Derek Carr Ready to Play Now

Sep 23, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Oakland Raiders running back Darren McFadden (20) behind the line of scrimmage against the Denver Broncos in the second quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Good Situation

The situation any quarterback goes into is important but it’s especially important to a young quarterback. Carr will step into an offense that only needs a solid quarterback to make it go. It reminds me of how the Indianapolis Colts had a ready-made offense for Andrew Luck to run.

The offensive line has been bolstered with the acquisitions of left tackle Donald Penn and right guard Austin Howard and third-round pick left guard Gabe Jackson. James Jones has been added at receiver to go with deep threats Denarius Moore, Rod Streater and speedy tight end David Ausberry. Then you have Darren McFadden, the ultimate game-changer when healthy, occupying the majority of the defenses attention.

If McFadden can’t stay healthy, Maurice Jones-Drew can change a game or two and occupy a defense himself. The Raider offense has good drink ingredients that need only to be stirred by a quarterback like Carr. With first-round pick Khalil Mack, the Raiders are building something on the defensive side of the ball too.

Then we can’t underestimate the impact Olson is going to have on Carr. The aforementioned mechanical flaws in Carr as far as throwing without using his lower body  will be fixed. Olson is one of those coaches that optimizes the performance of his quarterbacks in a big way.

Blaine Gabbert was good as a youngster in Jacksonville and hasn’t been the same since Olson left. Josh Freeman is another guy that had success early on with Olson and  hasn’t done well since loosing Olson. For goodness sake, he made Terrelle Pryor and Matt McGloin look like they can play quarterback for a little while!