Raiders should minimize Derek Carr’s role this season
I know… it sounds crazy, right? The year after Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr had moments where he looked like a top five quarterback, I want them to dial back how much they use him? I promise it’s not nearly as crazy as it may seem.
For the past couple of years, which also just happened to be Carr’s first couple of years in the NFL, the Raiders have struggled in the run game. They had one of the worst run games in modern history his first year. That was upgraded by quite a bit in his second season with the emergence of Latavius Murray, but even then the run game left a lot to be desired. Don’t believe me? Carr would know first hand since he was second in attempts and yards for the Raiders run game last year. This year, the Raiders have upgraded the offensive line and added DeAndre Washington, who they expect to share a significant number of snaps with Murray.
And then there was the defense. In Carr’s first two years with the Silver and Black, the Raiders defense was ranked 21st and 22nd in the league. Much of that was thanks to a horrific secondary and a lackluster pass rush. Last year, we saw the pass rush improve greatly and the secondary improve with the addition of David Amerson. This offseason, both units were also upgraded with the additions of Sean Smith, Bruce Irvin, Shilique Calhoun and Jihad Ward.
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And yet despite all of the team essentially being placed on Derek Carr’s shoulders, the young gunslinger showed a lot of improvement from year one to year two. Unfortunately, much of the improvement we saw early in year two was also subject to a bit of regression towards the end of year two. That’s ok though, young quarterbacks will have steps forward and backwards and given the totality of the circumstances surrounding Carr, he’s done a ton to prove that he is on the right path and is capable of being a very, very good NFL starter.
But while it’s true that Carr appears to be developing well, the Raiders still don’t want to put too much on the young signal caller. You could argue that through his first two years in the league, the team has already asked far too much of him. As he heads into his third year, Carr must continue to learn and grow as a player and one way to help ensure that happens is to take some of the load off of his plate.
Much of his regression last season came when the team as a whole started to struggle. As things fell apart around him, Carr tried valiantly to put the team on his back and carry them the rest of the way to the playoffs. Unfortunately, he was not able to do so and with all of the added pressure, Carr struggled and threw a number of picks late in the year.
This season, with a much upgraded defensive unit and a hopefully upgraded run game, the Raiders should not have to ask Derek Carr to do nearly as much. But the key will be ACTUALLY not asking Carr to do too much. That’s not easy because just like a kid on Christmas, coaches like to play with their toys, and it’s not easy to pass up on the fancy new Carr. But if the Raiders want that Carr to keep its luster, the need to proceed carefully with their investment.
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