It's funny that you ask me that. During the 2006 draft process I said the Cowboys would draft Carpenter, and told my family member this over the phone (and in person) multiple times. He then made Carpenter on Madden and put him on the Cowboys just based on my saying this. Well, the draft comes and I was correct.
I explain all this to set up the fallowing... within the past year my family member calls me up *****ing "I thought you said Carpenter was going to be good?", and almost complained about my saying the Cowboys would draft him (like I had some effect on the situation). So, he's had some complaints.
But, in recent conversations (the past 2-3 months) he's thought Carpenter looked good on special teams, and wondered why they weren't giving him more chances on defense. I've wondered this myself. If you watch some of their games Carpenter makes some plays on special teams, and just stands on the sidelines when the defense comes out. You'd think they'd give him a little more playing time. Really, how else is he supposed to mature into a starter?
Concering the system:
He's also thought Carpenter made more sense in Parcells system, than the 3-4 Phillips has installed. But, it's hard to completely judge the situation since they don't give him a lot of playing time.