The Oakland Raiders are putting all of their eggs in the Derek Carr basket. Last year's second-rounder had an up-and-down rookie season complete with flashes of impressive talent and stretches of ineffective play. While he took care of the ball exceptionally well for a young passer (21 TDs, 12 INTs), he also didn't manufacture a consistently functional offense. Whether that had to do with the significant lack of talent around him or his own limitations as a quarterback has yet to be seen.
To find out, the Raiders have made an effort to invest in the offensive side of the ball, starting with No. 4 overall pick Amari Cooper. Cooper figures to be Oakland's No. 1 wide receiver from the get-go, but how are he and Carr working together through the first week of training camp?
"It's going great," Carr said via the Raiders' official website. "There is going to be ups and downs. We had a few missed opportunities today. Everyone will want to talk about the deep one of course because he ran a great route. He saved his landmark, did all those good things. But then we also missed a couple. That takes us taking extra time after practice to get the timing down to make sure the little details are on point. As long as we keep doing that, it's going to be just fine."
Oakland finished 2014 ranked 26th in passing offense (204.7), 28th in completion percentage (58.0) and 17th in receiving touchdowns. New head coach Jack Del Rio hopes that the additions of rookies Cooper and third-rounder Clive Walford as well as veteran Michael Crabtree will help pump those numbers up. But, more importantly, the Raiders want to see visible development from Carr with more offensive weapons at his disposal.
Oakland opens their season Sunday, Sept. 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
