Oakland Raiders: A look inside some numbers Derek Carr must improve in 2018
By Kevin Saito
Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr had a down year in 2017, and if he wants to return to elite status, will need to improve some numbers.
One of the Oakland Raiders biggest and most pressing concerns – and they have many – as they roll into the 2018 season is the performance of quarterback Derek Carr.
More to the point, whether or not Carr can return to the form that led the Raiders to hand him a then-record $125 million dollar contract.
Suffice it to say that Carr’s performance was nowhere near elite. It was nowhere near the level of the franchise quarterback they’re paying him to be. But, to be fair, Carr was not alone in having a very subpar 2017 season.
Oakland’s offensive problems last season were legion. Some of it, thanks to Carr’s broken back, but most of it having to do with the sheer ineptitude of former offensive coordinator Todd Downing. The performance of the offense as a whole was dismal as Downing took what was one of the league’s more electric units and turned it into a lesser version of the Cleveland Browns.
The Raiders though, have reloaded with new/old head coach Jon Gruden, and a familiar face in offensive coordinator Greg Olson, added a few new pieces like wideouts Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant, and are looking to put some teeth and electricity back into Oakland’s offense.
With Marshawn Lynch back in the fold and buying into Gruden’s system, and most thinking that Doug Martin may be able to bounce back this year – or at least be a solid complementary piece in the backfield – the running game, behind that massive line, should get back to being as dominant as it was pre-Downing.
Which will only help Carr and the passing game. Obviously.
But, to get back to the playoffs, the Raiders are going to need Carr to round back into form. As we’ve seen, as Carr goes, so go the Raiders.
And if they have actual playoff aspirations, Carr is going to need to look closer to the MVP candidate he was in 2016, and less like the 2017 version of himself.
And to get back into the MVP conversation, and the Raiders back into the playoffs, Carr is going to need to improve on some of the following numbers…