Jon Gruden: Al Davis “would be very proud of Derek Carr”
Former Oakland Raiders head coach Jon Gruden spoke at length about Derek Carr, and ushered nothing but praise for the third-year quarterback.
Jon Gruden will be in the broadcast both Monday Night in Mexico City, calling the Raiders vs. Texans game. He spoke at length about Derek Carr, and had nothing but great things to say about Oakland’s franchise quarterback.
"“To put it honestly, this guy has a cannon. He’s got a gun. He can throw it tight windows with very little movement. He has a quick release and very little lower body movement. He has an arsenal of receivers. Al Davis would be very proud of Derek Carr.”"
About Carr’s intangibles and once again appearing on national television:
"“What hasn’t been said about Carr today is about his intangibles. He’s such an upbeat kid. He has so much passion and energy and leadership. He fun to be around. He’s a superstar. He deserves a lot of credit, and I’m glad he’s getting some national television play.”"
Gruden, who runs “Gruden’s QB Camp” every draft season, recalls meeting with Carr, and talked about just how impressed he was with the Fresno State product.
"“Carr is a very rare prospect,” Gruden said Wednesday in a conference call. “His Fresno film speaks for itself. He mastered two different systems and had two head coaches. He was calling his own plays, for crying out loud, in Fresno.”"
Gruden continued:
"“I can remember him throwing the ball like it was yesterday,” Gruden said. “We have two cameras set up 20 yards downfield on each hash mark, and we threw some seam passes toward them. Most of the guys hit the screen, a couple would hit the target. Derek Carr hit the bull’s eye both times and broke my cameras. He put on a show for the NFL players."
Gruden also lauded Carr’s ability to make changes at the line of scrimmage:
"“Number one, he can go up there and fix a problem,” Gruden said. “If there’s a blitz coming on the left, he doesn’t miss it; he changes the protection. He hand signals the route. He keeps the Raiders in optimum play selection, and things don’t have to perfect. I mean, if the pocket isn’t clean, he can just slide two feet to his right and throw an awkward-delivery release 18 yards down the field on the dime. He’s got very good pocket skills.”"
Continuing his praise of #4, Gruden spoke further about Carr’s handling of a complex offense:
"“Number one, he’s a much-better athlete than people think,” Gruden explained. “They can run the zone read. They can run a lot of different kinds of plays to really make it hard for you as a defense to do a lot of things. They have all kinds of different formations. He’s a smart guy. One personnel, they’ll be in four wides and a tight end, and no backs, and then they’ll come at you with an extra offensive linemen. They can shift. He can audible. He’s a sharp guy. He’s very athletic, and to put it honestly, he’s got a cannon.”"
Gruden will have box seats to the Derek Carr show, so expect to hear more of this during the broadcast.
Maybe Carr will run a Spider 2 Y Banana, and Gruden will lose his mind.