On Derek Carr, raiders 2018 draft picks, young building blocks and more.

Steve Doerschuk@sdoerschukREP

Former NFL QB Chris Simms, analyzing for NBC:
“I’ve seen enough from Baker Mayfield to say he is better than Derek Carr or Jared Goff ... His physical ability is off the charts .... He has this crazy sixth sense."
Alot of QBs are better than Carr and Goff. Both Carr and Goff are dependent on everything being perfect around them to succeed.
 
You’re all over the place man... :shrug:

'Twas Alexander Pope who said: "A little learning is a dangerous thing. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring."

I've been talking about Carr's internal clock since the Raiders drafted him. Keep up.
 
Mitch Truwinsky > Baker
hmmm. I suppose a case could be made. He’s definitely not as accurate or as good comanding the offense but he’s so dangerous on the move. I’ve definitely seen Trubisky look like complete ass too. He does have a good longball too, I like him more than most here. Or were you just making a joke?
 
Didnt you pimp our 16-17 rosters as upper echelon?

#nonstopexcuses
I liked our overall roster in 2016 and more than you in 2017 and 2018 in the offseason. I hated our coaching on D, gave Musgrave shit (kinda funny in hindsight), defended JDR (oops), and shitted on Downing like the rest of us during the ‘17 season.

When we had Mack, I disagreed with you that our roster was bottom rung. Considering that you were right about the roster, especially after the Mack trade, not sure what your point is. Kinda self-defeating.

I agree that Carr’s drop in play from 2016 (his best year) to 2017 (his most disappointing season) affected our record by 3 or so games. He won games we should have lost in ‘16 and lost games we should have won in ‘17. The team couldn’t do shit on the field in 2016 w/o him, and did poorly in 2017 with him.

Oh, and there’s that silly word again. You’ve been railing against our drafts for years, saying ProFootball Weekly can draft better players than Red, so your label (calling talentless teams an “excuse”) is kinda #Dump.

#25-10, 20-11, 15
 
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'Twas Alexander Pope who said: "A little learning is a dangerous thing. Drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring."

I've been talking about Carr's internal clock since the Raiders drafted him. Keep up.

What are you even going on about?
 

Arden Key’s improvement — not his weight — is a heavy topic of discussion for the Raiders


By Vic Tafur Jun 14, 2019

Everybody always wants to talk about Arden Key’s weight. And that’s OK with him. It beats talking about all the sacks that the Raiders defensive end didn’t have last season.

Key had a frustrating rookie season, coming in at 238 pounds and battling a shoulder injury which didn’t help him prevent being pushed around by offensive linemen. The result was one sack in 16 games.

New defensive line coach Brentson Buckner immediately put together a “highlight reel” of Key’s 12 “almost-sacks” to watch with him.

Oh, joy.

“I was here all offseason working out, so when I got here, and he got in the office, he brought me upstairs and yeah … ,” Key said on Wednesday. “Whether I fell, slipped or the quarterback got away.

“So, it was very nerve-racking because I could have had a better first year, but we all learn from those mistakes.”

Key had to learn on the fly last season, as he was drafted in the third round to be a situational pass rusher. He then saw the Raiders trade Khalil Mack and eventually cut Bruce Irvin, and Key started 10 of the 16 games he played in. Overmatched might be a little harsh, but it wouldn’t be untrue.

The 6-foot-5 Key had shoulder surgery in January — he injured it in training camp last summer — and said he has put on 15 pounds, from 245 to 260, the last two months. (Nobody asked him to jump on a scale to prove it, as he didn’t look all that much bigger, but hey, it’s June.)

This offseason has “been good, being able to get healthy from the injury,” Key said. “It’s been very informal with Coach Buck giving out a lot of information, a lot of techniques I’ve never heard of, so trying to get those techniques down.”

The Raiders didn’t do a lot to improve their pass rush this offseason, as first-round pick Clelin Ferrell is more of an all-around player/quarterback-getter and free-agent signee Benson Mayowa has 13 sacks in six seasons, including two in 28 games in his first go-round with the Raiders in 2014-15.

