Carr squares off with draft classmate Bortles
ALAMEDA — Derek Carr is well aware of the quarterbacks who went ahead of him in the draft, even if he tries to downplay the meaning of matching up against them.
Carr and the Raiders will get their first look Sunday at the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Blake Bortles, the first quarterback who came off the board in that 2014 draft. “You always are grouped in that little group,” Carr said, mentioning Bortles and the Vikings’ Teddy Bridgewater, Patriots’ Jimmy Garoppolo and former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel — all fellow 2014 draft picks. All but Garoppolo were taken ahead of Carr, whom the Raiders took in the second round at No. 36.
“When you think of your class, you always think of those
guys,” Carr said. “But, as I’ve been playing through the years, you don’t really think about it because it’s so far removed. Right when it happens, you’re like, ‘Man, I can’t wait for that,’ but once you get past that, it doesn’t even matter. You’re just trying to win football games.”
While still early in their careers, Carr wins the tale of the tape just about all across the board when compared to Bortles.
Carr has thrown 65 touchdowns to Bortles’ 54, has just 28 interceptions compared to Bortles’ 42 and owns a 86.2-80.0 edge in passer rating. Bortles, who has started four fewer games, has the edge in passing yards per game at 247.3 to 233.3.
Neither has a great record, but Carr is trending in the right direction with a 14-14 record over his past 28 games. He’s also 7-4 on the road the past two years, while Bortles has just two career road wins.
Raiders running back Latavius Murray has played with both of them, as Murray was a teammate of Bortles at Central Florida.
“They’re both good quarterbacks,” Murray said. “Obviously this weekend I wish D.C. nothing but the best of success. After that, Blake can do whatever he does.”
Greg Olson knows Carr and Bortles probably better than anybody. He was Carr’s offensive coordinator his rookie season in 2014 and has been Bortles’ OC the past two years in Jacksonville.
“They’re both tremen- dous competitors,” Olson told reporters in Jacksonville. “They’re their own two individuals, but they’re young quarterbacks that were thrown in the league and had to play early as rookies. They both have gone through changes in coordinators, but they’re just tremendous competitors and they both prepare very well. They’re both very intelligent players.”
Carr had high praise for the work Olson did while in Oakland.
“He is up there when it comes to quarterback knowledge,” Carr said of Olson. “He’s really second to none. He knows what he’s doing. I tried to pick his brain and learn what I could with our time together. I owe him a lot of credit.”
The tie to Olson is only one reason Carr and Bortles have stayed close after spending time together during the 2014 draft process.
“We’ve created a cool little bond, texting back and forth, here and there, those things, especially when Oly (Olson) headed that way,” Carr said.
Carr and Bortles both actually visited Jacksonville together and had dinner the night before meeting with the Jaguars.
“We’ll talk in the offseason and throughout the year, but he’s an unbelievable guy,” Bortles said of Carr. “He’s a guy that I definitely check and see how he’s doing throughout the year after every game and rooting for, and look forward to seeing him Sunday.”
It was a consensus the Raiders had upgraded the defense when they added linebacker Bruce Irvin, cornerback Sean Smith and safety Reggie Nelson in free agency.
But Oakland ranks last in the NFL in yards allowed per game at 444.8, is last in the league against the pass (312.7 per game), 30th against the run (132.2) and 24th in point per game (27.2).
Still, defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr. doesn’t think his defense is that far away.
“You look at a real good defense, you look at our de- fense, (there’s) not a lot of differences,” Norton said, “but they make the plays they’re supposed to make. We have the right people, but it’s a matter of getting it done on game day.”
Murray practiced Thursday, again in a limited capacity, and looks to be trending toward playing on Sunday.
“I think he got a handful of plays out there,” offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said before practice of the work Murray received Wednesday. “I think he’s looking to get better each and every day, and hopefully it’s good enough by the time the next game arrives.”
Tackle Vadal Alexander (ankle) and safety Brynden Trawick (shoulder) remain out, while tackle Menelik Watson (calf), center Rodney Hudson (knee), guard Gabe Jackson (knee), guard/center Jon Feliciano (calf) and running back Taiwan Jones (knee) all were limited again.