The Raiders may have played themselves out of the first pick in the draft, but after Sunday’s win in Arizona, Jon Gruden and company have to feel a better about how the team is looking.
Right now, the Raiders are starting two of the least accomplished offensive tackles in the league (that’s being kind) and their receiver room is probably the worst in the league even with Jordy Nelson in the lineup. So to win on the road in come-from-behind fashion was definitely something to feel good about for the team and the fans.
Gruden and Derek Carr made headlines after the game (well, actually during the game) with their intense exchanges on the sideline, but those were actually a little overdue. It might be nice to see more of that fire from both of them going forward.
But two things stood out on Sunday that were at least a little concerning in terms of Gruden and Carr. It had nothing to do with the way the coach and quarterback spoke to each other, but more about what they were trying to figure out.
On the first exchange, Gruden wasn’t happy about Carr’s decision to throw downfield on third and short. The pass was intended for Jalen Richard, who was matched up with a linebacker and Richard never saw the ball to make a play on it. Gruden obviously wanted something else, but going back to 2016, Carr was at his best when he was being aggressive. For all the dink and dunk debate surrounding Carr, he’s nowhere near his best when he’s making underneath throws. Carr needs to play more like Brett Favre and a lot less like Brad Johnson… or even Rich Gannon for that matter. If Gruden is hoping to mold Carr into Gannon, it might be a big mistake in the long term.
Secondly, knowing the way Carr can tend to analyze (or even over analyze), it might be a good thing if he isn’t trying to check into the play that he thinks Gruden would want every time (mostly because he might lose his mind). They share a similar enthusiasm for the game, but Carr and Gruden aren’t necessarily of the same mold when it comes to philosophy. The 2016 version of Carr trusted his receivers to make plays downfield, even on third and short. Gruden seems to prefer more conservative routes that demand precision, similar to the play he called to get Richard a short pass at the end of the Chargers game (that failed miserably).
Hopefully, there’s a meeting in the middle where Carr will know what Gruden generally wants, but will have the freedom to attack coverages. Or maybe what worked for Gannon will work for Carr… call the play you want and return to the sideline to fight with the coach about it when you’re done.
twitter: @raidersbeat
It was actually really nice to know that Jon and Derek actually have a passion for the game and a fire in their belly. So many games this year I watched guys just going through the motions looking they didn’t give a **** about getting blown out and embarrassed. Yes, the Cardinals are trash, but it made me feel somewhat happy to see them playing so hard, especially as beat up as they are.
It’ll be interesting to see whom they pluck from some random practice squad to play WR next week. Maybe The Raiders just needed to see some new blood at the WR position.
DRAFT DWAYNE HASKINS AND DONT LOOK BACK! SIT HIM A YEAR LIKE MAHOMES, KEEP CARR FOR ’19 HOPEFULLY HE BUILDS UP TRADE VALUE AND THEN TRADE HIM FOR 1ST OR 2 2NDS