New England Patriots: Should Andre Carter Be Considered a Great Pass Rusher?

New England Patriots defensive end Andre Carter was recently named Week 10's AFC Defensive Player of the Week. The award is definitely well deserving as Carter recorded four sacks in New England's 37-16 thrashing against the New York Jets.

Carter has quietly been thriving in his first season as a Patriot, as he's tallied up eight sacks on the season, which is sixth most in the NFL, as well as recording 37 total tackles and a forced fumble.

The 11-year veteran out of California has had a solid NFL year while being an above-average pass-rusher. Carter's best season came back in 2002 as a San Francisco 49er as he recorded 12.5 sacks and 54 tackles in just his second year in the league. However since then, Carter has been still productive but never was able to duplicate his sophomore season—that's at least until now. 

Carter is currently on pace to finish this season with around 12 sacks, which would be something that the New England Patriots would love to have along their defensive front.

Ever since the Patriots traded away Richard Seymour to the Oakland Raiders, the team has lacked a dominant defensive end. Now with Carter, he's not only a great pass-rusher, but he's extremely effective against the run—which makes him an every-down defensive end. 

Carter is by far New England's top acquisition of the 2011 offseason. He agreed to a one-year, $2.25 million contract back in August and has without a doubt made a strong case for a contract extension with the Patriots. 

New England's defense may not be great, but Andre Carter is one of the team's few shining stars on their defensive unit. 

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