Darin Gantt of the Herald addresses what I feel is David Carr’s greatest weakness season to date: his inability to throw and hit the deep pass. Many people are focusing on his connection to Steve Smith which is certainly lacking. He can hit Smith in the flat or on the short routes but he has yet to establish the deep pass to any receiver.  

When asked whether he sometimes checks off his receivers for fear of throwing a pick, Carr answers:

"Definitely," he replied. "That's one of the things you have to guard against as a quarterback. There were probably some times I could have thrown it into him, but who knows what happens. Or you can throw to the open guy in front of you, gain 10 yards and go onto the next play.

"If that's what they're going to give you, that's what you've got to take. You can't get locked into making sure you get him the ball all the time -- although he is our best player. The defense knows that, too, and they're going to make sure they do everything to take him away."

The problem with that is if you always take what the defense gives you then you play right into their hands. The bend but don’t break philosophy is designed to stretch the offensive drive out as long as possible to improve the chance of a stop. It’s very difficult to sustain 10 play 80 yard drives on a consistent basis.

Gantt sums up Carr’s positives and one big negative:

Carr's got all the talent in the world, and maybe more of the intangible stuff than people realize. Despite his funny throwing motion, he's technically smooth. Despite the white gloves and the haircut, he's tougher than folks realize, and won a lot of converts in the locker room by coming back onto the field in New Orleans after Will Smith turned his back into an origami snake.
The difference between fearless and foolish is a fine line. You can only walk it if you're sure of yourself, your teammates and secure in your future.

David Carr has got to establish his willingness and ability to throw and hit the long pass. Otherwise opposing defenses will play our receivers close to line, jam them at the snap and jump the short routes in the flat. This also will stifle the running game as CB’s will be able to make a play quicker.

The biggest draw back for Carr is that Steve Smith will continue to get in his face and demand him to throw the ball. He better listen.

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Testaverde Injury Update

Apparently it wasn’t Mike Wahle’s fault after all. I thought the reason Vinny came out of the game against the Cardinals was from Mike Wahle stepping on Vinny’s foot. Apparently it was from an old Achilles injury he suffered some time ago. John Fox explains:

"He couldn’t push off of it to really get velocity on the ball," Fox said. "To be honest with you, I didn’t notice it really until late in the half."

Testaverde, during a break between treatments Monday, said he didn’t know if he’d be available. He was walking with a limp and carrying a walking boot, but said the soreness might be a good sign, in a twisted way. He knows about Achilles injuries, having torn his left one in the 1999 opener.

"When I did my left one, there was no soreness and nothing wrong," Testaverde said. "It was just one bad step and it popped. If I remember correctly, after that happened in ’99, I remember the doctor saying if you do have tendinitis or soreness in your Achilles, 99 percent you won’t have a problem with a rupture or anything like that.

An Achilles injury is a worse scenario than the bruise I thought he suffered. This shows the main draw back to using a 43 year old QB. Any type of injury, whether new or old, sudden or cumulative could pop up at any time and send Vinny to the bench. More to the point, it means Matt Moore could be in the game real soon. I am certainly not being critical of Vinny, he's one tough SOB to have lasted this long in the NFL. It's just that if he sees extended playing time he could very well end up being our third injured QB on the season.