NFL teams
Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Derek Carr looking to improve on vertical game vs. Cowboys

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- There’s a fine line, obviously, between being a gun slinger in the Brett Favre mold and being reckless. It’s a line Derek Carr straddled often last season, when he was on the short list for NFL MVP consideration.

This season, though, Carr has been less apt to take chances for the Oakland Raiders. His decision to throw a dump pass to Jalen Richard in the middle of the field at Buffalo at the end of the first half rather than throw the called-for Hail Mary is a perfect example.

And that’s why, with the Raiders offense limping into Sunday night’s regular-season home finale against the Dallas Cowboys after last weekend’s impotent showing at the Kansas City Chiefs, head coach Jack Del Rio has called for Carr to “let it rip” in prime time.

“Do you really throw that one when you’re deep down and you shouldn’t?” Carr wondered on Wednesday. “Those kinds of things.

“But then, it comes back to easy things -- easy progressions, easy things, man, just letting those goes fast. Play faster, don’t think so much, man, just play. And that’s stuff that I can work on -- not having to think so much. Just go out there and, what [Del Rio is] saying, let it rip, cut it loose, we’ve all heard different ones. But just go out there, man, and cut it loose and play. That’s something I’m looking forward to.”

And if things go well against the Cowboys, Carr can look forward to joining an elite group of NFL passers. His next touchdown pass with be the 100th of his four-year NFL career, and if he does it Sunday, it will occur in his 60th game. Only eight quarterbacks have thrown 100 TD passes in their first 60 NFL games: Dan Marino (145), Johnny Unitas (111), Andrew Luck (111), Matthew Stafford (108), Kurt Warner (106), Peyton Manning (105), Aaron Rodgers (104) and Carson Palmer (101).

Plus, Carr would become just the fourth Raiders QB to throw for 100 TDs, joining Ken Stabler (150), Daryle Lamonica (148) and Rich Gannon (114).

Throwing a deep ball, or three, for a score would also serve as a salve for Carr, who has become less of a vertical threat this season. And Del Rio is not sure why that is the case.

“I’ve always considered him, really, an accurate deep ball thrower,” Del Rio said. “We’ve taken a few shots and haven’t been able to connect on them, or not as many as we’d like. It’s something, obviously, we’d like to have the answer. If we had the answer, we’d utilize it right now. We’re not going to wait. We’re not holding anything. We’re trying to execute the best we can. That’s definitely something we haven’t done as well this year.”

Carr had been improving on his completion percentage on passes of at least 20 yards downfield since his rookie season of 2014, when he completed just 22 percent of such passes, which ranked 33rd in the NFL. In 2015 that rate improved to 37 percent (13th) and last year he was at 49 percent (4th).

This season, Carr, who signed a five-year, $125 million extension last summer, has completed just 26 percent of such passes, which is 33rd.

Carr said he did not know why he has not been as successful with deep shots. “We’d have to watch the film and see some things on tape to do all that,” he said. “Each play is its own beast, so I’m not going to [judge it as] just a whole broad scope. If we went and watched the film, I’m sure that we could sit there together and I’d be able to describe to you what happened. All those things. We just don’t have that kind of time.”

Then what about the criticisms that he looks tentative in the pocket when it comes to waiting for a deep play to develop?

“I listen to the people that know the position,” he said. “People that coach me. People that I always seek advice from. I’m always trying to grow myself. I have a good group of people that I can reach out to that have played this game at a high level and those things. I always go back to, how do I fix myself?

“I think I completed more deep balls last year, throwing it times I shouldn’t have thrown it. Throwing it up, and we all high-five and clap about those things. Again, when you lose, people just have a different way of spinning things.”

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