Oakland Raiders: Reasons To Be Excited And Concerned After First Game

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August 14, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) and offensive line coach Mike Tice (back) celebrate after the Raiders scored a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams during the second quarter in a preseason NFL football game at O.co Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Concerned – Derek Carr’s Numbers

Despite the fact that it’s pretty well universally acknowledged that second year pro Derek Carr had a very solid rookie season, many pundits and “football people” have expressed more than a little concern about some of Carr’s statistics – some going so far as to use some of those advanced metrics to “prove” that Carr is nowhere near a franchise quarterback and is more likely to be a bust than a star.

One of the numbers most often cited is his paltry yards per attempt average. To be fair, his 5.5 yards per attempt average wasn’t particularly great, and it was well below the league average. However, what some of those folks who tout that as “proof” that he’s a bust in the making fail to factor in is the role the coaching and play calling had in contributing to that anemic number.

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Short dump passes, quick hits, a lack of a running game, and a sub-par receiving corps, among other things, are just as guilty for that less than stellar yards per attempt average as anything. Carr, when he was allowed to uncork one, showed that he has a cannon for an arm, has a nice touch, and can throw a deep ball very well. The problem was, for the most part, he was shackled and not allowed to uncork many deep balls.

That being said, in limited action against the Rams, Carr posted an even paltrier 5.5 yards per attempt. For the game, Carr was six for nine for 43 yards. His evening ended with an interception he tried to force into the endzone. It wasn’t a bad evening of work for Carr, but it showed that he still has a bit of work to do.

Now, Carr’s yards per attempt average is based on a very small sample size, and undoubtedly, OC Bill Musgrave and HC Jack Del Rio are keeping things very simple at this stage of the game. Which is probably to be expected. But that is a number that we hope to see rising over the successive exhibition games and is something worth keeping an eye on.

Next: Excited: Airing It Out

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