Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden have no time for tomfoolery. Neither does Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.
By stealing Antonio Brown from Pittsburgh, inking Trent Brown to the richest contract bestowed upon an offensive lineman and landing wide receiver Tyrell Williams, the Oakland Raiders general manager and head coach are proving they don’t have time for malarkey. (Lord knows how much of that has piled up in Alameda).
What now for Derek Carr?
The TV Twins added a clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver in AB (arguably the best receiver in the game today), a mammoth offensive tackle and a big-ass fast wideout all in the initial phase of free agency. Mayock wasn’t fibbing when he said the team needed to surround quarterback Derek Carr with weapons. DC now has the arsenal and teeth to inject some whoop-ass into the Raiders offense.
And that’s why I believe Carr’s magic number in 2019 is 35. If the franchise quarterback doesn’t throw more than 35 touchdowns this season, it will be an abject failure — FUBAR, if you will. (Carr’s career-high TD mark is 32, set in 2015, if you were curious).
While there are still areas of concern — the offensive line, in particular — Mayock and Gruden didn’t make these maneuvers to merely create much-needed fanfare. They want to give the signal caller they dub as the “franchise” a state-of-the-art payload to drop some hurt on the opposition. The TV Twins are hellbent on reviving the 2016 edition of that particular Carr.
With two gargantuan tackles (Brown and Miller are both 6-foot-8), AB drawing attention on one side (and still getting open) and a ridiculously tall and fast Williams (he’s 6-foot-4 and runs a 4.44) striding on the other side of the field, Carr will have an array of options afforded to him. If the soon-to-be 28-year-old doesn’t set career-highs in passing yards (4,049 under Gruden in Year 1), touchdowns and completion percentage (68.9 percent under Gruden), it will be downright pathetic.
Yes, I said it, pathetic.
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