Oakland Raiders: Thoughts on blowout Week 1 loss

Sep 13, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) warms up before the start of the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Despite offseason work, Carr still unreliable

Derek Carr’s play on the field in the preseason left much to be desired, and going into Week 1 the young starting quarterback was under pressure to prove that August was just a tuneup to brighter things after putting in plenty of offseason work in preparation for Year 2 with the Raiders.

Instead of putting the preseason struggles behind him, Carr had problems with accuracy and moving the ball downfield before leaving the field due to injury. A stiff arm on Pacman Jones on a scramble on third down turning into an injury concern for Carr who suffered a hand injury on the play before Matt McGloin finished the game in relief.

From what we got to see out of Carr, it looked like the inconsistent rookie that we saw in 2014 that flashed promise in between frustrating plays was still out there. Carr’s work ethic and time spent in the offseason yielding less results than hoped as he was still errant on his throws, missing receivers high on a handful of occasions and failing to put points on the board. A failure of an outing even if he didn’t suffer an injury setback during the game.

Carr has promise and the attitude to improve needed to become a successful starter in the future, but as Year 2 begins it looks like the Raiders are going to have to deal with his development coming at the expense of having a quarterback who will struggle against tough defenses. Against the Bengals, Carr showed that he is still closer to a rookie than to a leader at quarterback, and when he does come back from a potential absence due to a hand injury the pressure will be on him to show progress from his rookie season after a discouraging debut to 2015.

Next: Thought #3: Defensive Backs Earn Criticism