The Raiders wrapped up their minicamp — and offseason workouts — a day early on Wednesday, and Key is still the key. (Sorry.)

He is working with Buckner on getting both of his arms free when he gets around the tackle, as that will help him make the play and get the quarterback down.

“Yeah, that’s all Buck been teaching me, as far as my angle,” Key said. “He started (the reel) off with, I missed (that) sack just by my alignment. The ball isn’t snapped yet (but) I just missed the sack already by my alignment.

“Whether I was too wide, too tight, I didn’t turn my hips enough or I didn’t reach for him, turn my hips and different things like that. Most of it was just alignment and knowing what angles to take. Football is all about angles.”

Being able to hold your ground and generate some power also helps. While coach Jon Gruden has said he wants last year’s third-round pick to get stronger, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther wants everyone to calm down a little bit.

“(Key’s) right where we’re at,” Guenther said last week. “I know there are some reports where (they say) he’s light. We drafted Arden to be a third-down rusher. That’s what it was. You don’t want a 260-pound slug out there.

“We know exactly where we want him to be weight-wise, and his strength and conditioning is a progress thing for him right now.”

The Raiders did bring in a meal prep guy to help Key out. It’s not the most exciting menu.

“Salmon, broccoli, rice, a lot of rice, chicken, steak, asparagus and that’s it,” Key said.

And keep shoving it in; 2,500 calories combined between lunch and dinner.

“It’s annoying,” Key said. “It’s the same thing over and over again. The taste, I gotta ask them to add some hot sauce to it, or a little salt and pepper, but I gotta do what I gotta do.”
 

Arden Key’s improvement — not his weight — is a heavy topic of discussion for the Raiders


By Vic Tafur Jun 14, 2019

Everybody always wants to talk about Arden Key’s weight. And that’s OK with him. It beats talking about all the sacks that the Raiders defensive end didn’t have last season.

Key had a frustrating rookie season, coming in at 238 pounds and battling a shoulder injury which didn’t help him prevent being pushed around by offensive linemen. The result was one sack in 16 games.

New defensive line coach Brentson Buckner immediately put together a “highlight reel” of Key’s 12 “almost-sacks” to watch with him.

Oh, joy.

“I was here all offseason working out, so when I got here, and he got in the office, he brought me upstairs and yeah … ,” Key said on Wednesday. “Whether I fell, slipped or the quarterback got away.

“So, it was very nerve-racking because I could have had a better first year, but we all learn from those mistakes.”

Key had to learn on the fly last season, as he was drafted in the third round to be a situational pass rusher. He then saw the Raiders trade Khalil Mack and eventually cut Bruce Irvin, and Key started 10 of the 16 games he played in. Overmatched might be a little harsh, but it wouldn’t be untrue.

The 6-foot-5 Key had shoulder surgery in January — he injured it in training camp last summer — and said he has put on 15 pounds, from 245 to 260, the last two months. (Nobody asked him to jump on a scale to prove it, as he didn’t look all that much bigger, but hey, it’s June.)

This offseason has “been good, being able to get healthy from the injury,” Key said. “It’s been very informal with Coach Buck giving out a lot of information, a lot of techniques I’ve never heard of, so trying to get those techniques down.”

The Raiders didn’t do a lot to improve their pass rush this offseason, as first-round pick Clelin Ferrell is more of an all-around player/quarterback-getter and free-agent signee Benson Mayowa has 13 sacks in six seasons, including two in 28 games in his first go-round with the Raiders in 2014-15.

The Raiders wrapped up their minicamp — and offseason workouts — a day early on Wednesday, and Key is still the key. (Sorry.)

He is working with Buckner on getting both of his arms free when he gets around the tackle, as that will help him make the play and get the quarterback down.

