isn't upset with Dallas' offensive game plan, he's bummed that ESPN studio analyst Keyshawn Johnson, who Owens has affectionately taken to calling "Sheshawn", was critical of his play following the Redskins game.

No worries, though; T.O. WILL NOT BE SILENCED ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT MATTER:

Regarding Keyshawn Johnson, whom Owens' referred to as Sheshawn at least three times, he said: "[As the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 draft] he is the ultimate underachiever on that panel. I am the reason he is in the booth. Everybody is aware when I was brought to Dallas he was the one they let go to get me here."

He said there was one thing he agreed with that [Cris] Carter had to say and that was that Jerry Rice is the best receiver of all time. "But I am second all time behind Jerry Rice," Owens said in accentuating his superiority over Carter and Johnson.

Two things: first, Dwayne Jarrett is the reason Keyshawn is "in the booth"; the Panthers drafted Jarrett in the second round of the 2007 draft, which ultimately led to Johnson's release -- or, asking to be cut, depending on who's telling the story -- and a second career in television.

Remember how star receiver turned NFL analyst Cris Carter said he knew all along that Charles Rogers and Mike Williams would be NFL busts? And remember how he said he could have warned Matt Millen not to draft them?

Yeah, it turns out that Carter wasn't exactly being truthful.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo! reports that in reality, Carter was singing the praises of both Rogers and Williams before the Lions spent Top 10 draft picks on them.

Said Carter of Rogers just before the 2003 draft, "He's very similar – and I don't like to make a lot of comparisons – to Randy (Moss) in a sense, a big basketball player playing wide receiver. He's the only receiver that's come out since Randy that you can make an honest comparison to. He has a yearning to learn."

As for Williams, Carter said just before the 2005 draft, "I think he's going to be a great player. I think people will be surprised at the kind of person he is. He's really a hard worker. He takes his training very seriously and wants to be very good."

None of this changes the fact that Millen screwed up when he spent Top 10 picks on Rogers and Williams, or the fact that Millen is the worst general manager in NFL history. But for all the mistakes Millen made running the Lions, failing to call Cris Carter was not one of them.

Cris Carter was one of the best wide receivers in college football history and one of the best wide receivers in pro football history, and he's frequently invited young receivers to work out with him, many of whom have raved about his ability to help them improve. He knows a thing or two about playing the wide receiver position.

And Carter, who is now a TV analyst, said on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown that two of the young receivers he worked with, Charles Rogers and Mike Williams, were clearly not suited to becoming good NFL players. Carter said he worked with Rogers and Williams before they were in the NFL and would have been happy to share a candid assessment with Lions President Matt Millen, but Millen never asked:

"Matt Millen, do a little undercover work," Carter said today. "Williams and Charlie Rogers both worked with out with me before the draft, and I could have told them, 'don't draft neither one of them.' ... Never asked me."

Millen, of course, used Top 10 picks on Rogers and Williams. Both were terrible in Detroit and are now out of the league.

It's common for NFL teams to do obsessive levels of research before drafting a player with a Top 10 pick, but Millen apparently couldn't be bothered to find out that his prized wide receivers had been working out with a future Hall of Famer, and that the future Hall of Famer didn't think much of them. Which is why Millen is now, finally, out of work.

UPDATE: Turns out Carter wasn't exactly being truthful.

Buckeye fans may remember an OSU receiver by the name of Cris Carter, who went on to have a rather nondescript career in the NFL. Carter was an All-American receiver at OSU in the early 80's before he caught a paltry 1,101 passes in the NFL, 130 for touchdowns.

Weak, right? Right. It appears, then, that his son Duron is ready to continue the Buckeye legacy (for some reason!), as he recently committed to the Buckeyes:

"I felt very comfortable with the coaching staff," Carter said. "I like the way that Ohio State as a whole and the city of Columbus treats their players on and off the field and I felt like it was the right place for me."

Carter is a 6'3", 185 pound wideout (of course), and he stands to create a devastating combination with superrecruit Terrelle Pryor. Wait, what's that sound? Never mind, it's just Michigan fans throwing themselves off the top of the Big House.

For those of you looking forward to the supplemental draft to break up the drudgery between now and the start of training camp, I have some bad news: it's been canceled due to lack of interest. That's right, this year, you won't be able to sit in front of your computer and wait for random NFL.com updates alerting you to which team team took a fourth-round flier on a player you've never heard of.

"No one applied at the time of the deadline," 49ers general manager Scott McCloughan confirmed Thursday. The NFL sent out a memo to all 32 teams informing them of the announcement Wednesday.

The cancellation comes as a surprise because there had been rumblings that several players were considering applying, including high profile talents such as Southern California middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, Oklahoma State tight Brandon Pettigrew and Mississippi State offensive tackle Michael Brown.

Yes, surprising, indeed. Last year, the Chargers forfeited a 2008 fourth-rounder to take Georgia cornerback Paul Oliver, and a round later, the Ravens grabbed offensive tackle Jared Gaither, who could be in line to replace Jonathan Ogden.

Oliver only appeared in three games last season, but Gaither made two starts, and heads into training camp tentatively penciled in as Baltimore's left tackle.

