At some point in every NFL season, oftentimes in the postseason, the outcome of a game is going to be in the hands of the quarterback. That player’s defense won’t be in a position to bail him out, either. It’s at that time that a head coach and general manager better be certain that their
Derek Carr is Raiders quarterback, but only until Jon Gruden gets his guy
We have all seen Derek in that Rodgers scenario you described either throw the ball 4yds or fewer while needing the 8yds, or simply ground it or toss it out of bounds. I can’t wait until we get a new QB, one with an upside at least I mean, and even if the results are similar or worse then at least I know we aren’t riding into the future with Captain Checkdown leading us to another double digit loss season.
I think you are spot on here, Cork. Gruden isn’t going to offload Carr like he offloaded so many other players until he gets his replacement. I would venture a guess that good QBs like Rodgers (and to an extent Garoppolo) are worth at least 2-3 wins, on their own in a season. Carr is not worth any wins, on his own. But, I also agree that getting rid of Carr would not be wise until his replacement is ready.
Also, the Browns years of having to pick a QB in the draft with little to no good outcome provides a cautious tale.
A couple stats from this season:
0-6 is our record when trailing at the half!
0 points scored in the second half of 4 games!
This falls at the feet of everyone on O. The coaches and players alike. Not equally at fault, but fault non the less.
In those games where we scored no points in the second half, that is a pure failure of coaching. Halftime adjustments need to be a positive, not a negative. Its a piss poor stat and outcome, no other way to put it.
With a game on the line and Carr throwing the ball out of bounds on 4th down. Throwing it at the feet of a RB in the same situation. Not running for a score or first down when you have half the field wide open on the back side of a play. Those things just cant happen.
There is plenty of blame to go around. But yes, as the saying goes, to much criticism when a QB loses and to much praise when they win.
The one thing Gruden is looking for in HIS QB, is consistency. Putting the O in the best position possible to win games. Just throwing the damn ball away, with the game on the line, is definitely not what he is searching for. Even a crappy QB can do that.
I predicted what Mayock said to Vic Tafur yesterday in an interview.
“As far as what the future holds, I’m gonna tell you the same thing I told you last year. About every position. And that is, my job is to evaluate every position and try and make us better. And if I can, I will, and if I can’t, I won’t. And that holds true at every position.”
In other words, Mayock is esentially saying “if we can find an upgrade Carr, we will move on from him.”
Carr is an average QB that performs above average with the right pieces around him. I don’t think the Raiders can win deep into January with him. And please stop with “if he only had a #1 WR. If only he had xx.”
Great QBs elevate those around him. Carr hasn’t shown this.j
By the way, have you every seen a QB just throw the ball into the dirt, with 4th and 1? Carr has done this multiple times. That’s not a competitor. Unitas, Montana, the greats would never do this.
Good point regarding the Aaron Rodgers “third and 8” scenario. But if we’re going to be fair (I know everyone hates that), we’ve seen Carr complete crucial passes in that kind of scenario many times. It’s not like all those fourth quarter comebacks came from him handing the ball off.