Coming in with Instant Expectations

David Carr knows what it's like to be a rookie and a franchise quarterback at the same time

By PAUL ATTNER / The Sporting News

David Carr has 140 reminders of what it is like to be a franchise quarterback in development.

That’s how many times he has been dumped, whacked and run over in his first three NFL seasons — and we are talking only sacks here, not all the other occasions in which his body has been involuntarily grounded by gleeful adversaries. He has more unpleasant memories, too — just 16 wins and forgotten plays and boos from Texans fans no longer patient with his maturation process.

You want to know what the 49ers face if they use the draft’s first pick on Aaron Rodgers of California or Alex Smith of Utah?

Ask former Fresno State standout David Carr, the first player selected in the 2002 draft. The 49ers should — and so should any club facing such a draft decision. Carr would provide a road map incredible in detail and educational value.

Better to talk to him than rely on history for guidance. For every Akili Smith, you have a Donovan McNabb. For every Heath Shuler, you have a Michael Vick. For every Tim Couch, you have a John Elway. “History tells us nothing,” says Ravens Coach Brian Billick, “other than picking a quarterback that high has no predictors, nothing that can save you from making a mistake. But getting a quarterback is so important to a franchise that you can’t ignore the opportunity.”

The only thing we know for sure is this: Select a quarterback among the first six choices, and he immediately becomes the face and potential savior of the team as its franchise player and the next candidate to wind up in one of two groups, the Ryan Leaf flops or the Peyton Manning successes.

Carr still occupies middle earth; he hasn’t made it onto either list yet. His bosses are convinced he’ll become everything they envisioned, a star capable of winning playoff games.

But so far, he has given us only glimpses. Last season, he reached highs in quarterback rating (83.5), touchdown-interception ratio (16/14) and passing yards (3,531), yet the Texans again finished below .500 because they couldn’t beat the dreadful Browns in the season finale.

Carr is preparing now for what could be the pivotal year of his career, the season that could show us whether he will be joining Manning or Leaf.

Even though the 49ers, who still have those five shiny Super Bowl trophies sitting in the lobby of their practice facility, hardly are an expansion team, their disintegration has been so dramatic they might as well be starting over. They again are regrouping, this time with a new coach (Mike Nolan) and a new vice president of player personnel (Scot McCloughan) and so little talent that it will take a magnificent effort to raise them above their 2-14 disaster of last season.

A rookie quarterback would confront many of the same obstacles Carr encountered once he signed on with the Texans. Listen then to Carr’s advice on the grooming of this protege.

Even though the 49ers should have veteran quarterbacks Tim Rattay and Ken Dorsey, both seventh-round picks, on their training camp roster, Carr would start the rookie, at least by midseason.

“They can teach you a corner blitz on the chalkboard all they want, but until you get hit by one, you won’t turn around at the line to look for it, to see the safety rotating over to the corner spot,” he says. “Now I know exactly what they will do. If you can play him, do it. But it has to be a safe situation where he won’t feel he will get obliterated.”

That’s the rub. Bad teams usually have poor pass protection. Carr, who started from the opening game, was sacked an NFL-record 76 times as a rookie.

“It is a very fine line,” he says. “It was close for me. I got to a point in the second half of the season when I told myself, `This is not for me. This is crazy. If this is how it is going to be, I am not playing three years.’ You have to make sure your scheme is not set up to fail. But the 49ers have a West Coast scheme, which really should help him. You want to get the ball out quick to minimize the pass rush.”

The three men in charge of Carr’s development -- General Manager Charley Casserly (Heath Shuler), Coach Dom Capers (Kerry Collins) and offensive coordinator Chris Palmer (Tim Couch) -- all had previously been associated with potential franchise quarterbacks, including expansion rookies Collins and Couch. In the first go-round, they hoped to ease these youngsters into starting roles by putting them behind veterans. But in each case, the player wound up starting early in his rookie year. In the case of Carr, they decided to go ahead and make him an immediate starter.

Yet their inability to shield him from all those sacks has had repercussions. Last season, he was jittery at times, delivering balls too quickly when he felt pressure developing. This offseason, the Texans are adjusting their offense, putting in more timing patterns that will allow Carr to get the ball out faster and involve less complicated reads. There will be no patience for anything close to the 49 sacks of 2004.

“We thought it best to get David in there right away,” says Casserly. “We still do. But if I had to do it over again, we would find a way to make the offensive line better from the start.”

The 49ers accelerated that process by signing free-agent left tackle Jonas Jennings in March to, in theory, decrease their sacks in 2005 from last season’s 52.

By signing Carr quickly and immersing him immediately into the playbook, the Texans attempted to speed up the learning process. Couldn’t be done.

