I'm not one for hyperbole and don't believe in fan-driven "trap" or "revenge" games, but I do think this game is the most important game of Derek Carr's career. Whether you believe in narratives about Carr or not, the narrative is what it is, and this is Derek's chance to prove it wrong.
At the end of the day, a win is a win, and I would happily take an ugly win over a beautiful loss.
But this is the reddit, where fans talk about narratives and shit that doesn't really matter, so let's do that.
1. This is a playoff game.
Carr doesn't get the respek he deserves because he's never proven anything on the biggest stages in the playoffs. Assuming the Jags lose to Indy, the Raiders are in a win and advance situation - essentially a playoff game. IMO Carr needs to not just win, but he needs to put the team on his back and play a great game to show the national audience and the Raiders organization what he can do in playoff pressure. Raiders need to win because of Derek, not in spite of him.
2. Carr is still better than Herbert.
Most national pundits and some Raider fans would probably rather have Herbert than Carr right now. After just two years, Herbert is on a HoF trajectory. Carr says he's "pissed off" about the hate he gets, this is the game to prove that he is who he says he is. IMO Carr needs to out-play Herbert.
3. A bad game could solidify the narrative.
If Carr has a bad game with turnovers and bad decisions, IMO it will solidify the Carr narrative. Carr will be who the national audience thinks he is, and nothing short of a future deep playoff run will redeem him. Many Raiders fans already question whether Carr is a winner, if he chokes this game, the Raiders need to seriously think about who they want leading the organization for the next 5 years. On the flip side, if Herbert comes out and wins this game, the Legend of Herbert will officially begin and if you thought the media gargled his nuts before, get ready for an eternal garglefest.
It’s time for Carr to get a nasty revenge game against Bosa for this comment. I hope Carr makes him eat those words all the way out of the playoffs. Fuck the chargers and fuck Joey Bosa.
Carr fans will love this post. I think the SNF game showed just how important it is for a QB to have good WR'S and a solid O-line. Brady is the GOAT of the NFL, the greatest QB to ever play. But we all saw how well he played, and how well his team did when his WR'S weren't there, and when his O-line wasn't playing well. TB gave up only 9 points, a team scores 9 points in a game, 99% of the time, the opposing team wins. But Brady had no help offensively. His top WR'S got hurt, and his O-line couldn't keep the pressure off of him. If he can't score points in that situation, then it is unfair to think that Carr can do that. Carr has rarely had any good WR'S, he's had some pretty good O-lines, but not many elite weapons, and of course our defense has always been shit. A
I wanted to make this post to say that Derek Carr should be our QB going forward. The guy is loyal, a great leader, trusts his teammates, is clutch and also is a good QB. He just needs the right weapons.
Almost all incomplete passes yesterday were drops by our receiving core. Whenever Foster Moreau didn’t catch the ball you could see how much we miss Waller. Everytime a deep pass did not connect you could see how much the absence of Henry Ruggs hurt us. Since his unfortunate exit we went 2-5. There is a reason for that.
We are missing a consistent playmaker in our receiving core who can be a deep threat. This is were we excelled at the start of the season and a big reason why we went 5-2. It doesn’t help that our O-line is getting penalties and killed most games. Carr has one of the fastest times letting the ball go after a snap and he has to, otherwise he would get obliterated every time. To remind you, in 2016 when we had a good O-line, we got into the playoffs and Carr was in the MVP conversation.
If we fix the O-line and get Carr a playmaking WR our offense will be great. Believe in what we have going for us.
Am I the only that feels that Dereks legacy is on the line right here? All the doubt and all the talk about how he cant lead a team to the playoffs and he has a chance to prove it to everybody right here. Im rooting for you Derek
If he went as a backup, he'd win as a backup before the Raiders' backup won. This franchise is a clown show and a dumpster fire.
I made this post a year ago and i never knew it got moderated and removed. Seems relevant to a lot of the discussion going on right now.
https://www.reddit.com/r/raiders/comments/kkx8t3/since_derek_carr_was_drafted_the_raiders_team/
