Not that Mark Brunell is the go-to source for predicting NFL success, but he was an NFL quarterback and a pretty decent one at that, so his opinion means more than most when it comes to quarterback evaluation. He was asked this week on ESPN’s NFL Live what the next step was for Raiders third-year quarterback, Derek Carr.
“Well, for Derek it’s continued development,” said Brunell. “He went from 3 wins [as a rookie] to 7 wins [in his second season] and more important than anything else, stats or anything else, winning football games is a true measure of how a quarterback is progressing. That couple with his stats. In 2014 he had 21 touchdown passes. Alright, pretty good year for the rookie. Last year he went up to 32 touchdown passes. His yards went up, his interceptions stayed about 12 or 13, his rating was up. He’s just getting better. He has a good rapport with Amari Cooper and is just a good football player. He wins games, he’s gonna get better and better. Just continue to do what he’s doing.”
Technically speaking, wins are NOT a true measure of how a quarterback is progressing as the success of the team is not entirely on the quarterback.
That being said, not much else matters more than wins in the grand scheme of things. Most quarterbacks judge their own success or failure on whether the game was won because that’s the ultimate goal.
On the other hand, last season Carr had far fewer crucial mistakes and far more heroics in his second season than in his first. The jump from 21 to 32 touchdown passes shows statistical proof of that. Coming within a 13 yards of 4000 is as well.
As we mentioned already this offseason, there is every reason to believe Carr will continue to show progress in his development. Most notably because he will see the same coaching staff for the first time in his NFL career. But also because he will see the same group of receivers.
Brunell’s doesn’t exactly have to be a prophet to see this adds up to another jump in production and efficiency for Carr.
Loading comments...