Tuesday, August 14
Updated: August 15, 1:20 PM ET
Banks hasn't shown much in preseason



OXNARD, Calif. -- The Dallas Cowboys sped up the start of the Quincy Carter Era on Tuesday, releasing veteran Tony Banks to make the rookie their starting quarterback.

Tony Banks, center, no longer is in the picture for the Cowboys, having been released. That leaves Quincy Carter (17), as the projected starter, and Anthony Wright (2) as a backup.
Carter was Dallas' top draft pick and immediately was labeled the long-term replacement to Troy Aikman. Banks had signed a few weeks earlier with the promise that he was the short-term solution and would be the starter this season.

But after three weeks of training camp and two preseason games, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and coach Dave Campo said they've decided to change their offensive philosophy to a ball-control attack they feel best suits Carter and the new second-stringer, Anthony Wright.

"It wasn't that Tony Banks went backward, it's that those guys elevated themselves to the point where we feel for this particular season and the future this in the best interest of the football team," Campo said.

As for Banks, he likely will land somewhere. At least two teams -- the Bears and the Redskins -- have expressed interest in the veteran quarterback.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported Tuesday night that Banks is expected to have a tryout with the Redskins at their camp in Carlisle, Penn., as early as Wednesday.

The Cowboys were ridiculed by many for making Carter the 53rd overall pick and for their lofty expectations for him. The 23-year-old former minor leaguer for the Chicago Cubs was 20-9 in three seasons at Georgia and he was coming off his worst one.

He seemed to be living down to outsiders' expectations early in camp, then went 9-for-15 for 167 yards and two touchdowns in his preseason debut against Oakland. He was 6-for-11 for 48 yards Saturday against Denver, although he did lead Dallas within field-goal range twice.

"We did not and could not have known the maturity and sharpness Quincy Carter has exhibited," said Jones, who as general manager personally selected Carter and anointed him the team's quarterback of the future.

"I look at Daunte Culpepper, I look at Donovan McNabb -- players that have played early, albeit their second year, not their first year -- and it is logical to me that Quincy has the ability to come in and have that kind of success with this team at this time."

The 6-foot-2, 231-pound Carter fits the NFL's new breed of strong-armed, mobile quarterbacks, but he's not as strong-armed or as mobile as Michael Vick, whom Atlanta made the No. 1 overall draft pick.

Carter, however, will be starting before Vick as the Falcons have chosen to bring their rookie along slowly.

"Am I ready?" Carter said. "That's a big question mark until game time comes. No one knows if I'm ready or not, but I will definitely be prepared."

Carter, Wright and third-stringer Clint Stoerner have a combined two NFL starts, all by Wright, and a grand total of five regular-season appearances. Jones said "the odds of us making another move are nil."

The new offensive approach is based on moving the ball in small increments to sustain long drives and keep their beleaguered defense off the field.

The previous plan was to use a quick-strike, deep-ball attack to take advantage of Banks' strong arm and the fleet feet of receivers Joey Galloway and Raghib Ismail.

How the receivers fit the new scheme remains to be seen. It'll also be an interesting change for offensive coordinator Jack Reilly, who was brought in last season to install the other system.

Banks -- who lost starting jobs in St. Louis and Baltimore, but never in the preseason -- had a one-year, $500,000 non-guaranteed contract with no signing bonus. It was a huge bargain for a starting quarterback considering it's just $23,000 above the veteran minimum, but Banks took it in hopes of proving himself, then cashing in next season.

In two preseason games, Banks was 6-for-14 for 54 yards. He played only a few series in each game and wasn't surrounded by Dallas' four best skill-position players: Emmitt Smith, Galloway, Ismail and Jackie Harris. Even Campo said Banks' 1-for-5 outing against Denver would've been much better if not for dropped passes.

"I guess I'm not Jerry's guy," Banks said. "You all saw practice and saw how I was playing. I didn't see this coming.

"I feel like my dad hit me with a baseball bat. It was the last thing I was expecting. All I know is the offensive coordinator and the quarterback coach had no idea what was going on. That should tell you something."

Off-field matters seem to have been a bigger factor. He irked coaches by missing a few days of a minicamp while moving and he didn't spend as much time around team headquarters between minicamps as they would've liked.

Jones said Tuesday he had explained "very carefully and very painstakingly" to Banks what was expected from the starting quarterback of the Cowboys, one of the most high-profile roles in pro sports.

"The perception of leadership, the passion for the competitiveness for it, we were very clear from the word go," Jones said. "We ultimately made the decision because we have that in Quincy Carter and Anthony Wright.

"They have that, they came here with that. That became a major plus. Add that to the potential, then add that to what Dave wants to do with the offense this year and that's how the decision came down."

Banks was told he'd been released early Tuesday. He saw Smith in the training room and said, "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to play with you." He then spent a few minutes on the field before workouts before leaving.

"I was on the field and saw him walking by," said Wright, who was Banks' roommate. "I just threw my hands up at him and he threw me the peace sign. I knew that wasn't good."

The decision was met with a bit of skepticism from Smith and Darren Woodson, the only players left from Dallas' three-time Super Bowl champion clubs in the 1990s.

"It's disappointing when you release anybody, more so a guy you bring in and think he's going to be your quarterback and has the potential to be your quarterback," Smith said. "There are a lot of things that go along with making a team that I'm not involved in. I can't make any decisions. All I can do is encourage guys and try to encourage myself, work hard and try to move forward."

Woodson said the team has been rebuilding for two years and he's ready to start winning again.

"We can't say because of the decision made today we're going to put our hands down and say, `We're not going to be good any more,"' he said. "They figure they made the best decision for this team. That's the decision I have to live with."

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.





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 Tony Banks is as surprised as anyone by Dallas' decision to release him.
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 Quincy Carter accepts the leadership role as the starting quarterback.
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 ESPN.com's John Clayton reports on the Dallas QB situation from Cowboys camp.
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