Last offseason, a mysterious finger injury sidelined Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr during OTAs. Entering just his second season in the NFL, Carr was worried that his absence would stunt his development, but a breakout 2015 campaign proved otherwise.
This year, Carr is healthy and still firmly on the upward trajectory that he showed last season. He's taking more ownership of the offense now, as evidenced by his decision to check out of a red zone play and run one in for a touchdown.
"We did something...we haven't even installed yet, but we just checked to it and went with it because we're already at that point," Carr said. "Everyone celebrated and it was awesome and it was cool, but at the same time, we wouldn't have been able to do that last year because we didn't know the checks. We didn't know, versus certain looks. We wanted to do certain things and stuff like that. Just little things like that we're already a step ahead.
"The conversations aren't, 'Hey, you know that play we installed today, where do you want me to throw the ball in this versus what coverage?' Now, it's like, 'We know that Denver plays this a certain way, let's work here. Kansas city plays this a certain way, let's work here.' The conversations aren't here anymore," Carr said, gesticulating with his hands, "they're kind of here. And the more that we can be together years-wise, the conversations will continue to grow like that."
Carr is benefiting from the stability and continuity that Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie has built over the last few years. The young QB saw his passer rating improve from 76.91 to 91.1 last season, his total QBR rose from 38.2 to 49.2 and he threw for 3,987 yards with 32 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions.
There are those around the league that expect Carr and the Raiders to continue improving this year.
"I think it helps that he doesn't have to learn a new language again," offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said of Carr. "Two years in the league, two different systems. Now this year he can feel like he has a good grasp of it and start putting his own spin on things and can put his own signature on the system. Things that he wants to see or tweak a quarter turn here or there, he can initiate that."
Hopefully, all that translates into wins on the field in 2016.
