Derek Carr's career was on a clear upward trajectory his first three seasons before a broken leg in the second-to-last game in 2016 ended his season Cheap Customized Oakland Raiders Jerseys , and any hopes the Oakland Raiders had of competing in the playoffs that year.The leg took a few months to heal, but Carr hasn't been the same quarterback since, even with the coaching change that brought Jon Gruden to Oakland.While the Raiders (1-5) head into their bye week with a litany of problems from a lack of a pass rush to a broken-down offensive line to a spotty secondary, Carr's struggles this season are near the top of the list.Gruden returned to coaching in part for the chance to coach Carr and was being counted on to get the best out of the quarterback the Raiders rewarded with a $125 million contract less than 16 months ago. That marriage hasn't translated to results as of yet as Carr leads the NFL with 10 turnovers and has been unable to generate enough big plays for the Raiders."The results, they need to improve," Gruden said. "I know that. He's the strength of this football team. We're going to get him to play better. He's on my watch. I said it when I got here: If he doesn't play better, I've failed. This guy is a good player that can be great. We've got to protect him better so we can really see what he can do. We've got to protect him better, obviously. If we do that, I think he'll showcase what he can do."Carr has shown flashes this year. He completed 29 of 32 passes in a loss at Denver last month, threw for 437 yards and four TDs in an overtime win over Cleveland, and has made several throws that harken back to his better days in 2015 and '16.But there have been far too many problems to overshadow those successes as Carr tries to figure out how to run Gruden's offense. He threw three interceptions in a season-opening loss against the Rams and then was possibly too cautious against the Broncos. He then threw key first-down interceptions in the end zone that contributed to losses at Miami and the Chargers as he showed a willingness to be more aggressive.Carr hit rock-bottom last week in a loss in London to the Seahawks when he was unable to do anything behind a line that had rookies at both tackle spots, including an injured Kolton Miller on the left side, and a third-stringer for most of the day at left guard.Carr was sacked six times and threw just one pass more than 10 yards downfield. He finished the day 23 for 32 for 142 yards, with 140 of those yards coming after the catch as he threw mostly at or behind the line of scrimmage, adding to the frustration."This being my fifth year, you want it now," Carr said. "You want everything now. I know our fans want it now. Our players, our team, our coaches want it now and trust me, we are trying to do it now. But we've got to take this bye week, look at what we can do to play better right off of this bye week. What can we do to win that game and that's where our mindset has to be."Carr's career is almost back to where it started when he entered the NFL as a second-round pick. He lost his first 10 games as a rookie before starting to make big strides in the second year. The Raiders won seven games in 2015 as Carr developed into a potent passer with help from coordinator Bill Musgrave. Carr then broke through with 12 wins in 2016 thanks to seven fourth-quarter comebacks.But his broken leg on Christmas Eve against the Colts cost Oakland a chance at a division title and led to a lopsided first-round playoff loss. Carr regressed last year after the Raiders fired Musgrave and replaced him with Todd Downing, and there has been only slight improvement this season under Gruden.In 21 games since breaking his leg http://www.oaklandraidersteamonline.com/p.j.-hall-jersey , Carr has won seven times with 29 touchdowns and 21 interceptions. That compares to 15 wins in the previous 21 games, when he had 38 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.Perhaps it's no coincidence that Carr's biggest success came in his second season under Musgrave, the only time he's remained in the same system in consecutive years."He's on his fourth coordinator now in his time in the league and I think it's a comfort level in the system," said offensive coordinator Greg Olson, who ran Oakland's offense in Carr's rookie season in 2014. "I'll say that. And it's a matter of sometimes pressing. But, for us right now, certainly trying to get him to calm down and play in a more relaxed type of mode so that he doesn't feel like he has to press to make plays. When you look at some of the turnovers he's had this year, he's been pressing, trying to make a play. Again, we like that part of about him and he's a competitive guy, he wants to make every play. Just making better decisions moving forward."Silver Mining 9/18: Penn shoulders blame for blocked PAT, Gruden says he doesn’t regret trading Khalil Mack RaidersRaiders tackle Donald Penn shoulders blame for blocked PAT try | SF Chronicle “I messed up on the extra point,” Penn said. “I put that one on me. I’m very pissed about that, too. I don’t think, in my whole 13-year career, I ever got a kick blocked over me. That was the first time.”Jon Gruden says LT Kolton Miller will be ‘long term, big-time player’ for Raiders | Silver and Black PrideIt was just last week that Von Miller declared Kolton Miller the best tackle in the 2018 Draft. Some thought he was just blowing smoke, but Miller was absolutely right. Miller has outplayed every other rookie tackle and is growing in confidence.Raiders struggle to find solutions rushing the passer | NBCS Bay AreaThrough the first two games of the season have just 17 pressures on the quarterback. It's clear they miss Khalil Mack, but Jon