Calling it an “ugly game” wouldn’t do it justice since it would be putting it nicely. As whenever there’s a crushing loss, it has become the norm for Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr to shoulder the blame, deserving or not.
Nothing went right for the Silver and Black as Sam Darnold and the New York Jets offense had their way notching three touchdowns through the air. As far as Carr is concerned, his receivers dropped key passes at critical points in the game, which prevented any sort of momentum.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden summed up the consensus post-game yesterday.
“Missed catches, missed tackles, missed field goals, missed an opportunity to show our fans who came out what kind of team we are.” -Gruden via Vic Tafur on Twitter
Rough translation to what Gruden probably really wanted to say, “it was a sh*t show out there.” It had all the makings of a trap game for the Raiders. Terrible weather, Raiders confidence at an all time high, and a Jets team with a chip on their shoulder with the media overlooking them. And a trap is exactly how it went down, in fact, you could argue the Raiders never really “made it” to MetLife stadium. Carr didn’t even make it to the end of the game; that tells you all need to know about the prototypical “bad day.”
Derek Carr Said What Now?
During the post game pressers, Carr made a statement that has many folks, well quite frankly, bewildered.
“In my sixth year, I’m 28 with three kids. I want to win now. They’re going to be growing up soon and wanting me to come home. I’d rather win while they’re still in school and young.” -Carr via ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez’s Twitter
Well alrighty then. There’s a few ways to look at this quote by Carr and it’s quiet possible that people (as always) are reading way too much into it. Carr wants to win and no one should really be questioning that, I mean do people really believe otherwise? The man’s 28 and with only one good season under his belt record wise, yes, a lot of that was beyond his control, but he wants to win.
Would it be that terrible if Carr wants to avoid playing late into his mid or late thirties? Absolutely not. He wouldn’t be the first player to chose his life/family over football.
It’s a bump on the road for sure, but to insinuate Carr is packing it in or anything remotely like that just isn’t realistic. You don’t think Gruden would be the first to bench him if he sensed anything like that?
How Quickly People Forget…
Before the abomination that was Sunday’s game in MetLife did people forget Carr was having an impressive stretch of games? Just look at his previous three games for a glimpse. He totaled four touchdowns and only one interception, completing 66 passes out of 91 passes attempted.
The season is not over by any stretch and the playoffs are still very much in play for the Raiders. Does it look good considering the team heads to Kansas City? Probably not. But make no mistake, Carr is in this to win.