Oakland Raiders: Keys to beating Denver Broncos in week two matchup
By Kevin Saito
Carr MUST Be Better
There really is no reason to sugarcoat it, and no way to really spin it. Derek Carr cost the Raiders that game against the Rams.
Was he the sole culprit? No, of course not. But, his imprint loomed the largest because his failings led directly to the Raiders moving from a position of strength, to a position that took the team out of the game.
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While a big part of the issue is the fact that Gruden and Guenther did not adjust to what LA was doing particularly effectively in the second half, the lion’s share of the blame has got to go to Carr, first for that lousy interception near the end of the first half, and his two picks in the second that sealed the game for LA.
On that first pick, he had Cook in the endzone, but underthrew him. A foot more on that ball, and it would have been a touchdown for Oakland that would have given the Raiders a 17-7 lead. Instead, the Rams took it back the other way, and kicked a field goal to forge a 10-10 tie.
Rather than going into the halftime break with more, the Raiders were able to kick a field goal, and go into locker room with a 13-10 lead instead. That interception and the resulting point swapping, loomed large the rest of the game.
After that, it only got worse, as Carr threw a dying quail that any five-year old could have caught, then the pick-six to Marcus Peters that sealed the game, and provided the final 33-13 scored.
In all three cases, the picks were preventable. They were poorly thrown – and in the final case, completely telegraphed – passes. Maybe he was forcing things, maybe he was skittish and trying to get rid of it too quickly – there are a thousand maybes, that ultimately don’t matter. He just needs to fix the issue. Quickly.
He needs to be the cool, efficient guy in the first half that went 20/24 and guided this team with precise passes, and terrific pocket awareness. And less like the guy who seemed to have a case of happy feet, who was dumping the ball off in a heartbeat.
Carr is being paid like a franchise quarterback, but hasn’t looked like one since he signed his (at the time) mega-deal. It’s time he start.