Bill Belichick talks about Derek Carr ahead of Oakland Raiders-Patriots clash

Sep 14, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) waves towards the crowd after the Raiders 30-14 loss to the Houston Texans at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Rookie Derek Carr has had quite the difficult gauntlet to deal with to begin his NFL career as a rookie starting quarterback. In Week 1 Carr played the New York Jets along with head coach Rex Ryan’s blitz schemes before having to deal with the best pass rusher in a generation in JJ Watt in the home opener against the Houston Texans Week 2. Things won’t get much easier on Sunday for Week 3 as Carr will be facing the coach many in NFL circles deem the greatest active head coaching mind in Bill Belichick when the Raiders visit the New England Patriots.

Naturally the legendary head coach was asked about his opinion of Carr leading into the week during his opening Week 3 press conference, and Belichick had plenty of praise for Carr’s skills. Especially when it comes to discussing the arm strength that the former Fresno State star who threw for 5,000 yards and 50+ touchdowns last season has in spades.

From the Associated Press:

"“He’s an athletic guy back there,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said on a conference call Tuesday. “He can certainly get the ball down the field. We know he’s a smart kid.“I think all the things that we saw from him at Fresno and when he’s had an opportunity to do them in this league have continued to show up. Obviously the systems are different but from a skill standpoint, I think his skills are his skills and they’re pretty good.”"

Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia added to that praise by mentioning that Carr’s legs are an underrated aspect of his game that allowed him to break off for a big gain against the Texans, something he wants his defensive players to be aware of during the game on Sunday in addition to the promising arm that brings the deep passing threat for Oakland.

“He can do something back there that can cause the defense to be under duress for the game,” said Patricia. “So you really have to be very disciplined and make sure you don’t get beat — not only with his arm, but with his legs if he’s out of the pocket.

Patricia also added he has noticed that Carr is doing a great job of leading the Raiders offense and making sure that he is reading defenses along with getting the Oakland players in the right plays for the right matchups. A sign of a successful starter.

“He’s also doing a nice job of making sure the offense is getting into the right particular plays. He’ll take a lot of plays and change them based on the looks and things like that they’re seeing from the defense. He’s doing a good job of getting the ball to the guys who are going to make plays for him.”

Carr would like to get in the win column, but leading a team that are 15 point underdogs this weekend that may be a big ask going up against Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriots on the road. With tons of questions being asked in Oakland an improbable win would do a lot of good, but the Patriots seem like they won’t be taking the Raiders and their rookie quarterback lightly. With some early week praise it should be expected that the Patriots will be gameplanning to make sure they can expose Carr’s weaknesses rather than to allow him to showcase his strengths, making it a top storyline in if Carr will be able to pick apart the Belichick/Patricia led Pats defense.