It’s funny how things work in the NFL sometimes. It’s a business first and foremost, so when things don’t go according to plan, heads will roll. For the Las Vegas Raiders, those heads won’t be those of Josh McDaniels or Dave Ziegler. Owner Mark Davis is giving them time to execute their “vision” for the Silver and Black. It turns out that it’s Derek Carr who’s going to fall on the sword.
First, you have Raiders beat writers on the ground reporting that the team gave up on Carr early in the season. If that wasn’t bad enough, there’s more. Respected writer Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated dropped this doozy recently. With regard to the blown leads and losses that piled up for the Raiders, Breer said that there was a lack of “accountability” on Carr’s end.
“Accountability—there was a feeling, among coaches and players, that Carr hadn’t shouldered his share of the blame for the mountain of close losses that piled up over the weeks”
So, Derek Carr blew all those leads for the Raiders? Got it.
As mentioned before, someone will get the blame when an NFL season goes awry. The narrative shifts now that Carr is likely done with the Raiders. For months, we heard about the atrocious defense, but now Breer talks about Carr not holding himself accountable. We didn’t realize Carr played defense. Under McDaniels and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, the Raiders have simply been bad on defense, like historically bad.
The Raiders are the first team in league history to blow five leads in which they led by 10 or more points after the first half. The offense going silent in the second half of those games does warrant blame too. However, how much of that was McDaniels not trusting Carr? With Jarrett Stidham under center, it appeared that McDaniels opened up the playbook, and we saw plays that we hadn’t seen from Carr all year.
Regardless of how you feel about Carr, it’s obvious that he’s walking the plank after an otherwise underwhelming year under Davis’s ownership again.
*Top Photo: ESPN/RaidersÂ