For Raiders QB Derek Carr, creativity outside the pocket still a work in progress

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr is still tasked with doing more to impress his head coach, Jon Gruden.

When Raiders coach Jon Gruden rejoined the franchise in 2018, he said the job was appealing, in part, because of quarterback Derek Carr.

But it appears there’s still a bit of work to do if Carr is to tap into the full potential of Gruden’s offense.

Since his return, Gruden has tried to mold Carr into his ideal QB. Carr, by all accounts, has done what he can to absorb his coach’s lessons.

For instance, Carr adapted to Gruden’s demand to mitigate risk and avoid turnovers, and his completion percentage hit a career-high in 2019. But as Gruden stymied any gunslinger mentality that Carr possessed, there were growing pains.

The Raiders’ 2018 loss in Miami against the Dolphins is one example. With three minutes to play and a 1st-and-goal situation, Carr threw a risky pass to former Raiders wide receiver, Martavis Bryant. The ball was intercepted, and the Raiders lost, 28-20. Gruden voiced his displeasure with the play postgame, of course.

Carr’s decision-making in the pocket slowly improved after that game, however, and it’s hard to imagine him making another such throw on first-and-goal in the future.

But there’s yet another trait that Gruden wants Carr to possess. It also involves decision making, but after the play breaks down.

Offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who is always on the same page as Gruden, said Carr can still improve his ability to gain yards when the unexpected happens.

“[I] want to see him create and I think if you said that about Derek’s career, can he be more creative?” Olson said via conference call on Tuesday. “When a play breaks down, can you get out and create and be the play after the play call? That’s been an emphasis. He sees it, he’s athletic enough that he can create with his legs, so we are just working on him to create more outside the pocket.” 

As Olson noted, Carr is certainly athletic enough to be a threat when the play breaks down, which keeps the defense on their toes and slows their aggression. Also as Olson mentioned, Carr is aware of the situation. The QB was asked about his ability to create offense after Olson’s comments on Tuesday.

“Before coach Gruden got here, I barely did it,” said Carr via conference call, after learning of Olson’s critique. “I’m going to sit in the pocket. These reads are going to beat you and my arm is going to beat you. Then he came in and the first year was a struggle just trying to figure out how to move and run around in the pocket. Then last year happens … and we’re getting more first downs with my legs. We’re winning football games with me scrambling. The arrow is trending up. But we want to still do more.” 

Fortunately for Carr, it shouldn’t take much more to unleash the full potential of Gruden’s offense. With his skills inside the pocket, merely being a consistent threat to leave the tackle box and make a positive play — even it’s just a few yards — is enough to make an impact.

That skill is simply a must if Gruden’s ball-control offense is to reach its max potential. And if a QB with Carr’s athleticism can evade sacks and avoid a loss, he’ll eventually begin to break plays for decent yardage, or even better, hit his targets on the run with regularity.

Even as Carr attempts to improve in that area, Gruden has made it clear how much he covets such a quarterback. Before facing Andrew Luck and the Colts in 2018, Gruden raved about Luck’s ability to create offense when the play goes awry.

“That’s what I think the great quarterbacks do. They don’t just make the throws and fix plays at the line of scrimmage. When’s there’s no blocking or nobody open, he can still make big plays,” Gruden said.

Additionally, during Week 14 of the same campaign, Gruden said there are natural QB scrambling lanes in his offense when skill players are double-teamed, especially if it’s the tight end or running back.

In 2019, Carr’s progress off-the-cuff was a focus on the first day of training camp, with a scramble by the QB making news. Later in the same camp, Gruden prepared Carr for unblocked pass-rushers by running into Carr’s face himself while shouting instructions at his pupil.

The effort yielded some results during the season that followed, as Carr mentioned. In the Raiders’ loss in Oakland to the Jaguars, Carr scrambled from the pocket when his team needed a first down to put the game away, and it appeared he did enough to win. Unfortunately, due to a questionable call from the official, the Raiders lost that game, their last in Oakland.

But that consistent threat has to develop if he’s to take another step at QB. And it appears Gruden needs to see more progress if his wandering eye for signal-callers is to subside.

The coach’s affection for dual-threat quarterbacks dates back, at least, to former Raiders QB Rich Gannon, who was in Oakland with Gruden from 1999-01. Recently, Gruden had rumored interest in former Oklahoma QB and 2019 Rookie of the Year, Kyler Murray.

And Gruden brought an experienced, dual-threat QB to Las Vegas, Marcus Mariota, to compete with Carr. As a draft analyst, the coach raved about Mariota, as did Raiders general manager, Mike Mayock.

Carr is still the clear choice as starter, but he’d do well to improve in this area, shutting the door on talk of a possible demotion that followed the Mariota signing. Such rumors will continue until Carr leads the Raiders to the playoffs, signs an extension or is let go.

Amazingly, though Carr is in his seventh year as the Raiders’ starting QB and the franchise’s all-time leader in passing yards, he’s still a work in progress regarding a skill his coach covets. It’s his third year in Gruden’s offense, however. Carr’s never had such continuity in his career, which bodes well for his chances.

Still, it doesn’t figure to be easy, even if Carr only has to show consistent, competent ability outside the pocket. It’s not a rudimentary skill. As Gruden said, it’s a trait shared by great quarterbacks.

