David Carr

David Carr (born July 21, 1979, in Bakersfield, California) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played college football at Fresno State.

Carr played for the Carolina Panthers in 2007.

College career

Carr began as the starting quarterback at Fresno State during the 2000 and 2001 seasons after redshirting in 1999. While he was quarterback, the Bulldogs went 7-5 and 11-3. In his senior season the team beat Colorado, Oregon State, and Wisconsin, all members of BCS conferences. There was speculation about whether the Bulldogs would qualify for a BCS bid, something then unprecedented for a 'Mid Major' conference team. They climbed to as high as number 8 in the polls, and Carr was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. During his collegiate career Carr completed 587 of 934 passes for 7,849 yards. He threw 70 touchdowns versus 23 interceptions. Carr collected the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award during his senior year.

On September 1, 2007, the Fresno State Bulldogs retired jersey #8 in honor of Carr.

Statistics

Professional career

Houston Texans

With the first overall pick of 2002 NFL Draft, the expansion Houston Texans selected Carr. He would go on to start all but 4 games for the team in its first five years. Carr's professional career began on a productive note. The Texans played their first regular season game on September 8, 2002, defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 19-10 at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Houston became just the second expansion team to win their first game. The Texans won four games that season. Carr became the most sacked quarterback in a single season of the NFL, being sacked 76 times.

In 2005, the Texans won only one of their first ten games, finishing the season with a 2-14 record. Plagued by injuries and an ineffective offensive line that limited both the running and passing games, Carr still managed to throw for over 2,500 yards while being sacked 68 times. The Texans saw promise for improvement and exercised an option in Carr's contract, signing him for another three seasons.

The Texans finished the 2006 season at 6-10. For the season, Carr posted a completion percentage of 68.9% (a career high) and tied the single game NFL record of 22 consecutive pass completions (vs. the Buffalo Bills).

Having experienced five years without a winning season, Texans General Manager Rick Smith and second-year Head Coach Gary Kubiak decided to revamp the team after the 2006 season. Of note was the signing of Atlanta Falcons backup quarterback Matt Schaub for two second-round draft picks, and the release of a number of longtime Texans players, including Carr.

Carolina Panthers

Carr agreed to terms with the Carolina Panthers on April 6, 2007. Following an injury to starting quarterback Jake Delhomme, Carr was named the starter. Carr suffered a back injury during the fifth game of the season (a victory vs. the New Orleans Saints), and saw limited action during the remainder of the 2007 season.

New York Giants

On March 12, 2008, Carr agreed to terms with the New York Giants, reuniting with former Houston offensive coordinator Chris Palmer. Subsequently, the Giants released former backup quarterback Jared Lorenzen. Carr backed up Eli Manning in the 2008 season.

In the 2009 offseason, Carr was re-signed to a one-year, $2 million contract on February 9, 2009.

Statistics

Family

His brother Derek Carr is a freshman quarterback at Fresno State University.

References

External links

• David Carr on Twitter
• Fresno State Bulldogs bio
• New York Giants bio
• Motivational Speech on Face News