Category: Derek Carr

Dennis Allen says no QB competition: ‘Derek Carr is our starting quarterback’

Dennis Allen says there’s no QB competition despite Jameis Winston’s effort in Minnesota: ‘Derek Carr is our quarterback’

Derek Carr exited the New Orleans Saints’ loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, leaving a 27-3 deficit behind. So it’s no wonder that Dennis Allen faced questions about the quarterback situation afterwards when Jameis Winston stepped into the lineup and led multiple scoring drives in the 27-19 defeat.

“We’re not in a competition there,” Allen said after the game. “Derek Carr is our starting quarterback.”

Winston ended the day going 13-of-25 for 122 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions, plus a sack; Carr went 13-of-18 for 110 yards with two sacks prior to his injury. Allen was complimentary of Winston’s effort but made it clear he won’t be challenging Carr for the starting job.

Carr left the game with a concussion and injured throwing shoulder; Allen declined to elaborate on his status in his postgame press conference. It’s a good thing the Saints have their bye week coming up, giving Carr more time to heal up, but it remains to be seen how long he’ll be out of action. He was injured earlier this season when he suffered an AC joint sprain in that same right shoulder. Keep an eye out for updates on his status.

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Jameis Winston to close out Saints vs. Vikings after Derek Carr leaves with concussion

Jameis Winston to close out Saints vs. Vikings after Derek Carr leaves with concussion and throwing shoulder injury

Jameis Winston will remain at quarterback for the New Orleans Saints in Sunday’s game with the Minnesota Vikings. The Saints announced that starting quarterback Derek Carr would not return due to injury, having entered concussion protocol and requiring treatment for a right shoulder issue after a big hit earlier in the game.

Winston has a tall task ahead of him, facing a 27-11 deficit to start the fourth quarter. He also doesn’t have Michael Thomas in the lineup after the wide receiver left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter.

This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.

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Breaking: Derek Carr injured vs. Vikings, carted to Saints locker room

Breaking: Derek Carr injured vs. Vikings, carted to Saints locker room

This isn’t good. New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter of Sunday’s game with the Minnesota Vikings. Carr was initially evaluated on the field before walking himself to the blue medical tent on the sideline; he then left the game on a trainer’s cart.

Carr was hit high by Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter while stepping up into the pocket, with Minnesota defensive lineman Jaquelin Roy striking him low. He fell and hit his helmet hard on the turf which may have caused a concussion.

Jameis Winston stepped in for Carr. We’ll see whether he’s able to return later in the second half. Stay tuned for updates.

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Derek Carr has one of the worst success rates among NFL quarterbacks

150 is a big number. It’s how many NFL games Derek Carr has started, and how many millions of dollars the Saints are paying him. But he isn’t meeting the expectations that come with it:

150 is a big number. It’s how many games Derek Carr has started in the NFL (including 149 regular season games and, tellingly, a single playoff game), and it’s how many millions of dollars the New Orleans Saints agreed to pay him earlier this year. But Carr isn’t meeting the expectations that come with that resume or that level of compensation.

Six quarterbacks have thrown 250 or more passes this season, and four of them have converted 90 or more first downs. The other two are Carr — with 76 first downs on 255 passes — and second-year starter Sam Howell. Howell has converted 80 first downs on 256 pass attempts. He’s started 8 games going back to last season. That’s the company Carr has put himself in, as opposed to other quarterbacks who have been doing this for a decade.

Carr’s bad habit of throwing short of the sticks has drawn criticism from Saints fans and mockery from his opponents, and the numbers bear it out. Pro Football Reference measures success rate as the percent of plays which gain at least 40% of yards needed on first down, 60% on second down, and 100% on third or fourth down. Carr’s current success rate as a passer is just 43.6%, which ranks 20th among the NFL’s 32 starting quarterbacks.

Look at more comprehensive metrics like quarterback rating (where Carr’s 82.8 grade ranks 20th) or PFR’s adjusted net yards per pass attempt (which has Carr at 23rd, with a 5.2 ANY/A) and you’ll see more of the same: he’s on the wrong end of the spectrum in terms of NFL quarterback play.

