Not just a Houston problem: Carr has broken down again

By Chris Cluff  |   Thursday, December 06, 2007  |  Comments( 2 )

Carolina Panthers
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It happened in Houston, and it already has happened in Carolina. David Carr has lost his confidence.

Six years of nothing but beatings and boos will do that to a quarterback. In Houston, which took Carr No.1 overall in the 2002 draft (the first pick in franchise history), he never had much help from his offensive line. And that's being kind. Carr was the most-sacked QB in the NFL during his five years as the Texans' quarterback; he was dropped 249 times, including a league-record 76 in his rookie season.

He hasn't fared much better in his first year in Carolina, where he has been sacked 13 times in six games. He took over when Jake Delhomme suffered a season-ending elbow injury, and Carr has not played well. He has three touchdowns and five interceptions, with a 53.7 completion percentage and a passer rating of 58.3. Those numbers are the worst since his rookie year.

A contributing factor in his struggles is the fact that Carr also hasn't been able to stay healthy. A back injury caused him to miss one game, and he sat out two more with a concussion after he was sacked seven times by the Tennessee Titans.

Carr returned in Week 12 against New Orleans and had another bad outing (45.5 percent completed, no touchdowns, two interceptions) and was demoted to third string for last week's game.

Despite all of Carr's struggles, however, coach John Fox told reporters he still has faith in Carr and thinks the 28-year-old quarterback could have a future in Carolina.

"I still have confidence in David Carr," Fox said of the QB, who is signed through next season. "I still think he has things to offer. I don't think it's gone as well for him, or for us, as we all expected. That doesn't mean that it won't move forward either."

Fox said he made Carr the emergency quarterback -- behind Vinny Testaverde and rookie Matt Moore -- at home against San Francisco last Sunday because he didn't want to risk making Carr once again endure the wrath of the home fans.

"I don't know if I wanted to expose him here at home," Fox said. "We'll kind of weigh that as we move forward. Anytime you don't have success it has an effect on you mentally."

Whether Fox does indeed have faith and confidence in Carr will be proven in the offseason, when the Panthers decide what they are going to do at a quarterback position that will be full of questions.

And if Fox does decide to keep Carr, he's going to have to figure out how to restore the quarterback's confidence. Because Carr has lost it again, just as he did in Houston.
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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