• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

LB Bobby Carpenter (All B1G, National Champion)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
Carpenter Happy With Working Through Stability
Zach Buchanan - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
July 27, 2008

BobbyCarpenter_camp3_072708_300.jpg


Carpenter is running with third team as oppose to second-team last season.

OXNARD, Calif. - Bobby Carpenter hasn't made much noise on the field since being drafted in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Because of that, many have pegged him as an underachiever.

But what's being overlooked is the third-year linebacker hasn't had a chance to feel at home at one position, moving from inside to outside linebacker, and then inside again. Because he's played as many as three different positions so far in the team's 3-4 alignment, Carpenter said it's been hard for him to show improvement.

"Any time you're not having consistency in what you're seeing, it makes it a little different," Carpenter said here Sunday after the Cowboys' lone practice. "Your reactions are going to be a little slower. You're not necessarily going to read things as quickly as you'd like, and that may lead to some indecision out on the field."

Now Carpenter is playing one position, the 'Mo' linebacker, or the weak inside linebacker spot, and he said he feels more comfortable. And, Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips has noticed a difference as well.

"I think he's made tremendous improvement in some areas that I thought he needed improvement in," Phillips said.

Carpenter is running with the third team, which might seem like a demotion from his second-team status last season, but that's not necessarily a barometer of his talent or improvement. It's just that both starter Zach Thomas and nickel linebacker Kevin Burnett also practice at the same position, so first and second team reps are scarce. It's essentially a trade off of depth chart status for consistency.

And then here he was on Sunday, having to move back to his old inside spot when Justin Rogers left the field suffering from a stomach virus.

Still, Carpenter has a lot to prove, and with Thomas and Burnett ahead of him, his future with the Cowboys is by no means secure, despite Phillips' intention to get him on the field.

"I'm kind of playing with a sense of urgency," Carpenter said. "I want to play here. This is really where I want to be, and hopefully I'll be given a chance."
Click to expand...

Carpenter Happy With Working Through Stability
 
Upvote 0
Posted on Sun, Aug. 03, 2008
Carpenter making good impression in training camp
By RICK [email protected]

OXNARD, Calif. -- Cowboys linebacker Bobby Carpenter entered this training camp trying to change the minds of the coaching staff.

So far, the seldom-used first-round draft pick is making an impression and attempting to get more playing time this season. But the true test for Carpenter will be in the preseason. A year ago, that?s where the opinion of Carpenter was forged. He struggled to make plays in preseason and became an afterthought in the Cowboys? defensive plans last season.

?I have to go above and beyond everyone else?s expectations because I don?t know necessarily if anyone here is really pulling for me to get on the field anymore,? Carpenter said. ?So I feel like I have to get out there and prove to everyone that I belong. And you know what? If they don?t think that, and don?t think I am good enough, I?ll be able top live with that.?

Carpenter had his best day of training camp on Saturday, making plays in the morning workout and he continues to catch the eyes of a coaching staff that has lacked confidence in him. Carpenter had an interception off Tony Romo during 7-on-7 drills. He later broke up a Romo pass intended for tight end Martellus Bennett during goal-line drills.

?Anytime you start to make plays, it seems to come in bunches, so hopefully I?ll be able to keep that up and keep the momentum rolling,? Carpenter said.

Carpenter -- working at backup weakside linebacker -- has seemingly been in the right spot to make plays all camp, reading pass and running plays well. After falling out of favor, the No. 18 pick of the 2006 draft became primarily a special teams player.

Now, the coaches? confidence is being established. Carpenter is also playing with more confidence coming off a solid spring showing better technique, attitude and being more physical.

His first real test comes next Saturday in the preseason opener against San Diego.

?We?ll know more about Bobby and how far he has come,? Cowboys first-year linebacker coach Reggie Herring said. ?That?s going to be the true test and we?re looking forward to seeing how far he has come. Right now, it?s looking good and he?s making plays. The judgment day will come when the live bullets starting flying.?
Click to expand...

Carpenter making good impression in training camp | Sports | Star-Telegram.com

Posted on Sun, Aug. 03, 2008
Bobby Carpenter is fighting for his chance to shine
By MAC [email protected]

136-boys_notes_08-03-2008_Tarrant_T3O8RJT.embedded.prod_affiliate.58.jpg

Star-Telegram/Ron Jenkins
Linebacker Bobby Carpenter, right, is using big hits against teammates like

OXNARD, Calif. ? The question appears to make Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bobby Carpenter uncomfortable, but he answers it honestly.

Does he want to be traded?

