Gannon praises Carr
Former Pro Bowl quarterback speaks highly of signal caller
Takes one to know one? That was the message from former Raiders quarterback and Most Valuable Player Rich Gannon, who used his platform on the CBS show “NFL Monday QB” to tout Derek Carr as a contender for the 2020 MVP.
Such is life in the NFL , where a quarterback can be vilified on social and mainstream media a s “Captain Checkdown” one moment, win at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time with the help of a few deep shots and then vault into prominence.
“If you really look under the hood, this guy is having an MVP type year for the Raiders,” Gannon said Monday. “I know this because I had one ... I know Russell Wilson in Seattle is having a better statistical season so far, but top five? Carr’s got to be there. He’s completing 73%, 11 touchdowns, one interception and he’s doing it with two rookie receivers.”
Those rookie receivers, Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards, have missed time due to injuries, but Gannon’s point is well taken. And if you project Carr’s numbers through five games over a 16-game season, they compare favorably to when Gannon was the MVP in 2002 when the Raiders won the AFC championship.
Wilson is lapping the field through five games with a passer rating of 129.8, 19 touchdown passes to three interceptions and most importantly a 5-0 record.
And it’s that final number that will matter most when ballots are counted among a media panel at the end of the season.
Quarterbacks have won nine of the last 10 Associated Press MVP awards, with Adrian Peterson the only outlier for Minnesota in 2012.
T hose qua r terba ck s — Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady (twice), Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Aaron Rodgers (twice) and Peyton Manning — all won between 11 and 15 games.
T he average number
of wins for those quarterbacks was 13.2. When the Raiders were 12- 4 in 2016, Carr finished fourth behind Ryan, Brady and running back Ezekiel Elliott.
The Raiders are 3-2, having faced four straight 2019 playoff teams but still looking up at the Chiefs in their own division. Carr would likely need eight wins in the last 11 games to be in the MVP conversation.
Other quarterbacks jockeying for position behind Wilson based on stats and won- loss record include Buffalo’s Josh Allen, Ma
homes, Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger. Brady, whose Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also 3-2, visits Allegiant Stadium after the Raiders bye week on Sunday night, putting Carr on a national stage against a three-time MVP.
Gannon weathered his own “Captain Checkdown” slings and arrows in the pre-Twitter days before he was turned loose by coach Bill Callahan and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman the year after coach Jon Gruden was traded to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In leading the Raiders to an 11-5 record, Gannon passed for 300 or more yards 10 times, including six in succession. He set franchise records for pass attempts and completions. Gannon is one of three Raiders to be named MVP along with Ken Stabler (1974) and Marcus Allen (1985).
Gannon’s signature performance came when the Raiders had fallen to 4- 4 and he completed 34 of 38 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns in a 3410 road win at Denver. It ignited a run of seven wins in the last eight games.