NFL Oakland Raiders

QB Derek Carr Not to Blame for Oakland Raiders’ Awful 0-9 Start

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By @Kevin_Saito

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Despite a surprisingly strong start from the Oakland Raiders, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos put on quite the air show in demolishing the Silver and Black by a score of 41-17. Rookie QB Derek Carr had his worst day as a professional (30-47, 192 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, 68.8 QB rating) and is shouldering all of the blame for the trainwreck that was the Raiders on Sunday.

The trouble with that though, is that the latest in a long string of losses, isn’t entirely his fault. Carr is shouldering much of the blame that belongs elsewhere — namely with Oakland’s entire coaching staff.

Following the blowout loss to the Broncos, Carr was quoted by CSNBayArea.com as saying:

“I’m still learning these things on the fly. It sucks that it has to be at our expense, but I’m learning, and I’m just going to continue to grow.”

While Carr has certainly made some poor decisions over the first nine games of the season, and has thrown some very ill-advised passes, he has also showed tremendous upside. He has shown that he has the ability to be a very effective NFL quarterback, and the foundation that the Raiders can build upon.

When former HC Dennis Allen made the decision to go with Carr over veteran Matt Schaub before the season began, he signed the organization on for Carr’s growing pains. Though he’s showed a preternatural maturity, physical skill, intelligence, and a high football IQ, the fact of the matter is that Carr is still a rookie trying to adjust to the pro game. It’s a scenario that doesn’t usually turn out too well.

Oakland’s coaches have said numerous times that nothing about the game has been “too big” for Carr, and that he’s responded well to the challenges thrown his way. While that seems to be true, the Raiders have done nothing to help him. Too many times this season, he’s been asked to shoulder the entire offensive load for the team. Rather than try to get their running game established to take some of the pressure off of Carr, the Raiders’ coaches have elected to abandon the running game entirely.

Despite knowing that they were starting a rookie QB — and all that entails — the Raiders’ coaching staff has done absolutely nothing to ease the pressure on Carr through the season’s first nine games.

For the season, the Raiders have the fewest rushing attempts per game of any team in the NFL. By far. They are averaging a confounding 62.1 YPG, on just 18.3 attempts per game. In the game against Denver, with the score still relatively close at halftime, Oakland attempted just 15 total rushes for the game — with only seven of those going to Darren McFadden.

Rather than lining up and playing some smashmouth football — something interim HC Tony Sparano said he intended to bring back to the Raiders — the team is relying on Carr to put the ball in the air 40 plus times a game. And since teams don’t have to respect the run, simply because the Raiders are only giving a running game the barest of token nods, opposing defense are able to tee off on Carr, keep more men in the secondary and sit on the receiving routes — which has led to plenty of interceptions and three and out drives.

By not even attempting to establish their running game, Sparano and the Raiders are putting all of the pressure in the world on Carr to make Oakland’s offense work and the results have been mixed at best. Having a running game the defense had to respect would alleviate some of the pressure on Carr, and in an ironic twist, would allow him to make the offense work. But Oakland’s coaches inexplicably would rather watch him air it out dozens of times a game.

Carr has plenty of room to grow and learn. He’s a rookie and there were bound to be some bumps and bruises along the way. But the Raiders’ coaching staff has done absolutely nothing to mitigate the rookie learning curve by helping him out with a decent game plan that doesn’t put the weight of the world on his shoulders.

And that, more than anything is why the Raiders are 0-9.

Kevin Saito is a fiction writer, sports junkie, history nerd, and NFL contributor to www.RantSports.com Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, or on Google

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