Oakland Raiders: Midseason Report Card For The Offense

Quarterback

Fresh off signing a $125 million dollar contract extension this offseason, quarterback Derek Carr looked primed to build on the success he’s enjoyed to this point in his young career.

And it seemed like a reasonable investment at the time. He’d improved each and every season and after leading the team to seven comeback wins last season, demonstrated the polish and poise of a seasoned pro.

Given his improvement from his first year to the point he signed his new deal, Carr looked like the franchise quarterback this team has lacked for so long.

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Coming into the season, with a new OC who was promising more freedom for Carr to call his own plays at the line and not be bound to the same sort of rigid scheme former OC Bill Musgrave shoehorned this offense into, everything looked right for Carr to explode.

Given his ascension from year to year, most believed that this was the year Carr would place himself among the elite passers in the NFL.

Except, through eight games of the year, that hasn’t been the case. Far from it, in fact.

Through the first half of the season, Carr – though he’s flashed at times – hasn’t looked anything closely resembling an elite quarterback.

For the season, Carr has completed 64 percent of his passes (155 of 240) for 1,654 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions – his interception total through eight games equaling his total all of last season. He’s averaging a pedestrian 6.9 yards per attempt, and has a QB rating of 90.9.

While not a horrible stat line, it’s also not the stat line of an elite quarterback.

At times, Carr has looked inaccurate, indecisive, and uncomfortable. He doesn’t seem to have the same electricity under center that he did last season. In point of fact, he’s had some downright awful games — his efforts against Washington and Denver chief among them.

There’s no question that OC Todd Downing’s play calling is suspect. In some cases, it’s downright atrocious. But, by the same token, Carr has not always executed when it’s mattered the most. And this team has suffered for it.

Though the problems on this Raiders team are legion right now, Carr isn’t helping the situation with his shaky play. If this team is going to compete in the second half of the season, he is going to have to step up and play like the elite quarterback he’s being paid to be.

GRADE: C-