Not much went right for quarterback Derek Carr in the New Orleans Saints’ 31-24 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last Thursday. Carr completed 33 passes on 55 attempts for 301 yards, one touchdown, one interception, and a passer rating of 73.4. Were it not for a no-huddle series in the fourth quarter in which Carr completed three passes for 51 yards and a touchdown in 51 seconds, it would have been even worse.
The nadir of Carr’s game was this throw out of bounds with 10:44 left in the game.
The New Orleans #Saints QB Derek Carr is screaming at young wide receiver Chris Olave for giving up on the route! The ball was over thrown and out of bounds BUT you’re in the NFL, you can not give up on a play! 👀
pic.twitter.com/P0Xm6mpOEO— CJR Sports (@Sports_CJR) October 20, 2023
Carr did indeed seem quite miffed at his receiver for giving up on the route, but as Saints receiver Michael Thomas said of the play (he later deleted the tweet), Olave wasn’t even in the progression. Olave’s vertical route would be to clear things out to that side.
maybe mike could … talk to chris pic.twitter.com/MV9lflBoNH
— Denny Carter (@CDCarter13) October 21, 2023
If that’s the case, Carr’s reads should have been to Taysom Hill running the speed out from the right slot, then Rashid Shaheed on the short crosser from the left slot, and finally, Thomas to the back side. It was third-and-5, so why Carr uncorked this throw is a mystery.
“I think that’s frustrating,” head coach Dennis Allen said after the game regarding his quarterback and receivers being on the same page… or not. “That is probably one of the things that I’m most frustrated about is just that part of that inconsistency. We have got to…somehow, someway, we have to get those guys on the same page. There’s a lot that goes into that.”
“I wasn’t talking to Chris, like the past two weeks I was just talking in general,” Carr said of the play. “There were some things that happened today that led to some pretty big negative plays that should never happened, and I think that’s where my frustration came from.”
Based on Thomas’ evidence, throwing to receivers in the progression would be a great start to turning those frowns upside down.