Oakland Raiders: Top 4 takeaways from Week 3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings
3. Another week of last season’s Derek Carr
It seems like an eternity ago when fans believed that Derek Carr was back to his old form when he led the team to a victory over the Denver Broncos to kick off the season. He was confident. He was electric. He looked like his old self.
Carr went 27-of-34 on the day with 242 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick. Those don’t seem like absolutely terrible numbers comparatively.
But they’re empty numbers like the ones he piled up last year. In truth, Carr gave in to the same issues that have plagued him for months and months now. He buckles at the pressure as it mounts on him and the team.
This shouldn’t necessarily be a question of how much heart Carr plays with — he certainly shows it in spurts. He shows that he’s engaged. He shows that he’s willing to get hit at times — take, for example, when he was smothered by a late hit by Linval Joseph.
But while Derek Carr may have earned respect in his ability to say the right things to the media or in keeping his nose clean, he has failed to show that he can consistently make the right play.
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This was painfully apparent in Carr’s interception at the beginning of the second quarter.
With the Vikings already up 14-0, the Raiders needed to put together a respectable drive. While Derek Carr sat in the pocket, he overthrew his receiver and hit Harrison Smith right in the hands about 10 yards ahead of him.
Not only was the throw bad, but it was a missed opportunity to hit a wide-open receiver on the left side of the field.
Plays like this one highlight Carr’s over-reliance on the quick passes, along with his inability to consistently convert on plays where defenses will play the receivers tightly.
There were several more instances where Carr had troubles putting the right amount of pace on the ball. He overthrew or underthrew his receivers on several occasions. Even on the flea-flicker, Nelson — who thankfully had no one near him — had to wait for the ball to come down to him.
These seem like minor details, but it’s the difference between being a starting NFL quarterback and coming off the bench.
As stated before, the Raiders have dozens of concerns that should be addressed, but the heat is going to fall on Carr each and every week that the Raiders do not overachieve.
Carr is working through an uphill battle. But showings like this week add to his case for being replaced this offseason.