Virgil Carter

Last updated

Virgil Carter
No. 15, 11, 7, 9
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Born: (1945-11-09) November 9, 1945 (age 79)
Annabella, Utah, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:192 lb (87 kg)
Career information
High school: Folsom (CA)
College: BYU
NFL draft: 1967  / round:  6  / pick: 142
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
TD–INT:29–31
Passing yards:5,063
Passer rating:69.9
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Virgil R. Carter (born November 9, 1945) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and the World Football League (WFL) from 1967 through 1976.

Contents

College career

Carter was the first notable passing quarterback to play at Brigham Young University, whose football program became well known for producing great passers. While at BYU, Carter set six national, 19 conference, and 24 school records and was an academic All-American. Carter began his college career under first-year coach Tommy Hudspeth, taking over a program that had produced two winning seasons in the previous ten years. BYU went 3–6–1 that first year, but Carter threw for over a thousand yards.

The Cougars won the Western Athletic Conference championship in 1965, going 4–1 in WAC play and 6–4 overall to win the first conference championship in program history. The following year, the Cougars won eight out of ten games despite finishing second in the WAC, and Carter threw for over two thousand yards. [1] [2] Notably, the success BYU experienced with Carter at quarterback influenced then-assistant coach LaVell Edwards to later adopt a pass-oriented offense after replacing Hudspeth as head coach in 1972.

College statistics

YearTeamPassingRushing
CompAttPctYdsAvgTDInt Rate AttYdsAvgTD
1964 BYU 6619334.21,1546.091485.31073883.65
1965 BYU 12025048.01,7897.22013124.11214743.94
1966 BYU 14129348.12,1827.42116123.4953633.89
Career32773644.45,1257.05043113.732312253.818

Pro football career

Carter was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round of the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft, [3] After complaining about lack of playing time after the 1969 season he was waived by the Bears and briefly joined the Buffalo Bills. [4] [5] [6] After Cincinnati Bengals' quarterback Greg Cook was injured during the 1970 preseason, Carter was traded by the Bills to the Bengals in exchange for a draft choice. [7] [8] He led the NFL in pass completion percentage in 1971 and was third in overall passing. His best game of that season was the opener, in which the Bengals defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 37–14. Carter completed 22 of 30 attempts for 273 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. In the following year, he split time with Ken Anderson before Anderson took sole possession of the starting job. In 1973, the Bengals decided to go with Anderson as the starting quarterback, but Carter had to miss the entire season due to a broken collarbone. [9]

In 1974, Carter was traded to the San Diego Chargers for quarterback Wayne Clark, but opted to sign with the Chicago Fire of the new World Football League. The Chargers attempted to void the trade under the claim that Carter's collarbone had not healed, but the league approved the trade anyway. [10]

Carter was the WFL's leading passer in 1974 until an injury sidelined him in week eleven. He finished the season with 358 attempts completing 195 for 2629 yards. He threw 27 touchdown passes and was intercepted 16 times. The Fire offense in 1974 is compared today to the West Coast offense.

In 1975, he went to the Chargers, then was traded to the Bears during the season, and retired after the 1976 season.

Carter was a highly intelligent quarterback, who blossomed in Cincinnati under the West Coast system implemented by Bill Walsh, then the Bengals' quarterbacks coach and later head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. [11] In his first stint with the Bears, Carter earned a master's degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, [12] and while in Cincinnati with the Bengals taught statistics and mathematics at Xavier University. [13]

Work in Football Analytics

Carter is credited as one of the founding developers of a metric in football known as "Expected Points". Under the advising of Northwestern University professor Robert E. Machol, Carter analyzed over 8000 plays from the 1969 NFL season, averaging results of 10-yard strips to determine the expected number of points a team should generate from each position on the field. [14] This work was later expanded in several works (Carroll, Palmer, and Thorn - Hidden Game of Football, Yurko et al. - nflWAR) and is the foundation of several aspects of analytics in the game. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cincinnati Bengals</span> National Football League franchise in Cincinnati, Ohio

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its home games at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati.

The West Coast offense is an offense in American football that places a greater emphasis on passing than on running.

Kenneth Allan Anderson is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL), spending his entire career with the Cincinnati Bengals. He later returned as a position coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Fouts</span> American football player and broadcaster (born 1951)

Daniel Francis Fouts is an American former professional football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973–1987). After a relatively undistinguished first five seasons in the league, Fouts came to prominence as an on-field leader during the Chargers' Air Coryell period. He led the league in passing yards every year from 1979 to 1982, throwing for over 4,000 yards in the first three of these—no quarterback had previously posted consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. Fouts was voted a Pro Bowler six times, first-team All-Pro twice, and in 1982 he was the Offensive Player of the Year. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.

