Oakland Raiders: Five Players Who Need To Show Up Big In 2016
By Kevin Saito
Carr is without a doubt, the most imprtant cog in Oakland’s offensive machine. To paraphrase Reggie Jackson, he’s the straw that is going to stir the Raiders’ drink.
To do that though, Carr is going to need to be better in 2016 than he was in 2015 – and he was pretty darn good in 2015.
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With new OC Bill Musgrave taking off some of the shackles former OC Greg Olson had put on him, Carr flourished. He took a big leap last season, throwing for a tick under 4,000 yards and 32 touchdowns against just 13 interceptions.
It was the kind of performance from their quarterback the Raiders haven’t seen since the days Rich Gannon was under center.
That’s not to say though, that Carr doesn’t have room to improve. He most certainly does. Over the last eight games of the season, Carr was less efficient with the ball and tended to make more mistakes. He also put more on his shoulders than he should have and tried to force the play at times. There were more than a few passes that he tried to force in that ended badly for the Raiders.
Though the running game declined, injuries took a toll, and Musgrave’s play calling left a lot to be desired at times, the onus is on Carr to step up his game, cut down on the mistakes, and become a better field general for the team.
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With assets like Cooper, Michael Crabtree, Seth Roberts, and Clive Walford at his disposal, Carr has the weapons he needs to make the sort of jump in year three that he made last season. But it will be on him to be more efficient with the ball and to make the right throws at the right times.
The Raiders don’t need him to be Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady – though, it would be nice. But they do need him to play better, smarter, and exploit the limitless potential of this offense.