“You think you will be different than the other first-year guys, but you won’t be,” says Carr. “There is no way you can speed it up. This guy is going to come in after feeling he could dominate in his college system and then this.”

“This” can happen: “I lined up my first year and forgot the play. You are looking at a defense with two down linemen and nine guys walking around and you are concerned about protection and communicating with the center ... and then I went blank. Couldn’t remember who was going to run what patterns. You tell yourself you will not make any mistakes, but you will. You have to admit it to yourself and then vow not to repeat the same mistake. That has to be his goal.”

Still, the Texans are convinced the process they employed was correct. “You have to find out as much about the quarterback as you can,” says Palmer. “You need to find out how he might react to suddenly having a lot of money, to a long learning curve, to getting sacked a lot, to making mistakes. Then you have to stay the course; we are in a microwave society -- everyone wants quick results. But you have to be patient.”

This is how overwhelming it can get for a franchise quarterback in waiting. “If you think about all your responsibilities to the club, you never will leave your room,” says Carr. “I’m serious. I mean, you’re in New York waiting to get drafted, and you see the guys who went No. 1 like Bradshaw and Elway and Aikman; that’s nine Super Bowl rings. So you are aware of what’s expected. I was making $500 a month in college, and then, boom, I have all this money. So you feel an obligation to help out the franchise any way you can. You just can’t let it paralyze you.”

The Texans did their best to ease the process by cutting off all his endorsements and other marketing activities his first year. Michael Vick, in contrast, struggled with all the demands of the Falcons’ business side, which wanted to sell tickets by casting him as the face of a “new” franchise. “We needed to do a better job of managing his time, and we did so over this past season,” says Falcons GM Rich McKay.

“Everyone wants a piece of these guys, and that just can’t happen.”

Carr recommends that the young quarterback surround himself with a strong support system comprising family members and friends “who knew you before you were the Franchise Quarterback. They have to be able to be honest with you.”

Carr, who married while attending Fresno State and already had a son before he left, now has three children. He bought a home for his parents and brothers near his in Houston and moved them from the West Coast. His grandfather, a preacher for more than 50 years, visits every week during the season to conduct Wednesday night Bible study and participate in the family dinner on Friday nights. And Carr has a business manager who tells the Texans “no” when Carr feels too stretched. Tom Brady understands; he had to import one of his sisters from California to manage his schedule after the Patriots’ first Super Bowl victory.

“You don’t want to be the bad guy, so you need someone else to fill that role,” says Carr. “It was a great decision not to let me do any outside stuff my rookie year. You’ve got enough trying to figure out how to play quarterback in this league.”

A quarterback is supposed to lead. But what happens when a rookie enters a locker room that houses seven-year veteran Tony Boselli? He becomes a follower. “That is going to be the hardest thing for the 49er guy,” says Carr. “In college, we were all the same age. It was natural for me to lead. Here, there were guys way older than me. I couldn’t force leadership. If they see you can play, you naturally will become a leader. But you have to prove it to them first.

“Want to know why some guys come out highly rated and last just two years? Teammates can see right through you. They know exactly what is inside. If your strengths are good enough and your weaknesses aren’t that bad, they will follow you. They want you to give them a chance. That is the biggest thing in the NFL with a quarterback. Teammates have to believe they can win with you; it doesn’t matter how strong you are or how far you can throw a ball as long as you help them win. The guys who fail? Their teammates stopped playing for them.”

Now, four years into his career -- and the 49ers shouldn’t plan for faster results -- it’s time for Carr to be the leader. “He has to step up this season and take ownership of the team,” says quarterbacks coach Greg Roman. Palmer agrees. “There is a point in a young quarterback’s career where he has to say, `I want to do it,”‘ says Palmer. “David has the ability to carry this team on his back; now he has to make it his team. His teammates should expect a consistent level of play every week from him that gives us a chance to win. It is like the father of the family; he has to become the father of the team.”

Palmer tells a story he heard about Joe Montana. During a timeout, coaches kept changing the next play. Finally Montana said, “Just call the play, and I will make it work.”

That’s what the Texans expect now from Carr.

He understands. “I look at it like this,” Carr says. “The guys know I understand what it takes to win or lose a game, and now I have to go out and force the issue with them. I now am in a position where if I see something wrong, I can say to a guy a couple of years older or younger, `That is not good enough. Give me a chance, and I will give you a chance.’ I have to demand the best from me and from everyone around me.”

What if the 49ers become too impatient?

“They better make sure they do everything they can to help him win,” Carr says. “To expect him to be Joe Montana or Dan Marino before he’s ready is not realistic. If they do that, well, they are going to mess this up big-time. Trust me on that.”