Why Raiders coach Jon Gruden wants Derek Carr to take an approach like Peyton Manning

New Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden says he wants quarterback Derek Carr to take an approach like future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning did with the Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos.

“We’ve been working extremely hard at empowering him to play a little bit like Peyton Manning played,” Gruden said during a conference call with Raiders’ season ticket holders Wednesday. “Get us into the best run possible, get us into the best pass play possible.”

You can’t blame Gruden for feeling that way because Carr took a direct approach at the line of scrimmage when he flourished and put up eye-popping numbers for Fresno State. That is something Gruden is expecting from Carr in his fifth season.

“When Derek was at Fresno State, he called his own plays a lot of the time at the line of scrimmage in a no-huddle offense,” Gruden said. “He’s very good at recognizing coverages, recognizing blitzes.”

At Fresno State, Carr appeared in 44 games with 39 starts and set 27 school records and Mountain West Conference records during his career, finishing with 12,842 passing yards, 113 touchdowns against 24 interceptions.

In four seasons with the Raiders, Carr has passed for 14,690 yards and 103 touchdowns against 44 interceptions. He had a breakout MVP-type season in 2016 when he passed for 3,937 yards and 28 touchdowns against six interceptions before a fractured fibula that prematurely ended his season before the playoffs.

It will be more of a “green light” for Carr to change plays at the line of scrimmage this season, Gruden said.

And could the Raiders run a no-huddle?

“Take advantage of what he sees and at the same time, we’re going to help him whenever we can,” Gruden said. “I believe in changing speeds. I think going with a no-huddle offense, coming out of the huddle; keeping it off balance for the defense is something we’re going to do, and don’t be surprised if you see us in the no-huddle offense a little bit more than you’ve seen in the past.”

This story was originally published May 25, 2018 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Why Raiders coach Jon Gruden wants Derek Carr to take an approach like Peyton Manning."