Post columnist Steve Serby caught up with receiver Cris Carter, before his induction yesterday into the Hall of Fame, for some Q&A about his long road to Canton.
Q: You’ve had a long road to Canton. What was the low point?
A: To be an elite athlete, and at 24, for someone to clinically diagnose you as a crack addict … and when you get involved in stuff like that, it takes you to dark places … it takes you to dangerous places. You’re risking your life. I finally decided I wasn’t going to be controlled by any substance any longer, so I stopped.
Q: Was it an eye-opener getting cut by Eagles coach Buddy Ryan before the 1990 season?
A: That was the worst day of my life. For one, I was being cut — I’d never been cut before. No. 2, my wife was pregnant with our first child. I just bought a house, the first house I ever lived in. I loved Philadelphia. I loved my teammates.
Q: Did you think football was over for you?
A: No, I knew football wasn’t over. But I didn’t want to leave Philadelphia.
Q: What did Buddy say to you?
A: He told me that he had talked to his wife the night before. When he told her what might happen the next day, she begged him not to cut me. She said, “Cris Carter is a special kid. He’s going to do something with his life.” I never forgot what his wife said. It really encouraged me to know there was gonna be a place for me,
Q: What was the low point when you were on crack?
A: The low point was before the season trying to train and flunking that first drug test. I was trying to stop, and I really couldn’t. My life was spiraling out of control. At that point, I was suspended, but it was in the offseason. My next strike I’d be banned from the NFL for life. Buddy was like, “I can’t have you be my starter and six weeks into the season you’re banned from the NFL.” He told me he couldn’t trust me.
Q: What was going on in your life that led to your drug use?
A: Everything to me was to be the best at, Even when I was using, that was my same mentality.
Q: What’s the most you used in one day?
A: I’m not even gonna tell you, I know how it affects the story. I’m not proud of it, but I was smoking crack cocaine every day. I never ever saw my life being that way.
Q: Your life was spiraling out of control?
A: This is what I found out after I got help — I had a high bottom. I was very, very fortunate. I got diagnosed at an early stage and my bottom didn’t go as low. You don’t get trashed one night and you’re driving down the highway and you kill someone and the judge orders you to go to rehab. When you don’t reach the bottom bottom, you get the information and you don’t bottom out. So my bottoming out was getting cut by Buddy.
Q: Bill Parcells called you to tell you the Giants would be claiming you, but the Vikings had priority because of a worse record.
A: The Vikings didn’t know when they claimed me I had any positive tests. They were shocked what my records indicated.
Q: They sent you to Hazelton.
A: I also stopped drinking. I had never been told before to stop drinking. I had already stopped using cocaine at that point.
Q: How long were you at Hazelton?
A: They had to register me under a different name. People started recognizing me. I had to go somewhere else. It was tough.
Q: Everything changed for you after that.
A: I had no slipups. No failed tests. No setbacks.
Q: Before you turned pro, you had endured a previous low point, signing with agent Norby Walters.
A: Me losing my senior year eligibility at Ohio State.
Q: What were the qualities you think made you a Hall of Famer?
A: Very, very passionate. Very competitive. He’s gonna catch every ball, even when you have him covered. You can squat on him at a certain point. He doesn’t have electric speed so he’s not go deep that often. You can talk trash to him, he’ll play mind games with you.
Q: How did you play mind games with defensive backs?
A: I knew a lot more information about them than what the scouting service might provide. I just knew enough things about them where they knew when they’re playing against me, they’re not playing against a normal guy. I used to have a log on every corner in the league, what their strengths and weaknesses are. I would always refer back to that.
Q: When did you start that?
A: Maybe my fourth or fifth year in the league.
Q: You would read articles on upcoming team’s websites.
A: I hadn’t heard of anyone that was doing scouting reports four weeks in advance by themselves.
Q: Who are the toughest corners you faced?
A: Deion Sanders and Albert Lewis.
Q: What kind of trash would you talk?
A: I tried to keep a conversation going (chuckle). I felt like I could talk trash with the best of them.
