 | Andre Carter may be the odd man out in Redskins' switch |
Jason Reid
As we've studied the roster and tried to understand all of the Redskins' holes, it's almost been an assumption that the team's two outside linebackers in a 3-4 defense would be Brian Orakpo and Andre Carter. But this probably was never a wise assumption. Carter has been careful with his words since the new staff came on board and talk began to spread about the team shifting to the 3-4.
But when Carter came to Washington in 2006, he made his feelings pretty clear. He had just left San Francisco, which had switched to a 3-4 defense in his final season there and moved him from defensive end to linebacker. When he signed with the Redskins and was introduced in Washington, he said he was "playing out of position" as a linebacker.
"When the 49ers announced they were changing to a 3-4, I'm like, 'Oh, great,' " Carter said at the time, apparently with more than a hint of sarcasm. "But I did it. I feel that's a testament to my character. I made some plays [at linebacker], but it took me out of some plays as far as getting to the quarterback."
That quote appeared in the Washington Times. The Washington Post reported the next day: "The Redskins saw me as a defensive end, and I saw myself as a defensive end," Carter said. "And it's just great for me being back in the trenches because that's where it all started for me."
Talking to people more familiar with his time there, Carter didn't exactly shine in his stint as a linebacker. He began the year No. 2 on the 49ers' depth chart and eventually started 14 games. But by December, 49ers coach Mike Nolan was again using Carter a lot more at end.
Carter's stats in his lone year as a linebacker were solid -- he was credited with 58 tackles and 4.5 sacks -- but those familiar with the year said he was uncomfortable standing up and lacked the natural instincts to drop back in pass coverage.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/3-4-defense/andre-carter-may-be-the-odd-ma.html
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