The Derek Carr era in Oakland got off to a rocky start over the weekend as the Raiders fell to the New York Jets 19-14. Oakland's offense looked slow and sluggish in the loss leading many to wonder if it was a lack of talent that caused the Jets' defense to have their way on Sunday or the experience at the quarterback position. As Dennis Allen remains coy on the status of Matt Schaub and his elbow, will Carr see another start?
Carr is taking full blame for the Raiders' first loss of the season. The rookie quarterback was named the starter after Schaub was diagnosed with elbow tendinitis in his throwing arm which was causing his to have accuracy issues and problems with arm strength. However, Carr did very little to prove that he is worthy of the starting spot under center and understands that he must improve in order to the Raiders the win.
"This isn't my first time losing a game and it's not my first time dealing with adversity," Carr said, via CSNBayArea.com. "You can put it all on me, because I am going to go ahead and work my tail off and we're going to fix things. (I was able) to go out there for the first time and see all the pressures Coach Ryan threw at me. I was able to see the coverages. Now I have to do a better job of making the correct calls and putting us in better situations."
While Carr did not play well, neither did the offensive pieces around him. Both Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew failed to get any kind of rhythm going on the ground, forcing the rookie to throw more than usual. At one point, Jones-Drew was hit and caused an 11-yard fumble. Things never improved as McFadden had 15 yards on four carries while Jones-Drew had 11 yards on nine carries.
Things did not improve in the receiving area either. Rod Streater led the way with just 46 yards on five catches. James Jones had 34 yards on three catches. If Carr is going to be successful, the offense must do more to help the quarterback out. Allen has made no indication that Schaub is healthy enough to play or that Carr played so poorly in his debut. Streater noted that despite what the boxscore says, he and the rest of the offense trust the rookie quarterback more than anything. Jones noted that the loss can be summed up to not taking advantage of scoring opportunities.
"We had certain checks against their pressures in attempt to get the ball out of his hands quick, so the pressure wouldn't get there and he wouldn't be taking no unnecessary shots," Jones said. "He had the ability to check to those calls to get us in a decent play, and he did a great job. He commanded the huddle. We came up short but he made some great throws he was real calm in there."
