Oakland Raiders Film Room: Week 15 vs GB
By Evan Ball
Carr Almost Throws Picks
The rain and some loose fingers helped Derek Carr avoid his third interception of the day on this play (and a would-be fourth interception later). Thus thus play bears further examination. These are the types of plays Carr got away with a bunch last season but have started to catch up with him in the last few weeks.
1st & 10 on the Green Bay 40 yard line. Oakland runs double-post on the left side with Holmes & Crabtree and sends Cooper on a go route on the right side. Green Bay, now in their nickel sub package (3 DLs, 3 LBs, 5 DBs), runs a Seattle-style Cover 3 Sky (Safety and Corners drop to 3 deep zones, zone coverage underneath) using the press-bail technique with the corners.
Carr makes a few mistakes on this play, all relating to his overall field vision. Firstly, he stares down Andre Holmes from the moment he finishes the fake handoff. Secondly, Carr waits for Holmes to be open before he starts the throwing motion, instead of making the anticipating throw into the space. Finally, the third mistake: Carr doesn’t see the defense.
Top level quarterbacks don’t just look off safeties and glance blankly away from their intended target. They use that time to gain information about the coverage and positions of the defenders. If Carr had spent a half-second looking at the coverage he would have not only seen the danger of the zone defenders underneath, but he could have seen where the hole would be before Holmes ran into it – which would have allowed for the anticipatory throw.
Derek Carr is doing a great job for a second year quarterback. These are the mistakes he needs to learn from and eliminate in order to truly elevate his play to playoff caliber. Yes, Carr you were close. Closer to the interception than you should be.
Next: Amerson on the Deep Route