5 Oakland Raiders primed for bounce-back years in 2018

The coaching regime change from Del Rio to Gruden was about primarily one thing: let’s get the most out of franchise quarterback Derek Carr while he is still in his prime. This will be year five for Carr coming out of Fresno State. While he has remained in Oakland throughout his NFL career, he has had to deal with so many coaching changes since he became the starting quarterback in 2014.

Gruden will be his third head coach after Del Rio and Dennis Allen before that. This will be the second time Carr has worked with Greg Olson as his offensive coordinator, with Bill Musgrave and Todd Downing sandwiched in there the last few years. Continuity and accountability are key in Carr’s growth as a franchise quarterback. If he’s up for the challenge, let’s do this thing.

Gruden will be Carr’s first offensive-minded head coach. The staff will cater towards hyper-accelerating his play as a passer. Carr has a strong arm, but doesn’t always throw the most catchable ball. He can move around a bit outside of the pocket, but injuries the last two years have made him somewhat reluctant to venture away from his great offensive line.

Carr is mature personally and physically to be a perennial Pro Bowler at quarterback. However, he hasn’t been given the best coaching in his time with the Raiders. Expect intellectual growing pains this fall, but 2018 will be the most important year of Carr’s career, as it should lay the foundation for him to take the Silver and Black to the promised land.