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Things have taken an interesting turn in Derek Carr and Jack Del Rio’s relationship. When Del Rio was still coaching the Oakland Raiders, the two seemed to have a great relationship. Carr had his best seasons while Del Rio was coaching him. The former coach has been out of football since he was fired by Mark Davis and he now works for ESPN. When former players/coaches join the media, they have a tendency to ruffle some feathers. This happened recently when Del Rio suggested that Carr has been bad in cold-weather games. It’s hard to argue with the numbers as they suggest the quarterback has yet to win a game in sub-40 weather.
Regardless, Carr was asked about Del Rio’s comments after Wednesday’s practice and took a shot at his former coach.
“Jack was there with me a couple of those times,” said Carr. “I used to think this was a team game but yes, it’s all my fault and I take full responsibility.”
Carr takes the blame for the loses, but it’s clear that he doesn’t think he should. There’s a reason Del Rio was fired and it’s not because his quarterback couldn’t play well in cold weather.
Del Rio Responds
It didn’t take long for the coach to respond to Carr’s comments.
Del Rio has remained a fan of the Raiders even after he was fired. He’s also been a staunch Carr supporter since day one. The fact of the matter is that yes, the quarterback needs to play better in cold weather. Del Rio’s criticism isn’t as harsh as others. He actually recently predicted Carr to lead the team to the playoffs and finish with either a 12-4 or 11-5 record. Two things can be true at once. Del Rio could’ve failed as a coach in Oakland and Carr can play poorly in cold weather. Fortunately for Carr, there’s plenty of time for him to prove everybody wrong.
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Carr Looking to Get First Win in Arrowhead
If Carr can pull off a win against the Chiefs in Arrowhead on Sunday, he’s going to quiet a lot of doubters. He’s never won a game there in his career and all of those games have been in the cold. Carr had a chance to talk about how difficult it is to play in Kansas City.
“[The Chiefs] have been a really good football team for a long time,” said Carr. “[Arrowhead] is a tough place to win. You can ask a lot of people who have been through there, it’s not easy… It’s not easy to play there – it’s loud, it’s rowdy. They put up a lot of points. They do a lot of things well on defense.”
The Chiefs aren’t really known for their defense, but Carr still struggles against them. This is the most important game the Raiders have played since 2016 and they need their quarterback to at least make a few big throws. Josh Jacobs figures to be the main focus of the team’s offense thanks to the fact that the Chiefs have a bad rushing defense. However, the rookie can’t do everything. Carr needs to step up if Oakland is going to win this game and have a chance at the AFC West title.
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