It wouldn’t be as big an issue if Carr were playing on the modest contract the Saints signed Jameis Winston to; his last two-year, $28 million deal would be more in line with someone performing at Carr’s level. That Carr is instead being paid to play like a fringe top-10 quarterback (his $37.5 million average per-year salary clocks in at 13th) makes it a problem when he’s closer to a bottom-10 passer (his success rate, again, is 20th).  If Carr can’t pick it up and meet the expectations set for him, he and his contract are quickly going to become an albatross holding this team back.

So what’s to be done? Adding a new receiver? Changing the play caller? The issues have almost varied week to week. Early this season everyone was (rightfully) concerned about the offensive line. The protection improved as the year continued, though injuries have wracked the unit in recent weeks. Chris Olave and the receiving corps have caught a lot of flak for running poor routes or not competing on contested targets. There’s some validity to that, but watch the tape and you’ll see receivers getting open and Carr not throwing to them.

What about a new play caller? Saints head coach Dennis Allen was asked about personnel changes coming out of the long break between last week’s Thursday night game and said that none were coming. But Allen responded with something interesting when the offense’s growing pains were brought up.

“I think it’s time for those to be done with,” Allen said in reference to the offense’s (and Carr’s) struggles. They’re running out of excuses after seven games with more poor performances than plays to be proud of. When asked what would happen if those things weren’t done with, Allen replied, “We’ll cross that bridge if we get to it.”

That was the first real criticism or negativity (soft as it was) that Allen has directed to his offense and quarterback this season, but it was needed. If anything he may have not been clear enough about where the team must improve. Carr has to play better. He has to be more aggressive and make better use of the weapons available to him. Panicking and throwing a no-hope pass to Alvin Kamara with defenders closing in hasn’t gotten in done yet, and it isn’t likely to win games any time soon.

Carr must perform like someone who has been on the field 150 times before. He needs to justify the $150 million contract the Saints signed with him. If not, he’ll go down and taken Allen and everyone in the building with him.

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Jaguars defense unfazed by Derek Carr: ‘He’s gonna check down, check down, check down’

The Jaguars defense was unfazed by Derek Carr, with safety Rayshawn Jenkins saying after the game, ‘He’s gonna check down, check down, check down’

This is a tough quote on Derek Carr, but it lines up with what we saw on Thursday night. The Jacksonville Jaguars defense was not fazed by the threat of big plays from the New Orleans Saints quarterback in their 31-24 win. Afterward, Jaguars safety Rayshawn Jenkins let everyone know just how little he and his teammates thought of Carr’s ability to attack them over the top.

All they had to do, Jenkins said, was just keep everything in front of them: “We know that’s Derek Carr’s game. He’s gonna check down, check down, check down. We just have to win the game down the field and that was the mindset of the DBs. We’ll let him have the checkdowns; we’ll come up, rally, tackle that and get rid of the shot plays.”

Carr’s longest completion of the night was a 21-yard pickup early in the second quarter by Alvin Kamara, who made a nice play in space to gain most of that after the catch. Kamara led the team with 12 receptions for 91 yards; Carr was unable to put the ball where his wide receivers could have a chance to catch it on deep shots to Michael Thomas, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed in other opportunities.

And this was a big criticism of Carr during his nine-year Raiders career. He was dinged for being too eager to throw a pass short of the first-down marker and force his running backs or tight ends to move the chains. The Saints forced him to throw downfield often early this season, but that’s obviously not a style of offense Carr is comfortable running. It’s worth asking whether he’s even capable of it. With opposing defenses keying in on his vulnerabilities so successfully, he’s got to show the Saints he can win in different ways.

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Saints legend Drew Brees back in town for game against Jaguars

Saints legend Drew Brees was back in town for Thursday night’s game with the Jaguars:

The New Orleans Saints are back in the Superdome for the first time in a couple of weeks, taking on the Jacksonville Jaguars, and some stars are back home to watch them play.

Saints legend and NFL legend Drew Brees was back on the sideline for the pregame and he brought his family with him. Brees is the best player in the franchise’s history and fans are hoping that his presence might transfer some energy into struggling Saints offense. It was a nice site to see the kids playing around on the field again, something they never skip an opportunity to do.

He wasn’t the only former Saints Super Bowl winner at the game, however. Cornerback Tracy Porter, who made one of the biggest plays in franchise history, was also in town to watch the game. So was Saints legend Steve Gleason and his family. It’s great to see so many important players from team history catching up and supporting the squad.

