Despite it being only one drive in a preseason game, Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders offense were dominant out of the gates. In year two of Jon Gruden’s system, Carr is in full command of the offense.
How satisfying did it feel to see the Oakland Raiders starters out there for the first series against the Arizona Cardinals? It felt as if you were dehydrated for the longest time and finally took a drink of a glass water. That is how satisfying it felt, but it was also a tease since the offensive starters were only out there for the opening drive.
Of course, given how dominate the offense looked it made total sense as to why they didn’t need to continue.
Like Derek Carr for instance, even though he only took two pass attempts. There was no warm up throws needed for him. Carr was locked in from the get go and it showed from his absolute precision deep pass to Tyrell Williams.
He could not have placed the ball any better than he did with that throw. It was simply perfect. It’s quite funny considering some people view him as “Captain Checkdown,” when clearly once he gets a talented receiver he will take shots like that one.
Imagine once Antonio Brown gets thrown into the mix. Then defenses will really have their hands full. Carr, despite what the stats show, is not a checkdown quarterback. He’s a smart one, which means he won’t be careless with the ball.
That much was evident when he went on a consecutive streak of pass attempts without an interception. It wasn’t just his deep pass to Williams that stole the show. Carr’s command of the offense looks exponentially better from that one series compared to last season.
Remember, this will only be Carr’s second time in an incumbent system. Such an insane turnover ratio would derail anyone in any profession. Carr was calling audibles left and right on that drive, perfectly reading the defense.
This year, both Jon Gruden and Carr have spoken volumes to how much the quarterback will dictate the offense. That Carr will have a full plate and authority to call plays. We just got a little taste of it on the opening drive in Arizona.
As exciting and dominant the Oakland Raiders looked against the Cardinals, we mustn’t get too caught up in the moment. The Cardinals looked enormously lost out there on both sides of the ball. It would’ve been a little concerning if the Raiders didn’t look as good as they did.
While I wouldn’t take too much away from this game, the Raiders did look very organized and much faster. It’s just hard to not acknowledge that it is night and day from the 2018 season. Week 3 against the Green Bay Packers in Winnipeg, Canada will reveal to us a bit more about this team as well as continuing to tease us for the regular season.