There are no moral victories in the NFL, but the Oakland Raiders must be pleased with their 7-9 season. Though they failed to finish above .500 for the 12th consecutive year, Oakland has managed to accrue several key building blocks that can lay the foundation for a winning team.
Linebacker Khalil Mack broke out in his second-season, finishing second behind Houston's J.J. Watt in sacks with 15. Rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper is already a star, becoming the first Oakland pass-catcher to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards since Randy Moss in 2005 and just the fourth NFL player to do it at age 21 or younger. Yet despite the immense contributions from both players, no building block in Oakland is more crucial to future success than quarterback Derek Carr.
Though Carr's raw numbers during his rookie year were solid - 3,270 yards, 21 TDs, 12 INTs - the jury was still out on him as a potential franchise QB. And even though Carr's play dipped over the second half of this season - 74.4 passer rating over the final eight games - he took major strides in his development overall. In fact, ESPN's Sam Monson listed him as one of the NFL's most improved players.
"Last year's crop of rookie quarterbacks was underwhelming," Monson wrote. "Although Carr's stats always looked OK, his play-by-play grading never matched them. He was the second-lowest ranked quarterback in the league and was particularly disastrous when pressured, completing just 42.6 percent of his passes. This season, he ranked 10th, and even under pressure threw more touchdowns than interceptions. Carr took a huge leap forward in his development from Year 1 to 2."
Overall, Carr completed 61.1 percent of his passes while throwing for 3,987 yards with 32 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He displayed a better handle on the blitz and a softer touch on shorter throws. His improved numbers weren't just empty stats, either, like Jahlil Okafor leading the Philadelphia 76ers in scoring. Oakland improved from near the bottom of the barrel last year to 16th in passing yards per game (242.4) and 17th in points (22.4) this year. Incremental progress is what you want to see from a young core.
None of this is to say that Carr is the second coming of Aaron Rodgers; he still has plenty of questions to answer In Year 3. But at least Raiders fans can me optimistic about the quarterback position for the first time in more than a decade. That's saying something.
