Inside the NFL

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Already playoff contenders, the Saints got a lift with the addition of Dale Carter to a suspect pass defense

By Peter King

An off-season acquisition who was supposed to be key to the Saints' success this season finally arrived last week when cornerback Dale Carter returned from the third suspension of his career for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. Six days after being reinstated by commissioner Paul Tagliabue, the 32-year-old Carter helped New Orleans defeat Carolina 34-24 at Ericsson Stadium on Sunday, improving the Saints' record to 7-2. In man coverage on Muhsin Muhammad most of the day, Carter allowed the Panthers' wideout to make only three catches for 70 yards, deflected two passes, had one near interception float through his hands and made three tackles. "I can't tell you how many times I thanked God just to be out on the football field today," said Carter, who missed a total of 31 games between the start of the 2000 season and last week because of his suspensions.

Carter (right), playing for the first time this season, stayed in Muhammad's face all day. David Bergman

The Saints entered the season as one of the league's biggest question marks thanks to numerous personnel changes made by former general manager Randy Mueller (fired last May for reasons still unclear). Franchise running back Ricky Williams was traded to the Dolphins, leaving the ground attack in the hands of second-year man Deuce McAllister. Mueller allowed aging defensive linemen Joe Johnson and La'Roi Glover to leave as free agents, drafting Charles Grant to replace Johnson at end and signing weighty free agent Grady Jackson to take over for Glover. Left tackle William Roaf, a seven-time Pro Bowl player who's been hobbled by knee injuries in recent years, was traded to the Chiefs. Carter, a free agent, was signed to a back-loaded seven-year, $28 million deal. "There was no one else out there we wanted," says Mueller. "It was Dale or nothing."

But then Carter, a 1992 first-round draft pick of the Chiefs who won NFL defensive rookie of the year honors, tested positive for alcohol, and in July, Tagliabue suspended him. Without Carter, New Orleans headed into the Carolina game ranked 30th in the league in pass defense.

Tagliabue summoned Carter to New York City on Nov. 4 to talk about, among other things, his rehab. "The meeting shocked me," Carter said after Sunday's game. "I didn't know what the commissioner would do. I expected him to lecture me. But he told me, 'Life doesn't end when football ends. You've got to get your life in order, and we'll do everything we can to help you.' I gained a lot of respect for him. He was a true gentleman."

But Tagliabue's underlying message was clear: One more strike and the NFL would be done with Carter. "To be honest, I don't even think about [drinking], because I know I can't do that anymore," he says. "A couple of years ago I would have listened to Tagliabue and said the right things, knowing I was going to do what I wanted to do. Now I'm a better man."

On Nov. 5, Carter's first day back on the practice field, coach Jim Haslett gave the corner a conditioning test. "He had to run 10 100-yard dashes, all under 14 seconds," Haslett says. "Then he had to run another 100, for time. He ran that one in 10.5. He reported with three percent body fat. I knew he could step right in and play."

In the second series against the Panthers, Muhammad sprinted straight toward Carter and then cut right. Carter was in his shirt, and Rodney Peete's pass shot off the defender's hands. "I'm probably at about 60 percent of my peak," Carter said afterward, "but the cover skills, the backpedal, it's like riding a bike again. It'll all come back to me."

It's a comeback that's especially satisfying to Mueller, who often talks on the phone and exchanges e-mails with Haslett. Last week Mueller called and said to Haslett, "How about if you win coach of the year and I win executive of the year?"

Mueller, who is living in Spokane while collecting his final season of paychecks from Saints owner Tom Benson, sounded on Sunday like a man who knows he played a major role in the team's success. "I feel more than a small sense of ownership for what the team is doing," Mueller said while watching the New Orleans game on satellite. "I'm pretty proud."

Issue date: November 18, 2002

For more Inside the NFL see this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, November 13. Click here to subscribe to SI.

 

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