I agree. To
@Ed Wood‘s point, I think Carr’s busted back is a reason why his mechanics have been a little off in terms of the badly targeted/wobbly throws, and why he’s been a little gunshy.
But we’ve seen what Carr can do and be, and have a hard time believing he won’t be that again.
I place way more blame on the playcalling - uninspired and unchanging, with plays designed to get the ball out of Carr’s hands as quickly as possible.
We’ll see.
Some of those designed plays are just plain bad. Heck you have more then one WR and/or TE running the same routes on the same play getting in each others way. I saw this several times this year. The coaching and scheme on the offensive side of the ball has been awful.
On a bright note since Pagano has taken over the Raiders defense looks light years better then it did under Norton in the beginning of the season.
Here are some numbers since Pagano has taken over:
Evert Geerlings@E_Geerlings
Since Week 12, the Raiders defense ranks in the Top-5 in:
Opponent QBR - 33.1 (2nd)
3rd Down Conversion % - 27.7% (3rd)
Yards/Play - 4.63 avg. (4th)
Total Yards/Game - 287.0 avg (5th)
Pass Yards/Game - 189.0 avg. (5th)
1st Downs/Game - 16.6 (5th)
Sacks - 16 (T-5th)
Austin Gayle
@AustinGayle_PFF
#Raiders CB Sean Smith played 40 coverage snaps against PHI and wasn't targeted once.
He ranks 14th in yards allowed per coverage snap (0.49) and 7th in passer rating allowed (29.8) among the 103 CBs with 38+ coverage snaps in the last three weeks.
Austin Gayle
@AustinGayle_PFF
BIG NOTE: #Raiders ED Bruce Irvin played 17.42% (!!) of his defensive snaps in coverage in Weeks 1-11 (KNJ). In Weeks 12-15 (Pagano), Irvin has dropped back into coverage on just 6.73% of his defensive snaps.
Rush the passer with your pass-rushers... Bold.
Scott BairVerified account
@BairNBCS
Bruce Irvin spent 20 snaps in pass coverage vs New England, per @PFF. He has 14 coverage snaps (and 5 sacks) in the four games since.
Austin Gayle
@AustinGayle_PFF
BIG NOTE: In Weeks 1-11, the #Raiders' defense recorded pressures on 39% of passing 3rd downs, which ranked 20th in the NFL.
In Weeks 12-15, OAK's defense has recorded pressures on 47.8% of passing 3rd downs to rank 6th in the NFL.
Josh DubowVerified account
@JoshDubowAP
#Raiders ranks on D under Norton vs Pagano:
Passer rating: 113.3, 32nd vs 75.9, 8th
Sacks: 14, T31st vs 14, T4th
yds/att: 8.0, 30th vs 6.8, 14th
INT: 0, 32nd vs 4, T9th