Last Updated: October 03. 2011
Bobby Carpenter's play gets noticed
Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News
Former Cowboys linebacker Bobby Carpenter, now with the Lions, said he wasn?t thinking about revenge against his old team in the win. He intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards for a third-quarter TD. (Daniel Mears/The Detroit News)
Dallas? Bobby Carpenter was very clear on this point: It wasn't about him, his validation as a player or any kind of payback to the Cowboys, who traded him after four seasons.
This was about the team that currently employs him and the city he presently resides in.
"Everybody wants to make it a big vendetta thing but this was just a big game, period," he said, after his pick-six helped spark the Lions' 34-30 comeback victory Sunday. "The Cowboys might be America's team but Detroit is America's city. It's been beaten up for the last decade and so have the Detroit Lions.
"Now we are finally able to put together a run that's as special to the town as it is to the team."
The Lions are 4-0 for the first time since 1980. They are doing things they've never done in their history ? the five-game road win streak for example.
And here's Carpenter. Cast aside by the Cowboys and then the Rams. He spent most of last season watching and learning the Lions' defensive system. He started on Sunday because Justin Durant was knocked out by a concussion.
He responds by making six tackles and returning an interception 35 yards for a score.
"The first thing that I am feeling is exhaustion," he said. "We have to feel pretty fortunate to come away with a win after the way we dug ourselves such a hole (24 points). But we have stuck together now the last two weeks, came out in the second half and made plays.
"We are just so confident in the way we can respond to adverse situations. There's just a fundamental belief in ourselves that we've developed these last few weeks."
Carpenter and Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo were close friends during his days in Dallas. Part of his personal celebration Sunday was tempered by his concern for the heat Romo was going to take from the Dallas media.
"I know he's going to get beaten up by you guys this week," Carpenter said after Romo's three interception performance. "But he's the same quarterback he was two weeks ago when you were calling him a hero. He's a tremendous player."
His knowledge of the Cowboys' offensive tendencies, particularly since head coach Jason Garrett was the offensive coordinator when Carpenter was there, may have helped on his interception.
He correctly read the play-action and was able to drop into the passing lane.
"I played down there when Jason was an assistant and I was familiar with what they did on offense," he said.
As for the interception, Carpenter said he was just in the right place at the right time.
"I just rolled up underneath the route and fortunately I saw the ball in the air and I was able to make a play on it," he said. "I am not sure Tony saw me or not."
Carpenter's interception began a string of three that Romo threw in the second half. Chris Houston followed up Carpenter's with a 56-yard pick-six, and middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch's pick in the fourth quarter set up the game-winning score.
"Chris's pick-six really put us back in the game," Carpenter said. "Once that was going we had all the confidence in the world. We have a lot of competitors on this team. No one ever lays down."