‘Freeing’ as coach told Carr to relax
a loss in which he “tried to do something too much.” Forcing throws was one reason Carr had eight interceptions in the first five games of his first season running Gruden’s offense; those were the most interceptions in the league at that point.
Since then, Carr has not thrown an interception in a franchise-record eight straight games. He has had two of his best three games by passer rating in the past two weeks, and his overall completion percentage (69.5) and passer rating (97.2) would be career bests for a full season. He has set those numbers while being sacked a career-high 42 times and with a depleted receiver group.
Carr, who is closing in on the NFL record for most completions in a QB’s first five seasons — he needs 55 in the next three games to pass Peyton Manning (1,749) — has compiled those totals under four different play-callers. Although his grasp of Gruden’s offense was touted during training camp, Carr said Sunday that he was “making mistakes early” while “just trying so hard to do it the right way.”
It was that tendency, Carr said, that Gruden eased during their conversation.
“It wasn’t like a come-toJesus moment,” Carr said. “I’m a pleaser. I’m trying to please” Gruden, offensive coordinator Greg Olson and quarterbacks coach Brian Callahan. “I’m just trying to please them, trying to do exactly what they want. And they said, ‘Man, just relax.’ ”
Gruden cited the same characteristic of Carr when asked about the discussion Monday.
“He tries to do everything you ask him to do,” Gruden said. “He wants to do it by the book. And I felt maybe I inhibited him. You know — free yourself from me. Free your mind. Trust your instincts. Go play. Don’t overthink these plays, don’t overthink these situations. And I just didn’t want to paralyze him with too many thoughts.”
Gruden returned to coaching this year with a reputation from his first stint of being particularly demanding of quarterbacks. As he put it Monday: “I have a tendency sometimes to maybe drive a guy crazy, yeah.” So his message to Carr, as he described it, was like a loosening of the reins.
“I just wanted him to relax, go play, trust his instincts and his abilities and his preparation,” Gruden said. “And that’s what he’s done.”
At his current rate, Carr is on pace to set career bests in nearly every major passing category. Notably, that has not translated to wins — the Raiders are tied for the worst record (3-10) in the league — or overall success for an offense that ranks 21st in yards per game (347.5) and 29th in points per game (18.8).
Carr, though, has showed an air of confidence over the past month. NFL’s Next Gen Stats, which tracks the percentage of throws each quarterback makes with a defender within 1 yard of his intended receiver, says Carr has posted his three highest “aggressiveness” ratings of the season within his past four games. He has a 105.9 passer rating in that span with eight touchdowns.
Two of Carr’s key throws on the game-winning drive against Pittsburgh, in fact, came on plays Gruden said were designed to go to a different receiver. On a play for tight end Jared Cook, Carr saw Seth Roberts streaking up the middle into a Cover 2 defense and hit Roberts for a 39-yard gain. With target Jordy Nelson double-covered on the final play of the drive, Carr hit tight end Derek Carrier for a 6-yard touchdown.
“We really feel if we can protect Carr, he can make all the throws,” Gruden said. “He can make passes that very few guys on the planet can make. And he can make them confidently.”
Gruden seemed to state a measure of his own confidence in Carr on Wednesday.
“You’re entitled to write whatever you want about us looking for another quarterback,” Gruden said. “Derek Carr’s a great quarterback. It doesn’t matter who the running back is, who the guards are, who the receivers are. The guy is a heck of a player.”