New York Jets Too Big For Allen, Not Carr

Sep 7, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Underutilized

Rookie quarterback Derek Carr had a good debut for a rookie under the circumstances, showing his bright future. Carr has the ability and mentality to make the future now but he was grossly underutilized until too late in the game. Sure, all the short passes he threw were nice confidence builders at the beginning of the game, especially while being blitzed like he was.

But Jets head coach Rex Ryan adapted and stopped all the crazy blitzing, daring Carr to beat him down the field. Adaptations weren’t made by the Allen and the coaching staff until the game was darn-near over. Carr hooked up with receiver James Jones for a 30-yard touchdown pass as there should have at least been some attempts to go deep earlier in the game.

Showing that you’re looking to go deep, especially with the corners Ryan had, would have forced him to take a safety out of the box. Staying with the short pass for too long allowed the defense to play the short pass with the same 8-man-front they played the run with. That obviously made it much more difficult for the Raiders to get their running game with Maurice Jones Drew and Darren McFadden.