On every NFL team, the quarterback is usually the center of attention, whether that attention is positive or negative.
With the Raiders, that rule is amplified. The team’s starter, Derek Carr, is entering his seventh season as the signal-caller for Las Vegas. He’s been the focal point of some profound highs and unsightly lows, creating a polarization amongst a number of the team’s fanatics.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, Carr touched on some of those moments, as well as the Raiders’ future. Two less memorable occasions that Tafur brought up involved Carr throwing the ball away on fourth down, once in 2018, and another time in 2019.
Some media members questioned Carr about the plays at the time, and the QB faced criticism. Tafur asked Carr if he ever thinks about those plays, and Carr said he’s let them go.
We’re talking about two plays over the course of … however many I have had in my career. People will talk about those a lot longer than the one you dropped into Richard between two guys last season. That was one of the best throws in the league all year.
Carr then revealed the criticism did bother him initially, and it’s taken some time to put those plays in his past.
It really used to. I am not going to lie to you. It was like, what else do they want? It’s been a while, no offense, that we have had a quarterback that’s been able to stick around here. And be able to do some of these things. But I’ve just gotten away from that. I’m gonna put the things I need to on film and take care of our organization. And if anyone has anything say about two plays …
After a nice follow up from Tafur, Carr broke the plays down, as he did after each game. First, in 2018 against the Chargers when the Raiders were behind late but threatening to score. And then in 2019, on fourth and goal in a lopsided loss to the Titans.
The Chargers absolutely gloved it up. It was called for a certain thing, we didn’t get that. And I’m running about to get sacked. I’m just trained to throw it away. But in that moment, do I just throw it up in the middle of the field? Maybe one of our guys catches it. … I do look at that.
The last one, I literally extended the play for … literally, ever. And there was literally no option to make a completion. There are DBs in front of every receiver looking at me and ready to pick off the ball. I guess I can lower my shoulder and get trucked out of bounds at the 6, you know. I guess I can try. But we’re also down a couple scores. I extended that play for another six or seven seconds and … that’s what we’re talking about, like really?
Carr went on to say he only cares about coach Jon Gruden’s opinion, and that his singular goal is to win championships with the Raiders. And with that goal, he no longer has time for negativity, especially on social media.
Carr is right about at least one thing: this is just two plays we’re talking about here. But criticism of those plays is reasonable. And it’s not just fans, with various beat reporters asking about each play postgame.
One opinion piece in The Santa Rosa Press Democrat went so far to claim the game against the Chargers was “The Day Derek Carr Gave Up.” (That loss put the Raiders at 1-8 on the campaign.) The article was actually fair to Carr, listing potential reasons for the fourth-down mishap. Former WR Amari Cooper had been traded, Carr was getting sacked at an alarming rate, and the play call was questionable, for example.
But it’s still obvious: to throw the ball away on fourth down is a bad look, at the least. Rather than immediately referring to his throw to Jalen Richard and then bringing up the Raiders’ poor QB history, Carr might do well to simply admit that if he’s asked about it again.
Besides, these plays, while confounding, aren’t damning on their own. Maybe he’s already said he can do better, as he nearly did in explaining the play against the Chargers.
If he has, that’s even more reason to repeat it to Tafur. Perhaps if Carr kept that up, the many Raiders fans that still harp on these plays would eventually let it go.
Who really wants to keep talking about two bad plays, anyway? Especially with the Raiders showing improvement last year and a state-of-the-art stadium awaiting in Las Vegas, with Carr’s play positioned to improve in his third year in Gruden’s offense.