Posted on 08/04/2004 9:45:39 AM PDT by BSunday
According to the site, Carter was not at practice this morning and was "driven away". The Cowboys will address the issue this afternoon but ESPN radio report he will be released by the Cowboys today.
But let's face it, Q-Car didn't have much to work with in terms of having a running back or receivers that could make plays for him. I was really interested to see how he would do with a little more talent around him, guess we'll never know now.
Yep! Any QB's that can take a team to the playoffs sucks.
They should be signing another QB pronto, but who's out there? Wait for a training camp cut?
This time of year anybody an ESPN interviewer mentions is "the starter", coaches never like giving a view to how the selection process is going so they always say the starting job is "his to lose". Those kind of interviews might as well not even happen, the answers are more canned than Del Monte.
From your keyboard to God's eyes.
This move comes on the heels of unanimous opinions that Henson has been the best quarterback in camp thus far, which had to be at least mildly upseting to Carter, who started all 16 games for the Cowboys in 2003, leading them to a 10-6 record.
Chad Hutchison.
The black race thugs will go balistic! Could be Jones is just getting even for not getting his new stadium, IMMEDIATELY. He didn't like "negotiating" will some of the leaders of the community.
We talking drugs here? Ole Quince and Ricky Williams hanging out? Quincy seemed to play OK sometimes but he always seemed to be not very bright.
But not having good catcher's doesn't excuse simply throwing to the wrong spot on the field. That was Carter's big problem, scanning the whole field seemd to get him confused and he'd start making dumb throws. No level of talent around the QB can fix that.
"Carter might have been doing something in the hotel room he shouldn't have"
"Yeah, it does sound suspicious, doesn't it ?"
Yep. Parcells, if he was going to cut him, wouldn't have done it like that. However, if Carter was in the hotel smoking crack.....that would explain this.
Pure speculation on my part...but I'm in Ohio and remember all to well how Stanley Wilson cost us the Superbowl in 88 / 89 in a similiar circumstance.
No, if Carter is truly gone from the Cowboys something big happened. I can only guess what that might be. It's possible he was found to have a serious drug problem. I would be greatly disappointed in Carter if that turns out to be the case, as I thought he had much more character than that. It could be he got into a very heated discussion with Parcells and told Parcells to shove it. It could be something else entirely. All I know is that this is simply not a case of Parcells deciding that Vinny is the starter and so he's cutting Carter. EVEN IF he had already decided that Vinny would be the starter (which he didn't) I don't think you'd cut Carter. You DO need a backup, and their other QB is extremely raw. He's not in any way ready to be a 2nd-stringer on any team. Something weird happened.
They've been trying to reach Babe Laufenburg but he's fishing down in Mexico and didn't bring his phone... ;-)
Mark my words - the O line is going to be great
....or Michael Irvin time and time again.
Rookie quarterback Roethlisberger agrees to six-year deal
Brings with it the richest bonus in Steelers history
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Ben Roethlisberger swears he did not speed during a solo 4 1/2-hour drive yesterday from Findlay, Ohio, to Latrobe, even though his dream job and the biggest payday of his life awaited his arrival.
Roethlisberger was patient, just as the Steelers plan to be with their new quarterback.
"I knew where I was going," he said in a way that meant more than taking no wrong turns.
The Steelers will pay Roethlisber- ger the largest signing bonus in their history at $9 million, quite a sum for someone who might not play as a rookie. They plan to start Tommy Maddox and play Roethlisberger, if they get the chance, late in runaway games.
This morning he will be their fourth-string quarterback when he practices for the first time at St. Vincent College -- behind Tommy Maddox, Charlie Batch and Brian St. Pierre. Early last evening they toasted him as the future franchise quarterback, and they will pay him like one.
Roethlisberger signed a six-year contract worth $14.26 million plus an $8 million roster bonus to be paid March 5, 2009, if he reaches certain performance clauses, making it a possible $22.26 million contract. The deal would be worth as much as $40 million if he hit all of his incentive bonuses. Those include playing time, performance and honors bonuses, and bonuses if the Steelers reach the Super Bowl and another if they win it. There are no escalator clauses or voidable years in the contract, things the Rooneys adamantly resisted.
The $9 million signing bonus technically is not correct, but is in spirit, surpassing the $8.1 million bonus quarterback Kordell Stewart received on his last extension in 1999. It also beats the $8 million bonus defensive back Dunta Robinson received from Houston as the 10th overall draft pick, one ahead of Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger receives $600,000 in a signing bonus now, $1,172,000 in a roster bonus Aug. 10 and a $7,237,000 million roster bonus in March. The latter will prorate over the final five years of the contract for salary cap purposes.
His annual salaries are $230,000, $305,000, $665,500, $1,006,000, $1,356,500 and $1,707,000.
"It's in the past now, contracts and all that stuff," said Roethlisberger, who left Miami (Ohio) after his junior year to enter the NFL. "It's time for football. I was excited to get here, get to the meetings tonight and start practice tomorrow."
If the Steelers aren't putting much pressure on him to lead them this year, Leigh Steinberg certainly did not hold back assessing his potential. The agent to some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL over the past two decades put his newest client among them.
"I think we're talking about a Troy Aikman/John Elway quarterback," Steinberg said. "I frankly believe they have a true potential superstar down the road."
It was Steinberg, and not Steelers president Art Rooney II, who called Roethlisberger the Steelers "franchise quarterback" at a news conference yesterday. After all, the Steelers have not chosen a quarterback that high in the draft since they picked Terry Bradshaw first in 1970.
"It's obviously quite an honor," Roethlisberger said, "but it's something that's down the road. Right now we're focused on today and getting right back into meetings as soon as this is over with, focusing on this year and just improving myself."
It took a marathon meeting among Steinberg, his chief negotiatior Bruce Tollner and Steelers chief negotiator Omar Khan to bring the deal together after two frustrating days where talks stalled. Steinberg and Tollner flew to Pittsburgh and began negotiations Monday with Khan at the Steelers facility on the South Side. They broke once to dine in the Steelers' cafeteria and again late at night when they picked up takeout food from Fat Head's on the South Side.
"They wanted some Pittsburgh food," Khan said.
The trio broke at 2:30 a.m. yesterday, renewed talks at 7:30 a.m. and quickly polished off a contract.
"It was a long process. It was caffeine assisted," Steinberg said. "Omar has tremendous stamina."
Roethlisberger plans to use some of his earnings to help the police and fire departments in his home town of Findlay, Ohio; to assist his former school; and to help youth football in Pittsburgh.
He missed four training camp practices since the Steelers reported Friday night to St. Vincent College.
"The world will little note nor long remember that it was a day or two late," Steinberg said.
Said Coach Bill Cowher, "He's got some work to do but I'm glad he's here."
Roethlisberger admitted to a little nervousness as he approached his first practice this morning, but, like the trip from Ohio, is in no hurry to speed up the depth chart.
"Whatever's best for this team, whatever they ask of me, I'm going to do, whether that's to be a backup, a third-string, whatever it is. My priority right now is this organization and this team. We'll see how this training camp plays out."
They'll have to beat Joe Gibbs to him.
Hail to the Redskins!
That's my point - QC was so confident of his own abilities he HAD to be on crack.
A lot of what made their schedule easy last year has nothing to do with the NFL's schedule ranking, that only effects two games a year under the current math. They just got a really good draw over all with the divisions they played and who was in their own division. It was an easy schedule, but not because of the NFL rankings from 2002.
I bet heth really upthet.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.