Heard on radio this morning that Cowboys had previously put Carter through rehab and told him then that next time would be the last time. Basically supported also by the following column in today's SA paper.
Buck Harvey: Carter out on strike two? Why Parcells did it
Web Posted: 08/05/2004 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Don't kid yourself. The Cowboys are not better off without Quincy Carter.
If one of Vinny Testaverde's 40-year-old knees buckles — and that can happen in a buffet line — then get ready for Chad Hutchinson, The Sequel.
So why would Bill Parcells do this to himself? If this is about drugs, why wouldn't Parcells let the league substance-abuse program run its course on Carter, then regroup?
The A to the Q: Already tired of Carter's poor decisions, Parcells couldn't live with this latest one.
Carter isn't just another athlete who was careless with his gifts. He was careless with what he didn't deserve.
Jerry Jones gambled on Carter in the draft, taking him 53rd overall, higher than scouts projected. Then the Cowboys gambled even more. They made him a rookie starter.
Even former prospects named Staubach and Aikman had to work to earn the position. Carter had it handed to him.
Jones marveled at the obvious. Disguised by his quarterback number, concealed by a proportional build, Carter had an Elway-ian body. Rare is the passer who is tall, strong and quick.
Think Troy Aikman with Michael Irvin's speed.
Little wonder Carter had his moments, sometimes zipping past the 49ers on a Sunday afternoon, sometimes shocking the Giants on a Monday night. Little wonder Jones also didn't mind announcing he had been right.
Carter could also impress with his attitude, even when he lost, saying the best quarterbacks had to take their lumps. Once, not long ago, he summed up the highs and lows of the NFL with a telling statement.
"It's like," Carter said to microphones, "being on cocaine."
Not that he knew anything about that. He quoted the Bible, brought his mom to training camp and said he was treating football like work.
But the whispers that started at Georgia continued in Dallas. Then, last season, someone arrived with everything but "rehab" in neon.
John Lucas stood on the Cowboys' sideline, he said, because he wanted to see first-hand how Parcells operated.
That made sense for Lucas, always going against the grain. But for Parcells? He would have wanted Lucas around only if Lucas could help him.
Lucas denied last season he was there to counsel Carter, but Wednesday's news conference gave a contrasting timeline. Then Jones confirmed he knew about Carter's frailties when he hired Parcells.
Carter crept closer to the edge even with Lucas around. Carter talked too often about the pressure of playing in the NFL, as if he were trying to convince himself he could handle it.
And his bold statement at the start of training camp this summer came across as hollow. Then he said the quarterback job wasn't open. It was his.
Testaverde hadn't signed for that. He wanted to compete for the job.
Now the addition of Testaverde, as well as the trade for Drew Henson, takes on new meaning. Did Parcells see this coming?
There's reason to think that Parcells questioned even a drug-free Carter. At times Parcells lost faith, and his opinion of Carter appeared to bottom out in Philadelphia in December.
Then Parcells took the ball out of Carter's hands, and the numbers showed that. The Cowboys failed to complete a pass to a starting wide receiver.
Carter still completed one to an Eagles DB. That came on what Parcells hated most, the patented Carter "impulse throw."
If Parcells thought these mistakes were merely blips, then Wednesday would have never happened. After all, Parcells has overlooked bad urine in a good player before; he once coached Lawrence Taylor.
What happened in Miami underlines this other side. Ricky Williams left the Dolphins with a trail of failed drug tests, and Dave Wannstedt howled at his loss.
Parcells howls, instead, at lost time. He had endured the wrong read and the wrong throw from the wrong guy. He wasn't going to put up with the wrong lifestyle, too.
So did Carter end his career in Dallas because of what he put into his body?
What kept coming out of his brain, to Parcells, meant more.
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bharvey@express-news.net 