But Carr will give it all he’s got. It’s his job to realize the potential of the Raiders offense, and if he does so in 2020, he could be Gruden’s long-term solution at quarterback, and they can both finish what they started in 2018.

Raiders have ‘good problems’ with an influx of talent of offense

Raiders OC Greg Olson wasn’t complaining, but he and coach Jon Gruden have a lot of work to do in piecing together the offense.

After struggling to field a full wide receiver unit at times during the 2019 campaign, the Raiders are flush with young playmakers as they hit their first year in Las Vegas.

But is it possible for there to be too much of a good thing?

The Raiders aggressively added skill players to their offense this offseason, starting with their No. 1 draft pick, lighting-fast wide receiver, Henry Ruggs III.

Las Vegas wasn’t nearly done. The doubled and then tripled down on their strategy, selecting versatile playmaker, Lynn Bowden Jr, and WR Bryan Edwards on back-to-back picks in the third round.

Coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock also brought former Cowboys tight end, Jason Witten into the fold. And there are talented players already on the roster that need the football to thrive. Will one pigskin be enough for this group?

Offensive coordinator Greg Olson said he loves the competition across the board, and he also said that staying true to the Raiders’ style of offense while diversifying the playbook and personnel groupings is no easy task.

“It’s been difficult,” Olson said during a Zoom call with media Tuesday. “Coach Gruden has mentioned that this morning in scripting plays and using the different personnel groupings. How much do we use the 13 personnel or the 22 personnel, 11 personnel? Again, it’s more about depth and building depth at every position, the skill positions as well as the offensive line. A lot of good problems to try to solve here during training camp.”

Olson also said he didn’t want to leave fullback Alex Ingold out of the equation, either, and Witten makes 12 and 13 personnel stronger, which is another factor to consider.

With Olson mentioning Tuesday that Bowden Jr., who played quarterback in college, is spending time in the QB room as well as the running back room, there are indeed plenty of options for Raiders offense to sort out in 2020.

But with the foundation set a year ago, the Raiders’ new pieces should fall into place fairly easily. Led by QB Derek Carr, the Raiders averaged 5.9 yards per play in 2019, a very respectable rate.

If the offense can uphold that level of execution and add an abundance of talent, the results should reflect the investment made on offense, especially in the red zone, where the Raiders struggled in 2019. Versatility is beneficial near the goalline, even more so when Las Vegas has one of the best running backs in the NFL in Josh Jacobs and a proven offensive line.

While Olson and Gruden do have their work cut out for them, having so many options is a problem they’re undoubtedly ready for. If all goes according to plan, there will be plenty of yards and touchdowns for the Raiders’ skill players to divvy up.

[vertical-gallery id=68979]

[lawrence-newsletter]

Raiders OT Trent Brown expects an improved offense in 2020: ‘It’s about to be scary’

Raiders OT Trent Brown knows what it takes to win the Super Bowl, and he’s ready for a vastly improved Las Vegas offense in 2020.

When Raiders general manager Mike Mayock joined the club in 2019, one of his biggest free-agent acquisitions, literally and figuratively, was offensive tackle Trent Brown, who earned the most lucrative contract ever for an offensive lineman at the time.

Brown, who measures 6-foot-8 and 380 pounds, paid immediate dividends, earning a Pro Bowl birth in 2019. His play was stellar, and he knows what it takes to be a champion, having won the Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2018.

The big man is excited about the Raiders’ chances in 2020, especially on offense. He told The Fresno Bee’s Anthony Galaviz he thinks Mayock’s offseason moves made the team better, and he expects to build on its 7-9 record in 2019.

Brown followed up by reiterating his support for the front office as the franchise attempts to win its fourth Lombardi trophy, and he predicted some magic on offense in the Raiders’ first year in Las Vegas.

Even with the additions last year, me being one of them, you can look at those guys and trust the organization … to put the right players in place for us to win some games and win championships. With Henry Ruggs, and we still got one of the best backs in the league and we got the best offensive line in the league. I mean, it’s about to be scary.

I’m excited. I definitely think it’s going to be special times in silver and black for years to come.

Mayock and coach Jon Gruden’s focus on the offensive line could be the foundation for a special run. The unit has all five starters returning after helping the offense gain the 11th most yards in the NFL a year ago at a rate of 5.9 yards per play.

The offense was productive in 2019 without playmakers on the outside, with wide receiver Tyrell Williams suffering a plantar fasciitis injury early in the campaign. Mayock addressed that need in the first round of the draft with WR Henry Ruggs III, as Brown mentioned.

Plus, Williams is healthy and set to return in 2020. It should also be noted that tight end Darren Waller had a tremendous breakout campaign last year and will look to duplicate or improve on his 90 catches and 1,145 yards, and the Raiders drafted two other playmakers in the draft, Lynn Bowden Jr. and Bryan Edwards.

And running back Josh Jacobs, who Brown alluded to, proved he’s one of the league’s best in 2019. With quarterback Derek Carr entering his third year under Gruden with a host of weapons, the offense could indeed become scary for some defenses.

But if it’s all to culminate in a championship, as Brown suggests, the franchise’s culture change has to solidify as the personnel improves. With an abundance of young talent and a brand new city and stadium, the opportunity is there, especially with elite players like Brown who know how to win it all.

[vertical-gallery id=70021]

[lawrence-newsletter]