Is this the year James Carpenter Breaks out?

[HaroldSeattle]

I think this is the year Carpenter finally stays healthy enough to show why the Seahawks drafted him. I know many consider him a bad pick, but for me I just consider him a pick that just has had some bad luck with injuries.

He's a road grader and this year we get to see him open up lanes for our running attack!

 

[dude82]

We have a ton of options at guard, so it should make for a good competition. I'd like to see Carpenter do well because it'll be good for the offensive line to have him playing well and also because so many people trashed the pick that it'd be good for him to be able to have a bit of an "F You!" season for all the critics. I like it when players who get trashed or overlooked completely before they even play a down in the NFL come back and prove those people wrong.

 

[Uhsplit]

Yes, I am expecting a lot more out of James than what we have seen so far. I have heard more than once that continuity in the OL is more important than the individual talent of the OL. Whoever is in there, I hope they can remain healthy. It seems to be rather important.

 

[Osprey 1984]

I remember we were saying the same things about Okung never having a year without injuries. Carpenter looked really good when healthy. Imagine if left side looks as good as the years when we had W. Jones, Hutchinson.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

JS and Pete have been given a ton of criticism over the Carpenter pick. I just hope that this year he stays healthy so we can judge his talent on the field.

If healthy I still think he could turn out to be a good pick. Time will tell.

 

[seahawksfan234]

It's ironic you posted this because I was wondering the exact opposite, I was curious if James Carpenter would even make it through training camp without getting cut.

I'm not sure how much you guys know about James Carpenter's conditioning problems but it was something that infuriated me beyond belief whenever I'd go to Seahawks training camp.

The guy does not care about football. His rookie year he looked like he showed up to camp at 400lbs, no joke. There was even a post by Danny O'Neil that year that stated Carpenter had lost 30lbs in training camp because he was so out of shape.

He has looked terrible in just about every game he has played and he obviously has not had the dedication to make himself a better football player. It's a shame too because his rookie year I was really optimistic that if he put in the work he could turn himself into a solid football player. But with his injury problems I can't imagine he shows up to camp in shape.

I think that a strong indication of if he will turn it around is what he looks like when he shows up to camp. If he shows up out of shape again I have a strong feeling he will be cut. I don't get the impression that Pete Carroll is willing to keep this guy on his roster just because he was once a 1st round draft pick.

 

[seahawksfan234]

I remember we were saying the same things about Okung never having a year without injuries. Carpenter looked really good when healthy.

I was thinking the exact opposite. You're the first person I've ever seen say that. Most people (myself included) really noticed how bad he looked when he was in there. I recall during his last game against the Bears he was absolutely dominated and kept getting tossed around like the fat kid on the playground.

 

[Osprey 1984]

The second when the line finally gelled. Carpenter was really moving guys out of the way.

Pass blocking, you are right. He still needs improvement on assignments and technique. Having a solid healthy base helps.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

It's ironic you posted this because I was wondering the exact opposite, I was curious if James Carpenter would even make it through training camp without getting cut.

I'm not sure how much you guys know about James Carpenter's conditioning problems but it was something that infuriated me beyond belief whenever I'd go to Seahawks training camp.

The guy does not care about football. His rookie year he looked like he showed up to camp at 400lbs, no joke. There was even a post by Danny O'Neil that year that stated Carpenter had lost 30lbs in training camp because he was so out of shape.

He has looked terrible in just about every game he has played and he obviously has not had the dedication to make himself a better football player. It's a shame too because his rookie year I was really optimistic that if he put in the work he could turn himself into a solid football player. But with his injury problems I can't imagine he shows up to camp in shape.

I think that a strong indication of if he will turn it around is what he looks like when he shows up to camp. If he shows up out of shape again I have a strong feeling he will be cut. I don't get the impression that Pete Carroll is willing to keep this guy on his roster just because he was once a 1st round draft pick.

Yes he did show up in training camp out of shape his rookie season. Some young guys need to learn that off season doesn't really mean your on vacation. By mid season (right before his injury) I thought he was coming along.

We'll see this year, this season is a crossroad type of season for him. He needs to be in shape and stay healthy and show that he can get the job done.

I'm not ready to give up on him yet. It takes some players longer then others to be ready for the NFL.

 

[seattlefan75]

Im not expecting james carpenter to be an all star more so just being a quality guard that can play the position well. and yes I agree with the poster this man has just been injured a lot, look at Russell okung, there were some talks about him among us because he kept on getting injured every year up until last season and look what he did.

 

[Kingdome fan]

JC in shape?

Has anyone here gone to OTAs this spring? If so, what did Carpenter look like?

 

[seahawksfan234]

Yes he did show up in training camp out of shape his rookie season. Some young guys need to learn that off season doesn't really mean your on vacation. By mid season (right before his injury) I thought he was coming along.

We'll see this year, this season is a crossroad type of season for him. He needs to be in shape and stay healthy and show that he can get the job done.

I'm not ready to give up on him yet. It takes some players longer then others to be ready for the NFL.

I just see a strong tendency of zero work ethnic to me. He reminds me of one of those guys that has all the natural abilities that most guys would kill to have, but does not seem willing to put the work in the weight room or improving his technique.

Something like that does not change overnight, which is why I am naturally very pessimistic about James Carpenter. I imagine coming off an injury only makes him even more likely to show up out of shape.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Im not expecting james carpenter to be an all star more so just being a quality guard that can play the position well. and yes I agree with the poster this man has just been injured a lot, look at Russell okung, there were some talks about him among us because he kept on getting injured every year up until last season and look what he did.

I think the comparison between Russell Okung and James Carpenter is extremely misleading.

Russell Okung actually looked like a possible future pro-bowler when he was out there on the field, then he would get injured.

James Carpenter looked mediocre, borderline terrible while he was out on the field. Then still got injured.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Has anyone here gone to OTAs this spring? If so, what did Carpenter look like?

I don't believe OTAs are open to fans.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Our you judging him from his rookie season or have you seen a lack of effort since? I know I didn't have a great work ethic as a young dude, but I did develop one as time when on. I think the same holds for young players first coming into the league...they just have no idea of what it means to be a pro..some never do. I just don't know if Carpenter can get what it takes. I think we'll see this season.

 

[seahawksfan234]

Our you judging him from his rookie season or have you seen a lack of effort since? I know I didn't have a great work ethic as a young dude, but I did develop one as time when on. I think the same holds for young players first coming into the league...they just have no idea of what it means to be a pro..some never do. I just don't know if Carpenter can get what it takes. I think we'll see this season.

I'm judging him from his work ethic throughout his entire career.

It is my personal opinion that James Carpenter has the natural talent to be a solid guard (Dude will never be able to play tackle, just can't handle the speed rush). But in order to do that he needs to work on his technique, which I haven't seen change at all.

But what is fact is that he played extremely poorly in most of the games he has played in (he was terrible at tackle, but just mediocre at guard) and he still looked out of shape. I'd love to know how he looks at OTAs, I think how he looks in training camp will have a huge indication of the kind of season he has. If he doesn't show up out of shape he can earn himself another year on the roster. If he does show up out of shape, I think Carroll should cut him because it shows he doesn't have what it takes to make it in the NFL.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

If he shows up out of shape this year, then yeah I'm with you. How about we see what shape he is this year. I hate giving up to early on a player, for some it just takes some time.