"It?s something if it were to happen I wouldn?t consider it the worst thing in the world. But I want to make it work here," Carpenter said. "I was drafted here in the first round and I probably haven?t lived up to people?s expectations, even my own.

"I hope I?m given a chance to play. I?d like to prove to everybody I warranted the draft grade I was given and the pick I was taken and I deserve to be where I am."

Carpenter enters his third NFL season penciled in as a backup weakside linebacker, but he?s still fighting for a chance to prove himself. He openly wondered if he has the full support of the team.

"I don?t know necessarily if everyone here is pulling for me on the field anymore. I have to prove I belong," Carpenter said. "If they don?t think I?m good enough, I?ll be able to live with that. As long as I play the way [I know I can] and keep working, I think everything will work out in some form or another."

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips isn?t buying that, saying he?s pulling for anyone who can help his team.

"I?m particularly rooting for Bobby on a personal basis because I coached his dad," Phillips said. "I just like his whole attitude that he?s worked and worked and worked and keeps working at it. I think it?s really paying off for him. Shoot, I hope he does well and makes a great career, because I think he can."

Carpenter has made a favorable impression so far in training camp. In Saturday morning?s practice, he intercepted one Tony Romo pass and broke up another one in the end zone. Phillips said Carpenter is "head and shoulders" above where he was this time last year.
Click to expand...

Bobby Carpenter is fighting for his chance to shine | Dallas Cowboys | Star-Telegram.com

Offseason preparation paying off for Carpenter
By Natalie Jay
Correspondent
Sunday, August 3, 2008

After two years of bouncing around the inside and outside linebacker positions, Bobby Carpenter hopes he's finally on his way to arriving in the NFL.

Despite opening camp at third-team inside linebacker on the weakside, the Cowboys' 2006 first-round draft pick out of Ohio State has seized the opportunities presented to him and posted a solid camp thus far. When Justin Rogers missed time early last week with a stomach virus, Carpenter moved into Rogers' strongside spot on the second team, where he has since remained in addition to retaining his weakside role on the third team.

Saturday's morning session provided some flashy examples of the way in which Carpenter has made the most of the extra reps.

During 7-on-7 drills, Carpenter jumped in front of a short Tony Romo pass intended for tight end Tony Curtis, recording an interception that likely would have gone back for a score in a real game. Later, in team drills, Carpenter jumped another tight end route, batting down a pass to Martellus Bennett in front of the end zone.

"I think it shows you the more reps I get, the more plays I've been making, so hopefully that'll transition into some playing time," said Carpenter.

He attributed the interception to a practice technique most often used by receivers.

"I've been working on the jug machine a little bit before practice," he said. "It seems like whenever I do that, the interceptions just seem to kind of come your way, so it's paid off, and hopefully it'll continue."
Click to expand...

Offseason preparation paying off for Carpenter : Cowboys : Ventura County Star

Carpenter looking for playing time with Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, August 3, 2008
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected]

OXNARD, Calif. ? All Bobby Carpenter wants is an opportunity to play.

"I don't know that you can trust too much of anything in the NFL," Carpenter said, "but this is a quality staff. As long as I'm making plays, I think it will work out."

Carpenter has spent the first week of training camp playing both inside linebacker positions and had his most productive practice Saturday morning. He intercepted a Tony Romo pass for what would have been a touchdown, knocked away a pass to tight end Martellus Bennett and put a hit on wide receiver Miles Austin.

With Bradie James, Zach Thomas and Kevin Burnett also playing inside linebacker, the Cowboys have plenty of depth, but finding suitable time for all four players will be difficult.

"It's not easy, but that's a good problem," Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said. "There's always people getting banged up. There's opportunities and when they come, it's the player that's ready to go that takes advantage of those things."
Click to expand...

Carpenter looking for playing time with Dallas Cowboys | Dallas Cowboys News | Sports News | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas

Good Morning From Carpenter
Edward Lewis - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
August 2, 2008

It's only eight days into training camp here in Oxnard, Calif., but Bobby Carpenter has already bounced around from weak inside linebacker, to strong inside linebacker, to even a taste of outside linebacker again. But with Justin Rogers' injury earlier this week, Carpenter filled a need at an inside linebacker spot that he believes is his natural position.

"The two inside spots allow me to run," Carpenter said. "It's something that I feel pretty adept to and that's where I've been making most my plays, so hopefully I'll get a shot there."

If Carpenter keeps playing the way he did in Saturday's morning practice, it would be nearly impossible for head coach Wade Phillips to keep him off the field. The third-year linebacker was all over the place breaking up several passes and even putting a hit on receiver Miles Austin that made the crowd "ooh" and "awe."

