Rookie quarterback Rudy Carpenter will get his first real action on Friday since he was a record-breaking passer at Arizona State; the few starters that do see the field will do so scarcely (Tony Romo won't at all), and third stringer Stephen McGee, who sits a notch ahead of Carpenter on the depth chart will be down with a knee injury.
Turning this into soliloquy about making the team, proving himself, etc, etc, would be silly, and pointless. Because the kid is still a longshot to make the roster, almost regardless of what happens in Minnesota. But Carpenter doesn't care about such things; he's just happy to play football again.
"To be honest, I'm just so happy I'm going to get a chance to play and play a lot on Friday, so I'm just thinking about that," Carpenter said. "I think I've had a good camp, to be honest with you, I think I've done well throughout OTAs and minicamp and now training camp. I just haven't had an opportunity to play, and I'll get one this week."
Carpenter, who made a name for himself as an always outspoken, (almost) always reliable passer at Arizona State, says that he is happy to go along for the ride, regardless of the twists and turns that may lie within. As far as making the team, Carpenter is well aware that he is sitting behind the proverbial 8 ball here in Dallas, but he's alright with that, too.
"I've done all that I can do and I've worked as hard as I can and no matter what happens, if I leave here or stay here, I know I did the best I possibly could, I worked as hard as I could and I'll be happy with that either way," Carpenter continued. "There's a lot of anxiety, there can be. I knew the situation I was in coming here, so since I've been here I've been just trying to take it one day at a time, one meeting at a time, and just be grateful for the opportunity I've been given.
"Each day I'm here I'm happy."
