Wide receiver Percy Harvin, linebacker Bruce Irvin and defensive end Michael Bennett sat out the game for Seattle, and the Raiders scratched 19 players – including seven starters on defense and five on offense, plus kicker Sebastian Janikowski and offensive weapons Darren McFadden and James Jones. He came away from last week’s loss at Green Bay with a sore throwing elbow, opening the door for Carr - and perhaps giving Raiders head coach Dennis Allen an elegant way of making a quarterback switch.Ĭarr’s heroics made a lively show out of what shaped up to be an exercise in drudgery. Schaub, a former Pro Bowl pick who had a disastrous season in Houston last year, had yet to endear himself to the Black Hole. He twisted to snare a pass Carr threw behind him - with Pro Bowl cornerback Richard Sherman in coverage, no less - and made a clever back-shoulder catch in the end zone for his second touchdown. And Moore, an enigma for at least a year, rediscovered his flashy moves. Rivera, who had struggled through a disappointing preseason, made a tumbling touchdown catch off a tipped pass. Carrie’s 45-yard punt return.Ĭarr’s poised quarterbacking seemed to elevate his offensive teammates. Carr twice threw touchdown passes to open drives - a 36-yarder to Moore that followed Jack Crawford’s fumble recovery on a kickoff, and a 20-yarder to tight end Mychal Rivera set up by rookie T.J. Sandwiched between those marches, though, were a couple of lightning strikes. His final possession covered 61 yards in eight plays and finished on an 11-yard scoring pass to Denarius Moore. His first possession was a 12-play, 68-yard drive sustained by two third-and-10 conversions and finally capped by Latavius Murray’s 5-yard touchdown run. He lit up both units just as he lit up this long-restless crowd and found different ways to crack the end zone. But I haven’t changed anything.”Ĭarr opened the game against a defense made up mostly of Seattle starters, but was facing second-teamers on his final couple drives. I mean, let’s don’t bury your head in the sand. “But obviously, Derek continues to get better, continues to improve and like I said before, I think we’ve got a good situation there.”Īsked whether Carr could reach a level of play that would allow him to supersede Schaub, Allen replied: “Listen, I mean, there’s always a level. “That’s been the plan all along,” Allen said. Oakland head coach Dennis Allen may be the only person in the Bay Area unwilling to budge from the position that Schaub will get the start against the New York Jets on opening weekend. Most important, he led the Raiders to 28 points on four crisp drives before giving way to third-stringer Matt McGloin, and the home team was on its way to a 41-31 victory over the Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks. In an otherwise meaningless preseason game Thursday night at O.co Coliseum, Carr started in place of the injured Schaub and connected on 11 of 13 passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns. The new object of desire is Derek Carr, Oakland’s second-round draft choice out of Fresno State. This year it’s Matt Schaub, acquired from the Houston Texans in an offseason trade and drawing $8 million in guaranteed money this year, who has fallen out of favor. Last year, Terrelle Pryor was the people’s choice rather than anointed starter Matt Flynn. OAKLAND - The hashtag ‘StartTheCarr’ was trending like mad on Twitter last night, and it’s probably going strong today along the web of Raiders fandom.įor the second year in a row, the Raiders have a full-blown quarterback controversy on their hands as they head into the regular season.
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