"Anytime you start making plays they seem to come in bunches," Carpenter said of his busy day. "So hopefully I'll be able to keep that up and keep the momentum rolling."

Perhaps Carpenter's finest play of the day, and even camp, came in Saturday morning's 7-on-7 drill when he stepped in front of a Tony Romo pass from his weak inside linebacker spot for a would have been an80-yard interception return for a touchdown.

"(It felt) pretty good," Carpenter said of the pick-six. "It's something I've been close on a couple here lately, getting my hands on some. I've been working on the jugs machine a little bit before practice and it seems like whenever I do that the interceptions seem to come my way. It's paid off and hopefully it will continue."

Carpenter worked at the strong inside linebacker spot behind Bradie James with Kevin Burnett on the second unit and played weak inside linebacker with Justin Rogers on the third team during the morning practice. He's been manning both spots ever since Rogers' injury.
Click to expand...

Good Morning From Carpenter
 
Upvote 0
Bobby's book reviews: Linebacker Bobby Carpenter was standing around talking with a group of reporters when the subject of what he reads came up.

The Ohio State graduate said one of his favorite books is "The Great Gatsby."

"It's about a dude getting drunk and partying. This is real-life stuff," Carpenter said with a smile.

Carpenter said he's also a big fan of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," and "Grapes of Wrath."

One book Carpenter isn't thrilled with is "To Kill a Mockingbird."

"It's very overrated," Carpenter said. "They say that she (author Harper Lee) sees herself as the little girl (Scout). But she makes her like some kind of 10-year-old genius, connecting all these different clues. Come on, don't be pumping your ego like that.

"Besides, that's the only book she wrote. Don't go one and done. Show some staying power."
Click to expand...

Cowboys notebook: Garrett looks to add to his bag of tricks : Cowboys : Ventura County Star

Five Cowboys who have made their move so far in camp:

-LB Bobby Carpenter - Until he breaks into the starting lineup, Carpenter might never live down the bust label he has been tagged with since being picked in the first round of the 2006 draft. But he is having the best camp of his career and is showing signs that he can be a major contributor. The question is finding a role in a stacked linebacker corps. He plays behind starter Zach Thomas and Kevin Burnett, who plays on passing downs. Coach Wade Phillips said he will find a role for a player if he proves he can contribute. Time will tell if that's true.
Click to expand...

Cowboys are looking for surprises - Nation & World - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington

Will Bobby Carpenter get his chance to shine?
by Brandon W on Aug 4, 2008 11:13 AM CDT in News


Let's be honest.

A first round draft pick, coveted out of college and yet has just 37 tackles in two years, mostly on special teams. It looks doubtful that he will start a game this year either and will receive limited playing time yet again. It is very easy to think of Bobby Carpenter as a bust.

I have been hesitant to do so and have held the opinion that he has yet to really be given a chance to make his mark on the team. His rookie season he was making a position move, and learning a new defense; in college he played in a primarily 4-3 defense. Most of his first season was spent on the bench but then he was given the task of shadowing Michael Vick in week 15. He had a tremendous game, finishing with 4 tackles and 1.5 sacks as he was able to hold Vick in check. He also came on strong in the playoff game against Seattle and was arguably the best players on the Cowboys' defense that game. Fans were encouraged that he was coming into his own and would be a playmaker in the works.

Last season a brand new coaching staff took over and Carpenter had a chance to shine and prove he deserved more playing time. Unfortunately it didn't click for him and he suffered an injury that limited his effectiveness and subdued his aggressive style. He didn't tell his coaches of the injury and underwhelmed in the final preseason game, sealing his fate as an underachiever. The injury would stick with him during the season and he saw limited time with the defense. However, Carpenter really started to come on strong on special teams and showed promise that he could still make plays when needed.
Click to expand...

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2008/8/4/586275/will-bobby-carpenter-get-h
 
Upvote 0
Carpenter hammers away at rap with Dallas Cowboys
Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Bobby Carpenter finally bears some resemblance to the player the Cowboys thought they were getting when they picked him with the 18th selection of the first round two seasons ago.

Carpenter, working as a backup at both inside linebacker positions, has done a good job in the first two weeks of training camp. That's good for a guy who had to be considered a little bit on the bubble when training camp began.

He has been aggressive against the run, which he has not done in the past, leading to criticism. And he has been active in the passing game.

The biggest improvement Carpenter has made is in his attitude. The game seems more important to him these days.

