Raiders won’t take the next step until they move on from Derek Carr
Raiders won’t take the next step until they move on from Derek Carr
The Good
Remember that bottom-dwelling we discussed earlier? Ever since Derek Carr has been the Raiders starting quarterback, things have undoubtedly gotten better. To date, he only has two fewer wins in nine years (62) than the franchise has had in the last twelve years (64), one of which included an 11-5 team that made it to the Super Bowl in 2002.
The record books reflect a level of top-tier play as well. Some may say it’s a different time with the NFL being so pass-heavy nowadays, but nonetheless, Carr leads the Raiders franchise in passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage with a minimum of 50 attempts, and game-winning drives.
He has etched his name in with top talent when it comes to NFL records also. He is currently 4th all-time in passing yards through a quarterback’s first nine seasons and only 628 yards away from surpassing Dan Marino as third on that list. He is also tied for 2nd with Payton Manning for most comeback wins in a season, and he is 1st in the NFL for the best overtime record for a quarterback with 10 or more games played at 8-2.
Did I forget to mention the absolutely terrible defenses he’s been stuck with throughout his nine years with the team? No quarterback in NFL history has had a defense average more PPG since the 1970 merger than the 26.3 the Raiders have given up during the Derek Carr era. He has also never had a defense that ranked better than 20th overall.
Let’s toss out all the stats, records, and numbers that point to why so many fans believe Derek Carr can be “him”. The Raiders’ passing game and offense has just looked better over the years compared to the abysmal play we saw from the likes of Jason Campbell, Jamarcus Russell, Josh McCown, and Kerry Collins just to name a few.
We saw a team that went 3-13 his rookie year with a 10-game losing streak, turn around two years later, and go 12-4 which gave them their first playoff berth since 2002. Unfortunately for the Raiders, Derek Carr broke his leg on Christmas Eve in a game against the Colts that ended his season.
No matter how you shake it, Derek Carr has done some amazing things for this franchise over the nine years he’s been here. He has not only played at a high level at times but he’s been unconditionally loyal to a franchise he grew up watching.
On top of all of that, he’s done it with legitimately the worst supporting cast on defense a quarterback has ever been tasked with dealing with. But with every good does come some bad along the way. Unfortunately, there has definitely been some bad.