Sometimes real life takes over and dwarfs what is happening in the National Football League, or for that matter all of the sports world. Eagles number one draft pick Jalen Carter was involved in an automobile accident that isn’t talked about around the Nova Care Complex, but it will surely be present in his thoughts at some level for the rest of his life. I will get deeper into the details of that accident later in this article.
I got a chance to see Carter in action during training camp, and without a doubt he’s a special football player. I can see why many NFL scouts had him rated as the number one player coming out of college this year. He has a combination of skills that create major problems for offensive linemen. In fact, they keep them up at night.
First of all, the former Georgia Bulldog has tremendous explosiveness out of his stance. Carter is extremely quick off the ball and he’s got awesome power in his straight ahead bull rush attack. For this reason offensive linemen opposing him must be firmly grounded and ready for his power pass rush.
Add to that his quickness and ability to use his speed to go around the blocker. He’s fast enough to be a defensive end. This combination of power and speed is scary for opposing offensive linemen, quarterbacks and offensive coordinators. They won’t know what exactly to expect. Will it be a power rush or a speed rush? That uncertainty will keep them off balanced and indecisive. Being indecisive zaps your power and that’s the problem Carter’s multiple abilities creates for the blocker.
Opposing offensives can’t give him very much attention because of the presence of Haasan Reddick, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox and the rest of the Birds defensive line. Carter is going to find himself in many one-on-one situations and that’s where he can shine. I’m expecting him to have a big rookie season.
Yes, from a purely football perspective, the sky is the limit for the young man, but Carter will be facing more than offensive linemen during his early years in the NFL. Despite the expected success on the football field, Carter has got some tough days ahead, because he was involved in a car racing accident that cost the lives of two people. He was accused of driving one of the cars that was racing and abandoning the individuals, who lost their lives by leaving the scene of the accident rather than trying to help those who were in the other car.
He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, paid a $1000 fine and he has to take a driving class. He’s going to lose some money via a number of lawsuits, which have been filed against him. Every now and then, he will be asked a question about the accident and the part he played in it. It’s going to fade away more and more, but there will always to be times when it will return.
For the most part, this racing atrocity that cost the lives of two people and saw a number of others face physical injuries is over as far as Carter’s legal and financial responsibilities are concerned. Still, up the road the young man is going to lay in his bed and think about what happened and regret it. The deadly accident will never go away totally. He will be able to lean on his Georgia Bulldog and now Philadelphia Eagle teammates: Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Nolan Smith and Kelee Ringo for support.
I would encourage him to take what happened and use it as a turning point in his life. There are hundred of thousands of youngsters in the Philadelphia area, who will listen to Carter, if he told them to stay out of trouble, go to school, focus on being the best student and person they can be. He could tell them to learn from the mistakes that they had made, just like he has learned from mistakes that he has made in his life.
We all have made mistakes. I have and so have you. Thank God I’m still here with opportunities to be the best person that I can be. That’s the attitude that Carter should have and live by. I encourage him to not live in guilt, but live in the thankfulness that he was given a second chance. He must make the most of it, by being a good example for the youngsters.
There’s no excuse for what the young man did but there’s nothing he can do about it now, other than let his lawyers do their job. I’m not here alibi for Carter because what he did was wrong, but he can let this be a turning point in his life, where he decides to be a better person.
I think he’s going to have a great career, but I would love to see him not only have a great career on the field, but also be a great person off the field as a mentor to some of the millions of young men in our country who are growing without any direction in their lives. It would be a great way to deal with the memory of that terrible mistake that he made.
