The Oakland Raiders have one win on the season and most NFL experts do not believe they will win another. The team is coming off what might be their worst performance this season after falling to the St. Louis Rams 52-0. The Raiders failed in all three phases of the game as their defense looked terrible and rookie quarterback Derek Carr was benched. Now, Oakland must begin to look towards 2015 and determine who gets to be a part of the long-term plan and who does not.
The quarterback position will once again be taking priority in Oakland. In the loss to the Rams, Carr was benched in favor of veteran Matt Schaub and neither looked the part of a quarterback. With just over 12 minutes to play, Schaub took the field after the rookie went 24 of 39 for 173 yards along with two interceptions. Carr looked terrible and understood getting the hook.
"I was pretty hot," Carr said, via the San Mercury News. "I was upset, but then (Sparano) explained why. It's hard, because I'm so competitive. I want to play. He explained we have to be smart, too, and understand we still have four games left. We can't risk anything with the situation the way it was. It just wasn't us. That didn't look like us, what we had been working on. Obviously times like that are going to happen. You never want it to be like this."
Schaub might have looked decent in the game, but he is not the long-term option for the Raiders. The question becomes whether Carr is. The rookie quarterback looks poised for improvement, it just might come slower than the Raiders would have liked. According to numerous players on the Raiders, Carr has the leadership and technique to be successful, the Raiders just need to help him out with talent.
However, most quarterbacks in this league are on a very short leash, Carr included. The Raiders have had failed quarterback attempts for the better part of the last four years and cannot afford another season with the issue. The team has options that include drafting someone like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota. They could sign Mark Sanchez or even get involved on the Robert Griffin III trade hype. However, no quarterback will be successful if the Raiders do not invest in talent for them to work with.
