Looking back at Rich Gannon’s second season with the Oakland Raiders
By Brad Weiss
Derek Carr will enter his second season under Jon Gruden for the Oakland Raiders in 2019, and here is what Rich Gannon did in that same situation.
When Rich Gannon came to the Oakland Raiders, he was nothing to write home about, as he had bounced around between three organization up until that 1999 season, and had not been a full-time starter in years. However, he was masterful in Jon Gruden’s west coast offense once he put on the Silver and Black, putting together a run as the starting quarterback in Oakland that is only behind a few other names in team history.
In 1999, his first season in Oakland, Gannon actually made the Pro Bowl, his first of four straight appearances in the NFL’s All-Star Game. During that first year, Gannon led the Raiders to an 8-8 record, throwing for over 3,800 yards yards and 24 touchdowns, a sign of things to come for him in this organization.
In Year 2, Gannon really took off, becoming a First-Team All-Pro Selection, while leading the Raiders to a 12-4 record. Gannon completed 60 percent of his passes, threw for 28 touchdowns against only 11 interceptions, and led the Raiders to an AFC West title.
The marriage between Gannon and Gruden turned out to be pure gold, and it culminated with Gannon winning the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award in 2002. The hope is that Gruden can have the same effect on the Raiders current starting quarterback, Derek Carr, who is a much more talented player than Gannon was, and has all the tools to be one of the elite in the game.
Carr is an incredible study, and he showed in 2018 that he can put up numbers in Gruden’s offense, even with a makeshift offensive line. To throw for over 4,000 yards, while completing nearly 70 percent of his passes, all the while getting sacked over three times a game may have been his most impressive season yet.
2019 will also be Carr’s second in a row in the same system, something he has gotten to do only one other time during his career. That was back in 2016, when he went 12-3 as the starter, and had many calling for him to be the Most Valuable Player of the league.
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The bottom line is, Gannon flourished once he got with Gruden, and while they had their spats on the sidelines, Gruden brought out the best in him. His time in Oakland was the best years of his career, and if Gruden can have the same effect on a younger Carr, there is no reason why he cannot become one of the best quarterbacks in the game.