David Carr (American football)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2008) |
| New York Giants | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Fresno State | ||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2002 / round: 1 / pick: 1 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2007 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
David Carr (born July 21, 1979 in Template:City-state) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He attended Stockdale High School in Bakersfield, CA, and played college football at Fresno State.
College career
Carr began as the starting quarterback at Fresno State during the 2000 and 2001 seasons after redshirting in 1999. While he was quarterback, the Bulldogs went 7-5 and 11-3. In his senior season the team beat Colorado, Oregon State, and Wisconsin, all members of BCS conferences. There was speculation about whether the Bulldogs would qualify for a BCS bid, something then unprecedented for a 'Mid Major' conference team. They climbed to as high as number 8 in the polls, and he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. During his collegiate career Carr completed 587 of 934 passes for 7,849 yards. He threw 70 touchdowns versus 23 interceptions. Carr collected many honors and awards during his final college season, most notably the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.
On September 1, 2007, the Fresno State Bulldogs retired jersey #8 in honor of Carr.[citation needed]
Professional career
Houston Texans
With the first overall pick of 2002 NFL Draft, the expansion Houston Texans selected Carr. He would go on to start all but a handful of games for the team in its first five years. Carr's professional career began on a productive note. The Texans launched their inaugural campaign on September 8, 2002, against the Dallas Cowboys at Houston's Reliant Stadium. He led the Texans to their first victory over their intrastate rivals 19-10, becoming just the second expansion team ever to win their first game. From that point onward, the season went downhill, with the Texans winning only a total of four games that season. Carr went on to become the most sacked quarterback in a single season of the NFL, being sacked 76 times due to an injury plagued offensive line.
The Texans duplicated the season-opening victory success in 2003, as Carr led the struggling expansion team to a 5-11 record, with the help of rookie running back Domanick Davis (LSU) and rookie wide receiver Andre Johnson (University of Miami).
In 2005, the Texans won only one of their first ten games, closing the season with a disappointing 2-14 record. Plagued by injuries and an ineffective offensive line that limited both the running and passing games, Carr still managed to throw for over 2,500 yards while being sacked 68 times. Despite the disappointing 2005 season, the Texans saw promise for improvement and exercised an option in Carr's contract, signing the former Fresno State standout for another three seasons.
The Texans bounced back to finish the 2006 season with an improved but still disappointing 6-10 record. Having racked up only 4 wins with two games remaining on the schedule, the team closed the season on a high note as Carr led the Texans to consecutive wins over the soon-to-be Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts and the Cleveland Browns. For the season, Carr posted a completion percentage of 68.9% (a career high) and tied the single game NFL record of 22 consecutive pass completions (vs. the Buffalo Bills), once again sending WR Andre Johnson to the Pro-Bowl.
Having experienced five years without a winning season, Texans GM Rick Smith and second-year Head Coach Gary Kubiak decided to revamp the team after the 2006 campaign. Of note was the signing of Atlanta Falcons backup quarterback Matt Schaub for two second-round draft picks, and the release of a number of longtime Texans players, including Carr. Without opening up the QB position to competition, the Texans named Schaub the starting quarterback prior to training camp in favor of Carr's backup, Sage Rosenfels, and unconditionally released Carr in order to allow their former #1 Draft Choice to move on to the team of his preference.
Carolina Panthers
Having narrowed down his preferred choices to the Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers, Carr agreed to terms with the Panthers on April 6, 2007. Following an injury to starting quarterback Jake Delhomme, Carr was named the starter. Carr suffered a back injury during the fifth game of the season (a victory vs. the New Orleans Saints), and as result saw limited action during the remainder of the 2007 season.
New York Giants
On March 12, 2008, Carr agreed to terms with the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, reuniting himself with former Texans' offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. Subsequently, the Giants released former backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen. Carr is slated to back up Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning in the 2008 season. Carr scored his first passing touchdown with the Giants against the Seattle Seahawks to Sinorice Moss.
On March 12, 2008, Carr agreed to terms with the defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, reuniting himself with former Texans' offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. Subsequently, the Giants released former backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen. Carr is slated to back up Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning in the 2008 season. Carr scored his first passing touchdown with the Giants against the Seattle Seahawks to Sinorice Moss. On December 28th, 2008, The Minnesota Vikings needed a win to clinch the NFC North while the New York Giants had clinched the best record (and first round bye) in the National Football Conference. Carr came in the 2nd half in relief of starter Eli Manning and went 11/13 (72.7 completion %) for 110 yards and 1 touchdown. This was Carr's first showing on a good team while healthy, and hopefully other NFL GM take notice and give Carr another chance to start.