The Chicago Fire was an American football team in the short-lived World Football League for one season, 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Pardee</span> American football player and coach (1936–2013)

John Perry Pardee was an American professional football player and head coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). As a coach, he is the only head coach to helm a team in college football, the NFL, the United States Football League (USFL), the World Football League (WFL), and the Canadian Football League (CFL). Pardee was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Joiner</span> American football player and coach (born 1947)

Charles Joiner Jr. is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. He played 11 seasons with the San Diego Chargers, with whom he earned all three of his Pro Bowl selections, and was named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press in 1980. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Campbell</span> American football player (born 1981)

Jason S. Campbell is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Auburn Tigers and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft. Campbell also played for the Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals. After his playing career, he became an analyst for Auburn Sports Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Marchibroda</span> American football player and coach (1931–2016)

Theodore Joseph Marchibroda was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played four years in the NFL as a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Cardinals (1957). Marchibroda was later head coach of the Colts in two different cities and decades, first in Baltimore from 1975 to 1979 and then Indianapolis from 1992 to 1995. Upon joining the Baltimore Ravens in 1996, he became the only individual to serve as head coach with both of Baltimore's NFL teams and gained the unusual distinction of having three stints as an NFL head coach for two franchises in two cities, but with no two of those tenures being for the same franchise in the same city. His career NFL head coaching record was 87–98–1 (.470) and 2–4 in the playoffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freezer Bowl</span> 1982 American football championship

In National Football League (NFL) lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played on January 10, 1982, at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, and televised by NBC, with announcers Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen. The game, won by the Bengals, 27–7, was played in the coldest temperature in NFL history in terms of wind chill. Air temperature was −9 °F (−23 °C), but the wind chill, factoring in a sustained wind of 27 miles per hour (43 km/h), was reported as −59 °F (−51 °C) under the calculation method then in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Hudspeth</span> American football coach (1931–2015)

Tommy Joe Hudspeth was an American and Canadian football coach and executive at both the collegiate and professional levels. He was the head coach at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1964 to 1971, and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) from 1972 through 1973, compiling an overall college football record of 40–56–1. Hudspeth served in the same capacity for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 until 1977, and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 1981, posting a mark of 13–17.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marty Domres</span> American football player (born 1947)

Martin Francis Domres is an American former professional football player in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Domres played quarterback in the AFL and NFL for nine seasons with the San Diego Chargers, Baltimore Colts, San Francisco 49ers, and the New York Jets. Domres played college football at Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Diego Chargers</span> American football team (1961–2017)

The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franchise played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers.

The 1970 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 21st season with the National Football League and their 25th year in pro football overall. The Browns attempted to improve on its 10-3-1 record from 1969. The team would fail to do so, and they finished with an even 7-7 record and missed the postseason. This was the first season that the Browns would play the Cincinnati Bengals, their new arch-rival in the AFC Central. The two teams split their two meetings in the first season series.

Stephen Michael Tensi was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles. He played professionally for the San Diego Chargers (1965–1966) and the Denver Broncos (1967–1970).

The 1970 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League (NFL), and the third overall. The NFL-AFL merger took place before the season and the Bengals, who were placed in the same division as the "old-guard NFL" Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, were not expected to be playoff contenders. Nevertheless, the Bengals made their first NFL campaign a memorable one. After winning their first ever game as a member of the NFL, their inaugural game in the brand new Riverfront Stadium, they would lose six games in a row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 Buffalo Bills season</span> 22nd season in franchise history

The 1981 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, and the 22nd overall.

Reece Earsal Morrison is an American former professional football running back who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. He was selected by the Browns in the third round of the 1968 NFL/AFL draft. He played college football at Texas State University.

The 1966 BYU Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Brigham Young University (BYU) as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their third season under head coach Tommy Hudspeth, the Cougars compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 3–2 against conference opponents, tied for second place in the WAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 269 to 163.

The 1964 BYU Cougars football team represented Brigham Young University (BYU) as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. In their first season under head coach Tommy Hudspeth, the Cougars compiled an overall record of 3–6–1 with a mark of 0–4 against conference opponents, finished last out of six teams in the WAC, and were outscored by a combined total of 210 to 173.

References

  1. ↑ "Virgil Carter College Stats".
  2. ↑ "Virgil Carter - Football".
  3. ↑ "Virgil Carter Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com .
  4. ↑ "Virgil Carter waived to Bills". The Times. July 11, 1970. p. C1. Retrieved August 26, 2022– via newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Rappoport, Ken (August 27, 1970). "Virgil Carter still shuffling". Pottsville Republican. p. 12. Retrieved August 26, 2022– via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Mooshil, Joe (June 3, 1970). "Virgil Carter clears air; Does not change his status". Daily Sentinel. p. 9. Retrieved August 26, 2022– via newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Bengals' QB hunt gets Virgil Carter". Miami Herald. August 27, 1970. p. 4-D. Retrieved August 26, 2022– via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Williams, Marty (August 31, 1970). "Wyche in battle for football life". Dayton Daily News. p. 15. Retrieved August 26, 2022– via newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Jets trade Maynard to Cards; Bengals' Carter on reserve list". The Daily Reporter. September 11, 1973. p. 12. Retrieved August 12, 2018– via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Forbes, Dick (March 9, 1974). "Bengals Think Clark Can Do The Job". The Cincinnati Enquirer . Retrieved April 29, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "The Genius of Bill Walsh". September 6, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ↑ "Former Bengals QB Virgil Carter found a home off the field teaching statistics at Xavier – Xavier Magazine".
  14. ↑ Carter, Virgil; Machol, Robert E. (1971). "Technical Note—Operations Research on Football". Operations Research. 19 (2): 541–544. doi:10.1287/opre.19.2.541.
  15. ↑ https://www.tomahawknation.com/florida-state-football-fsu-noles/2020/6/16/21212025/series-on-sports-analytics-college-football-expected-points-model-fundamentals-part-3 [ bare URL ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.