Getty Las Vegas Raiders QB Derek Carr.
Derek Carr survived another offseason filled with rumors the Las Vegas Raiders were going to make a change but that doesn’t mean the rumors are dead forever. There are still those out there that believe Carr isn’t in the team’s plans for the future. 2020 offers the quarterback his best chance of success since 2016.
Carr has had his issues with the media and critics in the past and even went so far to say that he’s “tired of being disrespected” earlier in the offseason. He was recently on Mad Dog Sports Radio with Adam Schein and again went after his critics.
“I think it’s the people that, just really just, without lack of a better term, just don’t know what’s going on,” Carr said. “What we accomplished, what we’re able to do has been pretty awesome. And some pretty fun circumstances, I’ll say it, in a fun way. It just is what it is. I’m just tired of the talk, I’m just ready to play. and I’m excited to take my group of guys, and go and do this thing. And like I said, people can keep saying all they want, I think I’ve grown to a place in my life, where I just don’t care anymore. I’ve always been a people pleaser. I’ve always tried to appease everybody, but those days are dead and gone. I’m here, and no disrespect to anybody, but I’m not here to be anybody’s friend. … I think it’s time to just go out and play football and not care about the other stuff.”
ICYMI: #Raiders QB @derekcarrqb brushes off his critics to @AdamSchein ahead of the NFL season & says “it’s time to just go out and play football and not care about the other stuff.”
Carr Needs the Wins
More so than any other position in the NFL, the quarterback gets the credit for wins and losses. Carr has better than average stats and is easily the best quarterback the Raiders have had since Rich Gannon. However, he has only 39 wins compared to 55 losses. It’s not fair to blame him for all those losses but there is merit to the argument that the best quarterbacks get wins. Even Raiders owner Mark Davis agrees with that narrative.
Until Carr can get his team back to the playoffs, people are going to question how long he’ll be with the team. Luckily, 2020 seems like a great year to quiet the doubters once and for all.
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Carr Is Set up for Success This Year
There are no more excuses for the Raiders in 2020. They’ve got a great offensive line, dynamic playmakers and Carr is going into his third year in the same system for the first time in his career. There are still some question marks on defense but the group should at least be better than it was in 2019.
Injuries will always be a concern for every team and the Raiders have already lost a couple of guys but their depth is much better this year. The biggest red flag for the team is that they are relying heavily on youth. It’s a formula that worked well for the team for most of the season last year. They’ll have to hope it’s even more successful this year if they plan on making the playoffs.
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