Before Raider Nation decides to gang up on me for criticizing Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr. Hear me out, please.
A True Raider
I like Carr, he’s living his childhood dream. I don’t believe anyone on that team wants to play for the Raiders more than him. He deserves the last game in Oakland for that, but after that, the team has two road games, which are in Carson against Chargers and Denver against Broncos.
If we are not talking about playoffs, we are talking about the offseason now.
Bench Carr, start Kizer
Why not let DeShone Kizer have a run at two of our biggest rivals?
The Scenarios
Scenario 1: Kizer plays horrible and we know he’s just a backup at best. No threat to Carr
Scenario 2: He plays decent and we know he could be trade bait for a draft pick. No threat to Carr
Scenario 3: He plays good enough to warrant a serious shot at challenging Carr in training camp. Slight threat to Carr
Scenario 4: He plays great and gives the team reason to drop Carr and save 15 million dollars.
Perspective
It’s that fourth scenario that scares some fans. Nobody wants to see “their quarterback” get ousted like that. Some were mad about Jack Del Rio being let go as he grew up rooting for the Raiders as well.
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People are worried about Kizer for how he did in Cleveland and his small time being used in Green Bay when Rodgers was hurt. He was thrown to the wolves in those moments, but he’s still alive and currently has his clipboard.
Trust in Mayock
Kizer shouldn’t be a cause for concern. You should want to see what he has got. As I mentioned before, there is a reason Raiders grabbed him as quick as they did. General Manager Mike Mayock wanted him holding a clipboard and penned him as the quarterback with the highest ceiling of his draft class. That draft class consisted of Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson.
How many of you said you wanted a player like them? People want to say trust Mayock, but in reality they only trust him when he’s doing what they like. Or maybe they just don’t know enough and can’t argue.
Final Words
If Oakland wins next week, and both the Steelers and Titans lose, then I can see why people would want to keep Carr in. There could still be a tiny shot at the postseason with more help. Once the season is known to be over, and the Raiders are eliminated, I see no reason to not start Kizer.
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If you don’t agree, all I need to ask is “what are you afraid of?” If Kizer is garbage, Carr has one less obstacle. Now, if he does good, Carr has a man to be pushed by to elevate his game. If Kizer does great, then he pushes Carr out and we have a new quarterback for the future.
If playoffs are out, Raiders owe it to themselves to park Carr and roll with Kizer in the last meaningless game(s).
For more Raiders content keep it here at the Ramble, to see other stuff Ben has wrote and designed check out eagleyeforum.com.
One cannot take issue with your viewpoint. One only states the obvious with how the season has gone– to quote a former President–it’s the defense stupid. We have suffered so many injuries in the back 7 that it is a miracle we are where we are. Still, one has to agree with your POV. Carr professes to be such a veteran but then makes the 4th and goal throw…and makes so many check downs on third down and long that it’s his DNA, his choice, his preference. Sure, players may not be that open, but hitting those high windows are what separates average from great QBs.
I don’t see why not. You laid out a good case.
Benching Carr no doubt would’ve made him feel like crap, and probably wore away at his confidence. Not only that, but it’s obvious HE wasn’t the problem……a SERIOUS pack of weapons and a defense that made any QB look like a HOF was. Sorry, but no QB is winning consistently in that situation. It would be impossible.
Good teams build around their QB’s. Carr is a pocket passer, so you give him good weapons to throw to. Raiders have failed to do that in reach of the last 2 seasons, and that is absolutely not Carr’s fault.
In ’17 a rookie OC used the least play action of any OC in the NFL by a HUGE margin. He called some 15 play action attempts ON THE SEASON, the the team with the next fewest attempts was the Steelers, who had 36, more than double. That lead to the offense being predictable, which lead to the WR’s getting the least separation in the NFL (per PFF).
How long can a franchise set their QB yup to fail before ppl realize that maybe the problem isn’t the QB, but the team that keeps screwing up the situation around him? QBs need stability and talent around them to develop. Raiders have not given him that, yet fans blame Carr for the losses.
That’s not even getting into taking about over if the worst defenses in the NFL, and THEE worst since ’14. Even guys like Brees and Rodgers have had losing records when their teams defense was bad, so why would Carr, who has no weapons on top of that, be any different?
Give DC a fair shot with an NFL caliber team around him before giving up on him. He’s in the same situation Tannehill was in. Good QB on a bad team. That’s all there is to it.