Is Raiders’ Derek Carr being too aggressive? What he said he needs to do
It is a pass that Derek Carr said he would throw again.
But after talking with Raiders coach Jon Gruden and offensive coordinator Greg Olson, the fifth-year quarterback said he can learn from his critical interception during Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins in Miami that dropped Oakland’s record to 0-3.
“I think situationally, just being, which is hard to say, is be more conservative, be patient, kill some more time kind of thing would be smarter,” Carr told reporters Wednesday. “Every time when we got down there, (the Dolphins defenders were) playing too high and I see a single high look … and that’s always been a fault of mine: being too aggressive. I would live with that, as long as my coaches continue to correct me.”
The Raiders were trailing 21-17 and had advanced to the Dolphins’ 13-yard line in the fourth quarter when Carr threw an interception in the end zone in the eventual 28-20 loss.
“I thought we were too aggressive,” Gruden told reporters Monday. “I think at times he is trying too hard. We will talk about that extensively here in the next couple of hours, but I thought he played really good under some very tough circumstances. I think sometimes he needs to learn a little bit more patience, and I think he will.”
A lesson learned for Carr? He thinks so and “those are the kind of things we talked about and learned from, and just the insight from all of our coaches talking about it would help us and grow from there.”
The Raiders (0-3) next host the Cleveland Browns (1-1-1) at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
For the season, Carr has passed for 936 yards and two touchdowns with five interceptions — tied for most in the league.
Gruden said he believes Carr will hit his stride and the team will benefit from that.
“I think Derek Carr is magnificent in this offense,” Gruden said. “ I’m really excited about the way he has played and improved and mastered this offense. We are getting closer. That was a painful turnover. We will address that, and we will make the corrections.”
Even Gruden wanted Carr to be more aggressive after Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. But Carr admitted “we’re figuring that out together.”
“I’m going to continue to play my tail off every time I walk off that field. I gave it everything I had,” Carr said. “That’s on me. All off it falls on me. It’s never my teammates. It’s never his fault, because I have the ball in my hands. It’s fixable, but it’s a sucky feeling when you lose.”
Raiders sign kicker - The Raiders signed kicker Matt McCrane and placed Mike Nugent on injured reserve.
McCrane, listed at 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent following the 2018 NFL Draft.
He connected on all four of his field goal attempts in preseason action, including makes from 53 and 54 yards, while converting on three PATs.
This story was originally published September 26, 2018 at 4:58 PM.