Matthew Cody Carlson (born November 5, 1963) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who spent his entire eight year career as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Baylor Bears The Baylor Bears are the athletic teams that represent Baylor University. The teams participate in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as one of only three private school members of the Big 12 Conference. Prior t ...

was selected by the

in the third round of the

1987 NFL draft The 1987 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1987, at the Marriot Ma ...

. Carlson played for the Oilers from 1987 to 1994. His nickname while with the team was Commander Cody.Berkow, Ira
"Carlson Was No Star, and No Moon", ''The New York Times'', January 7, 1991, page C3.

NFL career

Carlson began his career with the

as a backup to

Warren Moon Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former professional Gridiron football, football player who was a quarterback for 23 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He spent most of h ...

, and his most productive season was during the 1992 season due to Moon getting injured. He passed for 1,710 yards in 11 games (6 starts). Overall, he was on Houston teams with a 10–4 record as a starter during his years as Moon's backup. Moon departed after the 1993 season with Carlson named as his starting replacement. However, he lasted only five games into the 1994 season, posting a 1–4 record and 44.7 completion percentage before he suffered an injury and missed the remainder of the year. The Oilers ended the season with a horrible 2–14 record. The coaching change in the middle of the 1994 season signaled a new direction for the Oilers, and, with Carlson coming off his injury, the team opted to let him go. He retired after the

1994 NFL season The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed, and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season. ...

. He now lives in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

References

1963 births Living people Players of American football from Dallas American football quarterbacks Baylor Bears football players Houston Oilers players 20th-century American sportsmen {{quarterback-1960s-stub