Gruden refuses to use that as an excuse.Raiders analysis: Gruden era off to a rough start - SFChronicle.comGruden, for the moment, is 0-3 even though his team has played two games. The first loss was the biggest, coming off the field a week before the season started when he traded the Raiders’ best player Authentic Marcus Gilchrist Jersey , Khalil Mack, to the Bears. That enormous loss won’t be forgotten as easily as the narrow defeat to the Broncos at Mile High.This stat perfectly sums up Raiders bipolar first half vs second half in their first two games | Silver and Black PrideYou know those memes where you take those Rob Lowe commercials and say “Hi, I’m Rob Lowe with DirecTV... and I’m Rob Lowe with cable”? You could do that with the Raiders in the first half vs the Raiders in the second half.Raiders could be headed for bigger rebuild than anyone imagined | Silver and Black PrideAs such, it would be very easy for the Raiders to shed themselves of Carr, Cooper, Irvin, Hudson, Osemele and Jackson before they step foot in Vegas along with the other aforementioned veterans should they choose to do so.Jon Gruden says he does not regret trading Khalil Mack, hopes to prove long term Raiders ‘did the right thing’ | Silver and Black PrideAfter two weeks, it’s hard to believe Gruden doesn’t regret the move on some level. The Raiders have generated next to no pass rush, registering only two sacks. When the game was on the line and the defense needed someone to step up and make a play, nobody was to be found.AFC WestBroncos day after: 10 takeaways from Denver’s 20-19 win over the Oakland Raiders | Denver PostOakland rushed five or more at Broncos quarterback Case Keenum on 13 of 39 drop-backs (33.3 percent). On the winning drive, Keenum faced four-, five-, six- and eight-man rushes. The Raiders rushed eight (against seven blockers) on Keenum’s second-to-last attempt, a pass that was dropped by receiver Demaryius Thomas.Broncos are 2-0, but high-powered opponents will be a big defensive challenge | ESPN.comA balky offensive effort was saved by a fourth-quarter catch-and-run from Denver Broncos Tim Patrick against a decidedly gassed Oakland Raidersdefense. And surviving a record day from Raiders QB Derek Carr who completed 90.3 percent of his passes revealed one big revelation about a now 2-0 team: The Broncos might still miss Aqib Talib more than they may want to admit.Patrick Mahomes II and the Chiefs Are the New Greatest Show on Turf | The RingerKansas City’s potential on offense mirrored its new quarterback’s stockpile of talent; there seemed to be no limitations. But even the most ardent believers couldn’t have imagined this.REPORT: Chiefs work out former Oakland Raiders tight end | Arrowhead PrideThe Kansas City Chiefs worked out free agent tight end Clive Walford on Monday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.Chargers top TV ratings in San Diego, but trail Raiders in L.A. | San Diego Union TribuneThe story was different in Los Angeles, where the highest rating of the three games belonged to the one team that no longer calls the city home. The Raiders-Broncos clash had an 8.4 rating in L.A., surpassing a 7.9 for Chargers-Bills and 5.6 for Rams-Cardinals.What we learned from the Chargers’ 31-20 road win over the Bills | LA TimesThrough two games, the Chargers’ leading pass catcher is the player who’s supposed to be their leading ball carrier. Gordon followed his nine-reception opener with six more catches Sunday Womens Mike Nugent Jersey , two of which went for touchdowns. NFL Josh Gordon headed to Patriots after New England pulls off huge trade with Browns | CBS SportsAccording to NFL.com, the Patriots and Browns have worked out a deal that will send Gordon to New England. CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora has reported that the Patriots will be sending a 2019 fifth-round pick to Cleveland in exchange for the wide receiver. NFL to use Clay Matthews penalty in teaching video | NFL.comThe NFL will include Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews’ controversial roughing the passer penalty on a teaching video it distributes to clubs this week to emphasize the “scoop-and-pull” tactic Matthews used when he hit Kirk Cousins is, in fact, a foul, NFL.com has learned.Carson Wentz cleared to return, will start Sunday | NFL.comSunday will mark the first time Wentz will see the field since tearing his ACL and LCL on Dec. 10, 2017.NFL scoring is up significantly through two weeks and there are two obvious reasons why | CBS SportsWith one game remaining in Week 2 (although perhaps we shouldn’t expect a ton of scoring out of the Bears and Seahawks on Monday night), teams have scored 1,465 points through two weeks. That’s up from 1,249 points in 2017. That means that teams are averaging 47.26 points per game this season, up from 39.03 last year, according to Pro Football Talk.Browns sign WR Rod Streater | 247sportsThe 30 year old joined the Browns as an undrafted free agent out of Temple in the 2012 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons with the Oakland Raiders before joining the San Francisco 49ers for a season. The New Jersey native has not played a down of regular season football since Jan. 1, 2017. He spent the last two off-seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Over the course of his career, Streater has amassed 127 receptions for 1,755 yards and ten touchdowns.Khalil Mack, Bears defense strong in 24-17 win over Seahawks | SB NationEven when he wasn’t being sacked, he was under constant pressure from Khalil Mack and the Bears defense. The Bears finished with six sacks, while Wilson completed 22 of 36 passes for 226 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
