Oct 28, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Bruce Carter (54) in action against the New York Giants at Cowboys Stadium. The Giants beat the Cowboys 29-24. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, Dallas Cowboy fans were robbed of the opportunity to see the improvement of not only Sean Lee, but also second year rising star Bruce Carter. Sean Lee was injured in Week 7  after having a monster campaign to start the year. Bruce Carter was then lost for the season when he dislocated his elbow against the Redskins on Thanksgiving day.  Each were coming into their own just as the injuries hit.

Most everyone knows how great a player Sean Lee is when healthy, but Bruce Carter  also has the potential to be just as dominant, and the switch to the 4-3 will play to Carter’s strength. Bruce Carter is a rare and special athlete at the linebacker position. Carter can stuff the run between the tackles yet also fly from sideline to sideline to chase down ball carriers.

Physical Tools

Bruce Carter is one of the NFL’s most physically gifted athletes at the linebacker position. Carter is 6’3 and weighs in at 235 lbs. Just a few short months after Carter tore his ACL at North Carolina, he ran a 4.47 40 yard dash at his UNC pro day. Not only was his speed impressive, but he also registered 40.5” in the vertical jump. To demonstrate just how rare an athlete he is for a man his size, below is a chart of Bruce Carter’s measurables as compared to some of the most athletic inside linebackers in the league.

Tackling

Carter is a reliable tackler, but he isn’t a great hitter. He tends to be more of a drag down tackler, but he does do a good job of squaring up his target when necessary. He uses his whole body to take down opponents and doesn’t just reach for the ball carrier. Carter has excellent lower body strength which allows him to drive ball carriers backwards with excellent tackling technique.

Coverage Abilities

A natural mover, Carter is best when asked to cover RBs and TEs one on one. Carter has the size to match-up with the “move” tight ends in the league, but also has the agility and athleticism to cover running backs out of the backfield. He isn’t an elite playmaker in terms of interceptions, but rarely gets beaten in pass coverage.

Read & React

This may be Bruce Carter’s best attribute due to his outstanding physical skill set.  He does a very good job reacting to what he sees. Carter flies to the ball carrier and is one of the best sideline to sideline defenders in the league today. Carter also excels at recognizing play fakes and does not often get sucked in on play-action fakes. Once he knows where the ball is going, he is using his 4.47 speed to get to the play.

The play below is an example of Bruce Carter’s read and reaction skill and how he combines it with his impressive physical tools. The following play occurred against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9. On a 3rd down and 3 play, the Falcons use their 11 personnel (3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 RB) package. Running back Jacquizz Rodgers is going to receive the hand-off with the hope that the Falcons offensive line can blow the Dallas defenders off the line of scrimmage. The Falcons designed this play with the intent that Rodgers will be able to gain a few yards before the linebackers can get there.

Bruce Carter (highlighted) is responsible for Jacquizz Rodgers on this play, but he also has to be aware of the play-action fake with Matt Ryan having three wide receivers on the field plus one tight end.

Bruce Carter’s eyes are on the ball, waiting to see if the quarterback is going to hand the ball off or roll out via a play-action fake. Carter is also watching which way Rodgers goes because if it is a run, he is going to need to get there in a hurry to get the Falcons off the field on 3rd down.

After Carter verifies Matt Ryan’s hand-off to Rodgers, he needs to quickly fill the massive hole left between the center and left guard to get to the ball carrier. Because of Carter’s athleticism and quickness, he is able to fill the hole quicker than the running back can get to it.

Getting to the ball carrier is just part of the play for Carter. He needs to go make the tackle without Rodgers moving forward for any extra yardage. One thing I love about Bruce Carter is that he is always attacking. Whether it is in pass coverage or on a running play like this, he is going at the ball carrier. This holds true here as he violently strikes Rodgers without leaving his feet, as he uses his lower body to drive him backwards.

Here is a different clip of Carter’s pad level. Rodgers is 5’6 and Carter is 6’3, yet, Carter gets lower than Rodgers which gives him the required leverage to stone the ball carrier in the backfield.

This is just another angle showing how Carter drives Rodgers back and behind the line of scrimmage.

If Bruce Carter can stay healthy, (and that is a big if) he can become one of the most dominant linebackers in football. The switch to the 4-3 should help Carter’s game more than any other Dallas Cowboy’s defender.

I began writing this article with the full intention of telling you that Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro might be the elite, playmaking safety that Dallas Cowboy fans have longed for and if available, should be the selection with the 18^th overall pick. But after watching more of Vaccaro and digging a little deeper than just highlight clips and listening to the media, I must admit I am not as impressed as I should be for a potential first round safety.

Oct 6, 2012; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns safety Kenny Vaccaro (4) looks into the back field during the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. West Virginia beat Texas 48-45. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Kenny Vaccaro is widely considered the best safety in the 2013 NFL Draft class. But he is a very different player than the other safeties in his class. Vaccaro has the rare ability to play as a deep center fielder on one play and then come into the box on the next. He can also cover the most explosive slot wide receivers college football has to offer.  This was very evident when he was assigned to cover West Virginia’s Tavon Austin early in the 2012 season. Austin is one of the most electric offensive players in the entire 2013 NFL Draft and Vaccaro did a fine job coming down and limiting his production.

The NFL Combine isn’t the end all, be all for draft prospects. But what it does offer is the ability for a team to compare prospects to former draftees. For the sake of comparison, these are the last four safeties to be drafted in the first round and their measurables next to Kenny Vaccaro:

Vaccaro is a high effort, smart player who can be the quarterback of an NFL defense. However, he lacks the elite speed and athleticism of an Eric Berry or Earl Thomas.  Mark Barron, Harrison Smith, and Kenny Vaccaro are similar players in terms of straight-line speed, but Vaccaro lacks the size and the elite tackling ability that Barron and Smith posses. Vaccaro does a good job at staying with quicker players, and his positional versatility will attract many teams come April.

But one thing Kenny Vaccaro hasn’t been able to do at Texas as well some safeties in this draft is create turnovers. During his four years at Texas, he was only produced five career interceptions. Last week I wrote about how the Cowboys safeties failed to create turnovers over the last two seasons which you can read right here: http://thelandryhat.com/2013/03/03/a-case-for-an-upgrade-at-safety/

The thought of drafting a safety that has yet to prove that he can take the ball away is somewhat disturbing, especially when you take into consideration the massive needs on the offensive and defensive lines.  Vaccaro also isn’t the most fundamentally sound tackler. Far too often he is over-aggressive and launches his body with his head down causing him to miss open field tackles.

Feb 25, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive back Kenny Vaccaro gets in his defensive stance in a drill during the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Vaccaro also has been involved in a few minor incidents during his time at Texas. He was arrested at a local pizza shop for refusing to leave. Although this was a minor offense, it would go against head coach Jason Garrett’s philosophy in terms of drafting the “right kind of guy”.

While I believe Kenny Vaccaro is going to be a good player in the NFL and deservingly belongs in the first round, I do not believe he should be the top option for the Dallas Cowboys come April. Monte Kiffin’s defensive philosophy is to emphasize speed while creating turnovers; a trait where Vaccaro is clearly deficient. I do believe he is a safe draft choice and a fall back option for Dallas. However, it is my belief that he is not going to produce the number of turnovers that the Dallas Cowboys and their fans would expect from a first round safety playing in a Monte’ Kiffin defense.

The shocking change was “uncomfortable” just as Jerry promised, no doubt about that. However the brunt of my comfort loss comes from Jones ridiculously passing blame to Rob Ryan.  He’s the one coach in Dallas I have zero doubt earned every penny of his 2012 salary. (more…)