Q: Give me a Hall-of-Fame trash-talking example.
A: One time Warren Sapp and I were talking on the field, it was between quarters or during a timeout, and we were jawing back and forth, just good stuff. One of the Tampa Bay defensive linemen came up, and he thought he was trying to come to Warren’s defense. He said, “Old man, it’s not gonna be a good day for you.” I said, “You can’t ever talk to me until you get in the league three years.” He said, “Why do I got to be in the league three years?” I said, “That’s when you get your full dental plan. Until it kicks in, you need to get your teeth straight before you can talk to me.” Sapp goes, “Oh man, that was cold! You shouldn’t have said that!” (laugh).
Q: Describe your on-field mentality.
A: Oh man … I’m a mean (laugh) … focused. … Sundays are what you get paid for. I’d try to visualize what I was gonna do. … Very, very tough … mean … no-nonsense. I’m a competitor at the highest level. I like to compete.
Q: Mean?
A: I’m a football player. I believe I’m just as tough as anybody else. I try not to play like a wide receiver.
Q: In today’s game, who reminds you of you?
A: I think there are a lot of guys — Andre Johnson … Reggie Wayne … Hines Ward, who retired. Just being physical … having the same mentality that all other players have. The wide receivers don’t have that mentality.
Q: Describe Randy Moss.
A: Unbelievable talent … somewhat misunderstood … and if he is your friend, a very good friend.
Q: How is he somewhat misunderstood?
A: A lot of people don’t get to know him.
Q: But a lot of people don’t get the chance to.
A: Well, no. It’s not that important to him. He’s very, very private.
Q: What about his infamous “I play when I want to play” comment?
A: I was there when he made it. A reporter was trying to ask him a question about myself and Dennis Green and what do we say to motivate him? And Moss is like, “They don’t say anything to me. I play when I want to play.” It was used out of context and used against him.
Q: The 1998 NFC Championship game loss to the Falcons.
A: It was one for the record books. We had the lead on ’em and didn’t put it away in regulation. It was disappointing because you want to win the Super Bowl. It was definitely my greatest opportunity.
Q: Your most bitter defeat?
A: Yeah.
Q: The 41-0 2000 NFC Championship game loss to the Giants.
A: If you read the press clippings, we got off to a bad start. I don’t know what else to tell you.
Q: Describe Dennis Green.
A: Really underrated as a coach.
Q: Brian Billick.
A: He probably taught me more football than any other coach.
Q: Warren Moon.
A: Best quarterback I ever played with. He gave me a level of confidence I could be one of the elite.
Q: Jerry Rice.
A: Not only the greatest receiver, one of the best football players ever.
Q: After former 49er Roger Craig joined the Vikings, you decided to design your offseason workouts to keep up with Rice.
A: I was a big fan of Jerry’s. I changed everything. I got a lot faster, I got a lot more explosive.
Q: Your brother Butch Carter played basketball at Indiana for Bobby Knight … did you want to follow him?
A: He tried to recruit me. My mother knew I didn’t have the temperament to go there. I didn’t want to play for Coach Knight. I didn’t want that for myself.
Q: You’d shoot hoops with Isiah Thomas at Hoosiers practice.
A: He became a benchmark for me. I think I saw my chances of being Lynn Swann better than my chances of being Isiah Thomas.
Q: Describe your childhood in Middletown, Ohio.
A: Humble beginnings. My mother [Joyce] raised seven kids as a single parent. Very, very poor. Plenty of days being hungry. She quit high school when she was 17. Eventually graduated from high school when she was 40-something. Eventually went on to get her college degree. Got her Master’s when she was 50.
Q: Why did you pick your son Duron to present you?
A: I have a son and a daughter. He plays football [Montreal Alouettes practice squad]. He understands football. … It’s an unbelievable opportunity. If he’s capable of doing it, I think he should do it.
Q: You must be proud that you got off the deck.
A: I’m just so thankful. … So many people, when they hit the dark side, they never come out of it. What I’m proud of is, my life is still going. That’s not going to be the final chapter in my life.