It’s been no secret to anyone watching the Las Vegas Raiders this season that the team has struggled offensively for most of the year with the worst performance coming on Sunday, when the team suffered a shutout loss to the New Orleans Saints that quarterback Derek Carr called “embarrassing.”
Head coach Josh McDaniels has taken responsibility for Sunday’s loss and the team’s struggles this season, but Derek Carr has not played well, even getting benched for his performance on Sunday afternoon. But still, Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler had plenty of good things to say about Carr’s performance this season.
“From the mental side of it — very smart,” Ziegler said, via Vic Tafur of TheAthletic.com. “Picked up the system, learned the system well. and he’s continued to grow into the system. And I think that there’s a natural progression to that. And I think he’s made steady progress in terms of learning the system, learning the checks, being comfortable with the reads, and I think he’s done a good job. He competes very hard. And I think he’s done a lot of good things. I think he’s improved as the season’s [gone] on.”
It’s pretty shocking praise for a quarterback that’s struggled mightily this season, and the NFL world blasted him for it.
Many will take this out of context and say he’s an idiot. I seriously doubted he was going to come out say certain players aren’t pulling their weight and they suck. Long season ahead, let’s see what the rest of the year brings #RaiderNation https://t.co/9OoqvSDrXC
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Mr. Armchair GM (@Rollicking_R8R) November 2, 2022
LEARNING A NEW SYSTEM? 7 games in.. head a 9yr vet. He should be writing the system!!!!! It’s no wonder why we suck https://t.co/p0xWXvzDmJ
— Frank “Da Tank”
(@FrankDaTank2022) November 2, 2022
Giving off the impression that his play has been great is bs. He can’t win games. He’s a game manager. https://t.co/m3fWrsAPum
— Rodrigo Contreras (@Contreras5Rod) November 2, 2022
“He needs to continue to grow into the system” has to be the most annoying line we hear throughout Carr’s career. Just seems like an excuse now. Look at McDaniel in MIA and Daboll in NY. O’Connel is doing great in MIN, too. https://t.co/otg5wJs1DM
— Marcus Rapoport (@M_G0NZ) November 2, 2022
Was wrong about this guy. I’m sorry, Ed Dobbs. https://t.co/y5rvBn2jKo
— Don Julio (@ItsDonJulio) November 2, 2022
We've asked Carr to learn god knows how many systems since he's joined the league.
He's not a rookie, second or third year. He's a veteran QB, he's got weapons and a good enough o line
At some point he's got to just step up and lead. Something is going on in the locker room https://t.co/tgMNKGuadW
— Jovanny Sanchez (@jovanny_sanchez) November 2, 2022
Im sick of the coddling of Carr. Why every #Raiders GM we've had never publicly say "he needs to play better"??? Thats not criticism, its an honest assessment. If he plays like shit, we lose. If he plays well, we usually win. Its really that simple. https://t.co/hQoRrjQOBw
— NYCRaider1988 (@NYCRaider1988) November 2, 2022
It’s safe to say that Raiders fans don’t exactly believe Ziegler’s words.