It's as though he wants to prove to his doubters and teammates that he can be a physical player. And that he is over the pinched nerve that hobbled him for half of last season.

And that he can be a contributor on a team that's the preseason favorite to advance to the Super Bowl.

Carpenter still has to prove he can do it in the regular season, but he's off to a good start.
Click to expand...

Carpenter hammers away at rap with Dallas Cowboys | Inside the Dallas Cowboys Newsletter | Sports News | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas
 
Upvote 0
I watched their preseason game against San Diego yesterday (DVR) and was surprised by how consistently he let blockers get into his chest. It didn't seem to matter if it was an OL or a RB/FB, he let them all get to his body. That being said, I don't know much about the Dline that was plating in front of him, so they might be responsible for not keeping blockers off of him.

His biggest problem, from what I could tell, is that he's spending too much time reading, and he needs to react quicker. He can still pop the pads, but I'd love to see him running around more instinctively.
 
Upvote 0
Link

If Burnett misses considerable time, it would dramatically alter the dynamics of the second-team defense.
The coaching staff is testing Bobby Carpenter to see if he can be a dependable backup behind Bradie James. He's getting an extended amount of practice time to show what he can do. Carpenter is listed third on the depth chart behind Zach Thomas and Burnett.
Click to expand...
 
Upvote 0
Bobby Carpenter's getting a chance
Fri, Aug 22, 2008
Tim MacMahon
Bobby Carpenter is playing LB in the Cowboys' nickel/dime package.

That's Kevin Burnett's job once he gets healthy, but it represents Carpenter's best chance to get meaningful non-special teams playing time. With Burnett a free agent after this season, it's a role that Carpenter could fill for a while.
Click to expand...

DALLAS COWBOYS Blog | The Dallas Morning News

Stock Up
Bobby Carpenter. Started on some passing downs and led the team with eight tackles. Wade Phillips said Carpenter had a great first half.
Click to expand...

DALLAS COWBOYS Blog | The Dallas Morning News
 
Upvote 0
Haha, we're talking about the league here.

Where they still have pro-set formations. Not so much spread offense.

Knowing Bobby's play from college, I never guessed that he'd be a nickel situation linebacker.

But I did watch a Cowboys game, and indeed, he seemed to struggle in the power running game, having a hard time getting off his blocks.
 
Upvote 0
Bobby's definitely not an inside guy. Too much read and react for a middle linebacker. Bobby is much better in attack mode. They need to put him on the SLB and let him attack the TE, in the flat or come for the QB. On a couple plays last night when the play was flowing one direction, Bobby hit the gaps hard and was in on a sack early. The run plays up the gut are eating him alive.
 
Upvote 0
Posted on Mon, Aug. 25, 2008
Injuries forcing Dallas Cowboys to weigh all options
By CLARENCE E. HILL, [email protected]

Nickel linebacker Kevin Burnett, sprained right knee

Injury update: Underwent successful arthroscopic surgery Aug. 15. He is questionable for the opener. But he is confident he will be ready to go. Burnett said Monday if the Cowboys were playing a game this week he would be ready.

Replacement option: Bobby Carpenter would be his replacement as the linebacker on passing downs. It?s the first significant opportunity for Carpenter since being taken in the first round in 2006. He hopes to make the most of it. He has had a good camp and preseason. He plays fast and knows where to be. However, the Cowboys still don?t believe he is physical enough.

Concern factor: Medium

The Cowboys were comfortable with Burnett on passing downs, allowing them to rest starters Bradie James and Zach Thomas. They are not there yet with Carpenter. So if he can?t handle it, it will force James to play more. Burnett?s possible absence also has a huge impact on special teams. He was key contributor on kickoff and punt coverage.
Click to expand...

Injuries forcing Dallas Cowboys to weigh all options | Sports | Star-Telegram.com
 
Upvote 0
Link

Long shot was the only shot for 'Hard Knocks'



[SIZE=-1]11:29 PM CDT on Wednesday, August 27, 2008[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-1]If Todd Lowber believes any publicity is good publicity, the free-agent wide receiver has got to be basking in the Hard Knocks spotlight. On the other hand, how much abuse should a man with a dream have to take? Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett on Lowber: "The ultimate project." [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Receivers coach Ray Sherman: "He's just lost." [/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Drafted tight end Martellus Bennett is alternately criticized and praised. "Finesse" linebacker Bobby Carpenter, called "Barbie" by a teammate, ultimately gets a kind word from veteran Zach Thomas. [/SIZE]
Click to expand...

ouch.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top