According to NFLDraftScout.com, only 37 players have been selected via the supplemental draft since its inception in 1977, with Bernie Kosar, Cris Carter and Brian Bosworth among the most noteworthy. One of these names is not like the other.

Cleveland Browns receiver and Michigan alumnus Braylon Edwards caused a minor internet meltdown in Michigan-land recently when he said he was mad at new Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez for giving the #1 jersey to an incoming freshman defensive back. Edwards had endowed a scholarship for the jersey, traditionally given to god-like wide receivers, that specifically prohibited any freshman from wearing the #1.

Every newspaper in West Virginia has three guys working the Rich Rodriguez beat; Bob Hertzel is one of them. And Bob Hertzel is very confused:

[The number #1] has belonged exclusively to a wide receiver since 1979, dating back to Chris Carter.

There is something wrong with this sentence: it's "Cris Carter." Oh, and here's a picture of the Wolverine legend donning the precious #1:



Oops.

Former Eagles, Vikings and Dolphins wide receiver Cris Carter made his first appearance on ESPN since he was hired as an NFL analyst on the network, and it was a good one, in which he shared some harsh words that he had with his old Minnesota teammate, Randy Moss, two years ago:

Carter said he talked to Moss during the off-season in 2006, and that Carter told Moss that it was time for him to shape up and start playing hard, rather than loaf as he had in his two years in Oakland.

"I told him I was flat-out disappointed in what he had done, and the lack of improvement in his game," Carter said, although he also said it was understandable that Moss didn't play well in Oakland because "Oakland is a cesspool."

Although Moss had a huge season in New England in 2007, Carter said of the Patriots, "They still don't utilize him the right way." According to Carter, the Patriots would be wiser to put Moss in the slot more often.

Carter also referred to Moss as "a brilliant football player," and said that the biggest problem for the Patriots late in the year was that they couldn't adjust when opposing teams started selling out to stop Moss. Carter added, "Wes Welker will compile some stats, but he won't beat you. Randy Moss will kill you."

Notes on a trip to the Super Bowl.

I noted today that from talking to Hall of Fame voters here in Arizona for Super Bowl week, it's clear to me that the great Redskins cornerback Darrell Green is not a lock for enshrinement, something that I assumed was a foregone conclusion.

I should also note that the other player who I had assumed was a lock, former Eagles, Vikings and Dolphins receiver Cris Carter, might not get in.

In fact, Charean Williams of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, who is on the Hall of Fame Selection Committee, told me today that she doesn't think Carter is going to make it. Williams wasn't saying she's opposed to him getting in, just that she doesn't think his chances are good.

Williams is first vice president of Pro Football Writers of America and has a good sense of which way her fellow selectors are leaning, and she said Art Monk seems to be getting an increased level of support. That's good news for Redskins fans (especially the ones I heard from who were infuriated when I suggested Green might not get in), but bad news for Carter. Some selectors who vote for Monk might decide that they don't want to enshrine two receivers in the same season. Carter may have a harder time getting into the Hall of Fame than most people think.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has released its list of preliminary nominees for 2008, and the list includes seven players who are eligible for the first time.

I expect two of those players to make it in their first year of eligibility: Vikings and Eagles (and, briefly, Dolphins) wide receiver Cris Carter, and Redskins cornerback Darrell Green. I will be absolutely floored if they don't both make it, and I would enthusiastically vote for them myself.

There are 124 candidates on this preliminary list, and next month we'll get a list of 25 finalists. Those 25 will then be voted on to get 15 finalists, and on the day before the Super Bowl, the selection committee will meet to vote on those 15 finalists, plus two previously announced senior nominees, Chicago Cardinals back Marshall Goldberg and Chiefs cornerback Emmitt Thomas.

Of those 17, between four and seven will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I reserve the right to change my mind on a couple choices, but if it were up to me the class of 2008 would consist of Green, Carter, Goldberg, Thomas, Chiefs linebacker Derrick Thomas, Redskins offensive lineman Russ Grimm and former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

Something that has been making waves in the Kansas City media (at least for a day) was Larry Johnson's recent appearance on HBO's Inside the NFL. According to the Kansas City Star's Jeffrey Flanagan, Cris Carter and Larry Johnson had the following exchange:

"I wouldn't pay attention," Johnson said of playing under Vermeil. "My eyes, I would be up in the sky. You know, I would be sleeping in my locker. I wouldn't carry my playbook because I was just trying to get away from this building, you know, when Dick was here."

**************

Carter asked LJ, "Do you think Herm Edwards, being an African-American and you being raised, of course, by an African-American, that you see a lot of similarities in Herm that you saw in your dad that made you open up to him?"

LJ's response: "I think so. I could relate to Herman. I couldn't do that with the other coaches I had because they had not done it. You know, they haven't put those pads or they haven't been in the situation as a young black athlete and know what we had to go through.

Pretty powerful words. AOL's Jason Whitlock certainly noticed. In this week's Real Talk segment, Whitlock, in my opinion, hits the nail on the head: "Johnson likes to posture in public. He wants to be controversial and misunderstood. He wants to be Jim Brown. He just doesn't know how to do it."