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Dennis Allen shares update on Derek Carr’s injured throwing shoulder

After not throwing in practice until Friday last week, Derek Carr is already throwing this week. Dennis Allen shared a welcomed update on Wednesday | @southexclusives

New Orleans Saints quarterback Derek Carr didn’t suffer a setback against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. In fact, his shoulder seems to be improving. Carr “threw a little bit more today” according to head coach Dennis Allen, during the Saints’ media availability session after practice Wednesday.

That’s a welcome development. This comes after Carr didn’t throw until Friday before last week’s game with the Buccaneers on Sunday. Carr’s shoulder injury was about pain management, so this would suggest the pain is subsiding.

Though this isn’t surprising, it is still good news. Carr took a risk playing on Sunday, and his shoulder held up well. As of Wednesday, Allen said, “things look good in terms of where he’s at heading into this week.” Carr was officially listed as limited on the first injury report.

As expected after not missing last week’s matchup, Carr should play this Sunday versus the New England Patriots. His arm should also be in better condition. He needs to perform at a much higher level after his offense was limited to just nine points in last week’s loss.

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Saints will start Derek Carr vs. Bucs; QB ‘had no pain’ in injured shoulder

Multiple outlets report the Saints will start Derek Carr on Sunday. NOF’s Nick Underhill says Carr ‘had no pain’ in his injured shoulder leading up to the game:

There it is: NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill both reported Sunday morning that the Saints will start Derek Carr at quarterback against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Underhill adds that Carr “had no pain” in his injured throwing shoulder after participating in Friday’s final practice session, and he’s feeling well enough to play during Sunday’s pregame warmups.

So it’ll be Carr under center at the Caesars Superdome, not his backup Jameis Winston. This all lines up with what the team said throughout the week: so long as Carr could manage the pain in his shoulder while throwing without mechanical limitations, he’ll be good to go. That’s the case in the final hours leading up to the game, so he’s going to play.

Hopefully he can help the team. The Saints go into Week 4 tied with the Bucs on top of the NFC South, with the Atlanta Falcons facing a 10-point deficit to the Jacksonville Jaguars overseas in England. If that lead holds and the Falcons fall to 2-2, Carr and the Saints could take an early lead on the division by knocking the Bucs down a peg.

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Reports: Saints expected to start QB Derek Carr vs. Buccaneers

Multiple reports say the Saints are expected to start Derek Carr against the Buccaneers. He’ll test his injured shoulder pregame:

Here we go: multiple reports indicate the New Orleans Saints expect to start Derek Carr at quarterback in Week 4’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan.

Carr will test his injured throwing shoulder during pregame warmups but he’s taken all of the first-team snaps in practice on Friday and Saturday, so he’s obviously preparing with the expectation that he’ll be leading the offense into Sunday’s game.

So look for No. 4 to be in the huddle this afternoon, unless he experiences a last-minute setback. Carr suffered an AC joint sprain midway through last week’s loss to the Green Bay Packers which has been characterized as a pain-tolerance injury rather than a mechanically-challenging concern. If he can gut out the pain and play at a high level, the Saints should have a good shot at putting away this game with a divisional opponent. Stay tuned.

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Report: Saints have ‘optimism’ Derek Carr can start vs. Buccaneers

Multiple outlets report the Saints have ‘optimism’ Derek Carr can start against the Buccaneers

Well this is interesting. The New Orleans Saints will kick off with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in about 12 hours, and multiple outlets report the team is expressing “optimism” that quarterback Derek Carr will be able to start on Sunday afternoon. NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett reported as much Saturday evening, echoing comments from his colleague Nick Underhill earlier in the day; NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared the same information after speaking with his sources.

That makes sense given what we know about his injured throwing shoulder. Carr’s status was repeatedly described as a pain management issue rather than a structural or functionality concern — there isn’t risk of worsening his injured joint by playing him, and swelling decreased to a point where he’s been able to wind up and throw as usual.

But we’ll have to wait and see whether the coaches ultimately choose to let Carr play. Jameis Winston was re-signed his offseason for exactly this sort of situation, in case Carr missed a game or two with an injury. On top of that, the offensive line has been a serious problem through the first three games and it’s missing a starter in Cesar Ruiz (who is out with a concussion suffered last week). Is it worth starting Carr behind a banged-up line while he’s managing an injury? Stay tuned.

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