Derek Carr continues to earn a bad reputation in the NFL. The former Raiders quarterback has been accused of throwing dangerous passes that put his receivers in jeopardy. As a result of his bad decision-making, Saints WR Chris Olave suffered another concussion last week, trying to catch a pass thrown in the middle.
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Carr has been catching a lot of flak since then, with Michael Thomas first calling him an as* on X, and now Cam Newton also ripped into the QB for his “suicide passes.”
In the latest episode of 4th & 1, former MVP Cam Newton called out the Saints’ quarterback, saying it’s his responsibility to protect his wideouts:
“This goes back to accuracy. Whose fault is it? It’s definitely Derek Carr’s fault. He knows it’s his fault. Any quarterback knows like ‘oh damn hey man it’s my fault bro’…Like I just said, Olave is leaving like an olive, in large part because of your inaccuracy. Sometimes you help it, sometimes you can’t.”
Newton argued that Carr needs to own up to his mistake, as his throw put Chris Olave in harm’s way. Ultimately, Newton argued, it all boils down to accuracy—something which Carr’s throws seem to be lacking, especially the one he threw to Olave.
Olave ran a deep crossing route over the middle of the field. With CB Dane Jackson on him, Carr’s pass was high, leaving Olave open to a brutal hit from safety Xavier Woods.
The Saints QB was criticized last season for his performance. That criticism has carried over to this season. But has Carr really been that bad?
Carr’s performances come into question
The Saints have lost seven straight matches this season. There are a lot of reasons behind it, including injuries, bad defense, play-calling, etc. They are playing with a depleted roster. But Carr deserves some blame too. In six games that he has started this season, New Orleans has lost four.
The QB has thrown for merely 1225 yards, which puts him at 25th in passing yards, averaging only 204 yards per game. He has a completion % of 67.9 % which is not bad but he has attempted 60-70 less passes than most of the QBs above him. He has thrown 9 TD passes and four interceptions.
However, five of those TD passes, came in the first two games of the season. In the next four games, he is averaging 1 TD game and has thrown 3 picks.
He has completed merely thirteen 20+ yard passes but has only been sacked 6 times, which means he is playing behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league since week 3. Carr is picking up 7.7 yards on a single completion and boasts a rating of 99.2.
The numbers themselves haven’t been that bad. It’s his decision-making on the field that has been a cause of concern. He gets flustered when pressured which results in bad throws. The Saints have too many injuries on their offense with three of their top receivers now out.
They take on the Falcons in week 10 and are in no position to compete for it. This could be Carr’s final season in New Orleans as the Saints will likely draft a new QB next season.
