Derek Carr Is As Average As It Gets
Derek Carr is entering his 8th season under center for the Las Vegas Raiders. This has been 8 years far too long for us Raider fans. What has Derek Carr proven to us that he is a championship quarterback in the past 7 seasons? He has yet to start in a playoff game for his entire career. We are going to start at the beginning of Carr’s career with the Raiders. I will say he is the best thing we have had since Rich Gannon, but that’s not really saying much. The Raiders have gone through so many quarterbacks dating back to 2004, such as Kerry Collins, Andrew Walter, JaMarcus Russell, Jason Campbell. Just absolutely disgusting names and trashcan players you have at starting quarterback. No wonder there are so many blind Raider fans that still love Carr.
In 2014, the then Oakland Raiders selected Derek Carr with the 36th pick in the second round. Just prior, the Raiders selected Khalil Mack in the first round of the draft. I have to admit I was even excited! Drafting a mammoth of a man coming off the edge to rush the quarterback and a quarterback with nice arm talent. Going into the 2014 season, I just wanted to see how Derek Carr would play as he was a day one starter. Carr showed some promise with some nice throws commanding the offense, but the team would go 3-13. Carr would finish the year with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The following season is where I really started to like Derek Carr and the direction of the Raiders. Finishing 7-9, Carr tallied 32 touchdown passes and the future looked very promising.
2016 Raiders
Derek Carr’s best year by far was in the 2016 season. He was putting up MVP-type numbers while leading the Raiders to their first winning record in over a decade. This is where I fell in love with Carr and thought we had a chance at a Super Bowl. Carr was making every throw that year, slinging the ball with ultra confidence and making game-winning drives look easy all year long. He was really carrying the team to victories while looking like a franchise quarterback. That was until Week 16 against the Colts, where Raiders fan’s hearts were ripped out on that Christmas Eve. On their way to their 12th victory of the season, blowing out the Colts late in the 4th quarter, Carr goes back to pass, and boom, “It’s broke,” Carr screams. He did indeed break his leg and would miss the rest of the season and playoffs.
The next week, Matt McGloin, an undrafted quarterback out of Penn State University, would get the call to start. The Raiders would lose the game and the division crown as well. The next weekend was the Wild Card, where Connor Cook would get his first-ever career start against J.J Watt and the Texans. The Raiders would get rolled without Carr as the quarterback. There was some reason for optimism the next season as captain Carr would make his return.
Downhill Spiral Of Derek Carr
Great expectations for Derek Carr and the Raiders in the 2017 season were everything but. Carr looked scared all year, likely worried about his leg getting trapped again. He threw the ball with such hesitancy every time he dropped back to pass. Carr would take a huge step backward, and the Raiders would finish 7-9. Carr would only throw for 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. The Raiders would fire head coach Jack Del Rio one year removed from their first playoff berth in 12 years. The Raiders would bring in a familiar face to be the new head coach, Jon Gruden, who had a totally new vision for the Raiders.
The 2018 Oakland Raiders had just a throwaway year, so I can’t blame Carr too much. Gruden traded away key players such as Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper. He wanted to totally clear the house so he could build his team the way he wanted it constructed.
The 2019 season is where my hatred for Derek Carr really began. Carr was a total eyesore to watch all year long during the season. There was some promise as the Raiders were 6-4 going to Week 12 against the trash New York Jets. This game needs to be a walk in the park if you are a franchise quarterback in the NFL. Not for Derek Carr, as the Raiders would go on and get killed 34-3 by the New York Jets. Carr failed to put up a touchdown against one of the worst teams in football. A win that week and they would have been tied with the Kansas City Chiefs. The following week, the Raiders would go to Arrowhead and get blown out again 40-9 against those very Chiefs.
This would be the start of a 4 game losing streak for the team in November and December, where games mean the most. During this stretch, the offense went 10 QUARTERS WITHOUT A TOUCHDOWN DRIVE. Carr is going to lead us to a Super Bowl like that?! That guy not leading a touchdown drive for 10 straight quarters shows he is not the man. Franchise QBs in the league would never allow that to happen. Why waste our time if we already know Derek Carr is not the guy?
Year three under Jon Gruden will be the first year for the Raiders in their new home in Las Vegas. There is still one constant… yup, you guessed it: Derek Carr. I am getting a headache just writing about this because it’s the same shit every year, and the organization continues making questionable decisions one after another. Looking back, the Raiders were 6-4 headed to play the Atlanta Falcons, who were one of the worst teams in the league, and the Raiders get blown out 43-6!!! The Raiders won off hail mary the following week to BEAT THE JETS. It took the Jets losing on purpose in the final seconds for us to beat them. Whoopty doo!!! The Raiders would lose the next three games, with Carr totaling just three touchdown passes in those games. Finishing 8-8, as the Raiders fail to miss the playoffs once again. See you in 2021, Derek Carr!!! I Can’t wait to have deja vu once again.
