Carr set to become latest Class of '02 disappointment

	In his first five years, Houston's David Carr seemed to spend as much time in the arms of opposing linemen as he did passing.

Musings, observations and the occasional insight as the NFL offseason continues to generate headlines on this Valentine's Day. ...

• Once David Carr is moved this offseason by the Houston Texans -- a scenario that looks increasingly likely to unfold -- the failure rate in the first round of the 2002 NFL Draft will be almost wall-to-wall on the offensive side of the ball.

With Texans general manager Rick Smith this week acknowledging that teams have inquired about Carr's availability, and that Houston is open to any and all offers, the chances of Carr returning for a sixth season appear to be inching toward slim and none territory. Texans head coach Gary Kubiak is believed to be interested in acquiring deposed Denver starting quarterback Jake Plummer, who went 32-11 for him when he was the Broncos offensive coordinator. That's a move that just makes too much sense not to happen.

Carr starting over elsewhere would fit the pattern of the '02 draft, which he led as the No. 1 overall pick. In his five years in Houston, the Texans went 23-53 in games Carr played in, and he was sacked an astonishing 249 times. His departure would mean all three quarterbacks taken in '02's first round would be playing for a team other than the one that drafted him, a fate that Joey Harrington (No. 3 to Detroit) and Patrick Ramsey (No. 32 to Washington) have already met. Ramsey, in fact, is likely to be released by the Jets, meaning his next employer will be his third team in six years.

But it's not just '02's first-round quarterbacks who have failed to bloom where they were planted. Receivers Donte' Stallworth (No. 13, to New Orleans), Ashley Lelie (No. 19, to Denver) and Javon Walker (No. 20, to Green Bay) all left the teams that drafted them in the past year, as have both of that year's first-round running backs: William Green (No. 16, to Cleveland) and T.J. Duckett (No. 18, to Atlanta).

Throw in the dismal tenure turned in by offensive tackle Mike Williams (No. 4, to Buffalo), who is now in Jacksonville, and your clear-cut offensive success stories from that year's first round can pretty much be boiled down to Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey (No. 14), and offensive linemen Bryant McKinnie (No. 7, to Minnesota), Levi Jones (No. 10, to Cincinnati), and Kendall Simmons (No. 30, to Pittsburgh).

That's a lot of relocations for a draft that unfolded five years ago this spring. And Carr, as the most recent top overall pick to change teams, besting Cleveland defensive end Courtney Brown ('00), would become the poster child for that all that movement.

• I understand his excitement level at starting a new gig with NBC in his post-football career, and I'm familiar with the breathless language that is employed in most press releases, but I still had to marvel at the following nugget offered up by ex-Giants running back Tiki Barber in an NBC news release that announced his hiring Tuesday:

"Matt Lauer has been my idol and someone I would love to emulate in my career here,'' Barber said.

Matt Lauer is Tiki Barber's idol? Who knew?