When offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave was hired onto new head coach Jack Del Rio’s coaching staff this winter, the biggest talking point was the option for the Oakland Raiders to go with an up-tempo offense in 2015. After all Musgrave spent the previous season as a quarterbacks coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, learning the ropes from head coach Chip Kelly on the ins and outs of the fast paced offense that is ran by Philly to success in the NFC East to be able to take those principles into his next OC job if the time came.
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It appears that Musgrave will be looking to use the concepts he learned in one season with the Eagles now that he is back as an offensive coordinator in the NFL with the Raiders, hoping to bring some faster playcalling for quarterback Derek Carr, who succeeded in a quick pace playbook during his final two seasons at Fresno State. A 5000 yard, 50 TD season as a senior in an up-tempo offense putting him on the map to the Raiders, who are now likely going in the direction that gave Carr collegiate success now that they have a new coaching staff in place for the quarterback’s second NFL season.
Naturally the plan to go to more up-tempo playcalling on offense has Carr excited himself as the quarterback feels confident that a return to what worked for him so well in college at Fresno State is going to lead to success with the Raiders in 2015. Talking to the media this week in a press conference prior to the start of the team’s offseason program, Carr said he is eager to get into a playbook that he feels will have plenty of things that he is comfortable with and is catered to things that made him one of the top quarterbacks of the 2014 draft class by going with a quicker tempo on offense.
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“I’m really excited, because just what I’ve heard and the things that we’ve talked about and what I assume, it is what I did at Fresno,” Carr said, per the Raiders official website. “It’s something that I’m comfortable doing. The things that they want to do are things that I’m good at, and that’s really cool, that they want to take the offense and say, ‘Hey, let’s make it good at what you do. Let’s build it around you and let’s put pieces there that you feel comfortable with,’ and all that kind of stuff.”
Fans should be excited about the prospects of the Raiders going with an up-tempo system on offense with Carr. Those who followed the Oakland quarterback at Fresno knowing exactly what he can do with a playbook that operates at a fast pace that focuses on chewing away at opposing defenses by marching down the field quickly. While a 50 touchdown season with 5000 yards in the air may not be realistic for Carr at the NFL level, even with an up-tempo playbook, the move to add more speed to the playcalling should make the Raiders more successful in 2015 when it comes to putting points on the board. Something the team desperately needs to do if they want to make the next step this upcoming season.