Age: 26 (Nov.
9)
5th
season in pro football (4th active), 2nd with Bengals
College: Brigham
Young
Height: 6’1” Weight: 200
Prelude:
Carter set
six NCAA, 19 Western Athletic Conference, and 24 school passing records in
college. He was chosen by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 1967
AFL/NFL draft and saw no action in his first year with the club. Carter got an
opportunity to start in ’68 and led the Bears to four straight wins before
suffering a broken ankle. While lacking a strong arm, he was mobile and rushed
for 265 yards in addition to throwing for 769 yards and four TDs. However, he
saw less action in 1969, voiced his displeasure, and was dealt to Buffalo in
’70, who in turn traded him to the Bengals. With Greg Cook, a sensation in his
1969 rookie season, sidelined, offensive coach Bill Walsh designed a passing
offense that took advantage of Carter’s intelligence (he earned a master’s
degree while playing for the Bears), accuracy, and mobility and compensated for
his lack of size and arm strength. Operating in what would come to be known as
the West Coast offense, Carter had a commendable performance as he threw for
1647 yards and 9 TDs and the Bengals, in just their third year of existence, came
on strong in the second half of the season to top the new AFC Central Division
with an 8-6 record.
1971 Season Summary
Appeared in 10
of 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Passing
Attempts – 222
[19]
Most
attempts, game – 38 at Pittsburgh 9/26
Completions –
138 [13]
Most
completions, game – 22 vs. Philadelphia 9/19, at Pittsburgh 9/26
Yards – 1624 [19]
Most yards,
game – 273 vs. Philadelphia 9/19
Completion
percentage – 62.2 [1]
Yards per
attempt – 7.3 [8]
TD passes – 10
[17, tied with Bob Davis]
Most TD
passes, game – 3 vs. vs. Philadelphia 9/19
Interceptions
– 7
Most
interceptions, game – 2 vs. Atlanta 11/7, vs. Pittsburgh 12/12
Passer rating
– 86.2 [3]
200-yard
passing games – 4
Rushing
Attempts – 8
Yards – 42
Yards per
attempt – 5.3
TDs – 0
Scoring
TDs – 0
PATs – 1
Points – 1
Bengals went 4-10
to finish fourth in the AFC Central.
Aftermath:
Carter gave
way to the younger and more talented Ken Anderson in 1972 and saw limited
action. He missed all of the ’73 season due to a preseason injury and was
traded to San Diego in 1974, but joined the Chicago Fire of the WFL instead.
Carter performed well, throwing for 2629 yards and 27 TDs, until his season
ended after 12 games due to a hand injury that required surgery. He spent 1975
with the Chargers and returned to the Bears in ’76, in both instances as a
little-used backup in his final two pro seasons. Overall in the NFL, Carter
passed for 5063 yards and 29 touchdowns, giving up 31 interceptions, with 3850
yards and 22 TDs (against 20 INTs) coming with the Bengals.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
