Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Keys to victory against Denver Broncos in Week 6
By Nico Di Fede
Las Vegas Raiders: 3 Keys to victory against Denver Broncos in Week 6
Derek Carr must bounce back
Heading into Week 4, quarterback Derek Carr was leading the league in passing yards and looked to be playing his best football since 2016. The past couple of weeks he’s taken a step down.
Against the Bears, Carr missed a lot of easy throws, including a couple that could have tied up the game late. The receivers, including Darren Waller, were not helping much, however, either not being in the right spot or dropping passes.
Derek Carr and Jon Gruden built houses right next to each other in Las Vegas and seemed to have had a solid coach-quarterback relationship. Not to mention the fact that Jon Gruden runs the offense and a system Carr has gotten more and more comfortable with each year.
Greg Olson was the Raiders offensive coordinator back during Carr’s rookie year, which was Carr’s worst year. The team was in total rebuild mode and did lack weapons, but regardless, Olson at the time was loathed by fans who believed he was far too conservative with his scheme and play-calling.
While Derek Carr may be known for being a sort of conservative quarterback, this is mostly due to the coordinators he has played for. His best season, 2016, was a year the offense ran a high-powered vertical scheme under Bill Musgrave. Olson’s scheme is the complete opposite.
Now because Olson was working under Gruden, it is safe to assume the scheme will stay similar to how it was the past few years as to not completely shake things up, though the play-calling may be a problem.
If Derek Carr can perform well and lead the team to a much-needed win against a division rival away from home, it will be a good sign that the offense is predicated on his play as the leader of the offense and not whoever is calling plays, which in the current situation could sow some optimism for the future.