Why Derek Carr believes tough 2017 season will make him a better QB

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ALAMEDA – Derek Carr came ever so close to beating the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night. The Raiders quarterback went for broke on 3rd-down-and-3, with roughly 30 seconds left and eight yards from pay dirt. He came up just short. Carr sprinted for the pylon and dove toward it. That’s when Dallas safety Jeff Heath’s hit dislodged the ball. It rolled through the end zone out of bounds.

By rule, that’s a touchback and a turnover. In context, it was also a Raiders loss. 

Carr was upset by the result, but widely praised for his efforts trying to win a game at all costs. He was so good creating magic last year. On Sunday, he fell just short.

He met with the media Wednesday afternoon, as was asked what he’d have done differently.

Carr had no regrets.

“I always think of it in basketball terms: I’d rather take the last shot and miss it than pass it off and try and do it another way,” Carr said. “From a competitive standpoint, I’d try it but with better technique, two hands, I don’t know, but something to where we don’t lose the game. But from making that decision, I think I’d go for it again.”

That isn’t the first time Carr has been second-guessed. It isn’t the first time Carr has stood by his decisions.

Don’t take that him being stubborn. Carr puts each pass, each throw away, each decision under a microscope in attempt to learn from each one. That’s why, even after a down year relative to his lofty benchmarks, Carr considers himself a better quarterback than he was this summer, a better quarterback for this season’s often frustrating experience.

“I use everything that I go through and things to be better,” Carr said. “I use it all to just fuel the fire, to grow and learn from. There have been things that I’ve gone through this year that I’ve never been through. I’m learning how to deal with those things and not just deal with them, but execute them at a high level.

“So, I absolutely, 100 percent believe that going forward, again, this time next year we’re standing here I’ll feel like, because I trust my work ethic, that I’m a better player this year because of what I went through. Not only on the field, but off the field as well, what I’ve dealt with. I think that going forward I’ll definitely be a better player.”

Carr’s career ascent had been steady. His passer rating, completion percentage and touchdown-to-interception ratio went up and up and up since his rookie year.

Those categories have taken a dip this season. So has his deep passing accuracy, with a slight drop in yards per attempt.

Let’s not forget Carr was a legitimate MVP candidate last year, so it’s hard to continue building off that. It’s actually more common that you’d think for a fourth-year player.

According to the Associated Press, Carr was the 13th quarterback in the last three decades to start 10 games as a rookie and improve his passer rating the next two years. Troy Aikman’s the only member of the group to improve in Year 4. The rest dropped an average of 10 points. Carr’s passer rating is down 8.3 points from last year.

A lull isn’t the end of the world, and wouldn’t bother fans when accompanied by wins. Those have been tougher to come by. Carr often willed the Raiders to victory last year, with seven fourth-quarter comebacks. He has just one this season – a Week 7 epic over Kansas City – and full just short of a second Sunday night.

Head coach Jack Del Rio didn’t like the result, but loved a gritty effort where Carr put it all on the line to win a game.

“It reminded me of what we saw a lot of last year. Derek played with a lot of zest. Just took off and made some plays with his feet. Played courageous. I thought he played well. It’s a shame. It’s a shame that play goes an inch or two the other way and it’s a different feel right now.”

Losses like that combined with Carr’s giant $25 million base salary to create fertile ground for scrutiny. Carr understands lackluster returns come with a cost, and attract some who has he has regressed.

“In a tough year, there can be a lot of critiques, and I think that sometimes it can get lost in the mix that there are some good things in there too,” offensive coordinator Todd Downing said. ”Certainly, Derek showed great toughness on Sunday and stood in there and made some throws. That was pleasing to see, but I think he’s done a nice job with a lot of things this year. We just need to be consistent all around, the whole offense, up and down from me all the way down to practice squad guys, we’ve got to look for ways to be more consistent and be reliable.”

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