“Yeah, that’s all Buck been teaching me, as far as my angle,” Key said. “He started (the reel) off with, I missed (that) sack just by my alignment. The ball isn’t snapped yet (but) I just missed the sack already by my alignment.

“Whether I was too wide, too tight, I didn’t turn my hips enough or I didn’t reach for him, turn my hips and different things like that. Most of it was just alignment and knowing what angles to take. Football is all about angles.”

Being able to hold your ground and generate some power also helps. While coach Jon Gruden has said he wants last year’s third-round pick to get stronger, defensive coordinator Paul Guenther wants everyone to calm down a little bit.

“(Key’s) right where we’re at,” Guenther said last week. “I know there are some reports where (they say) he’s light. We drafted Arden to be a third-down rusher. That’s what it was. You don’t want a 260-pound slug out there.

“We know exactly where we want him to be weight-wise, and his strength and conditioning is a progress thing for him right now.”

The Raiders did bring in a meal prep guy to help Key out. It’s not the most exciting menu.

“Salmon, broccoli, rice, a lot of rice, chicken, steak, asparagus and that’s it,” Key said.

And keep shoving it in; 2,500 calories combined between lunch and dinner.

“It’s annoying,” Key said. “It’s the same thing over and over again. The taste, I gotta ask them to add some hot sauce to it, or a little salt and pepper, but I gotta do what I gotta do.”

So wait, now he’s not 260?
 
What are you even going on about?

If you think I've been "all over the place" my response was that you don't see the argument I've been making about Carr since the team drafted him.

Derek Carr really watched and learned from his big brother David. Derek learned about playing QB at college and later thr pros by watching and talking with his older brother. This comes out in his pre-snap reads even as a rookie. And he understands likely better than any QB about developing and listening to an internal clock. Derek knows the relationship of that clock to the O-line and which receivers he can expect to run their routes with precision.

David Carr came out of Fresno State as the top QB prospect and went 1.1 to the expansion team in Houston. That train wreck started with the team taking Tony Boselli to be the anchor LT, but he was only exposed to the expansion draft because of a knee problem and he never played in Houston.

David Carr was sacked 76 times as a rookie. In the three other seasons he played 16 games he was sacked 49, 68, and 41 times. And suffered injuries that he mostly played through other than his second year. After his rookie contract he was let go. (Ended up as backup/mentor in NY and got a SB ring.)

Beyond what it does to a QB, Derek learned from David and every coach that sacks kill the O. They are worse than an incompletion, worse than a dump-off, and on third down worse than throwing the ball away. More than half of all sacks come because the QB holds the ball too long. So, the clock.

Derek Carr in college played in a second-tier conference on a good team with a better than average D. His 2 second clock was rarely tested because his ability to make pre-snap reads allowed him to recognize matchup issues. And the loose coverage in most programs meant he could hit what he saw. Against a top-tier D like USC he couldn't get even 2 seconds most of the time and there were fewer good matchups and a lot more press man that took away his best weapons.

With the Raiders, Carr played well as a rookie in a really bad team. Second year he takes a jump, helped by having better weapons on O (the D still sucking). Second year in same O with one dynamic WR and a WR he trusted and Latavious Murray at RB Carr had a very good season even as the D still sucked. Then the last two seasons.

At the beginning of each season Derek Carr shows trust in his O-line and his receivers. Through his third season, that lasted to some degree through the season. Murray as a pass blocker was as good as it gets and that left Carr more confident in his protection. In Crabtree Carr had a guy he knew would win most "50-50" balls.

So this season what's new that affects how Derek Carr produces?

Gone are the LG who lost it, the RT who was never ready to play at the NFL level last year, and the LT is no longer a rookie (and for now) uninjured. Brandon Jacob's is very good in pass protection.

Gone are the WR who ran routes at random and the one too slow to get open, as well as the TE who was good at a few routes but worse than meh as an inline blocker.
 
You just wrote a term paper to say that the players around him suck and that he dumps off because he’s scared of getting sacked? I respect the effort man but that’s not exactly new information.
 
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