Dennis Allen has confirmed that second round draft pick Derek Carr is the starting quarterback.
“We made the decision to go with Derek Carr as the quarterback. There were a lot of factors involved in that. It’s not an indictment on Matt Schaub at all, I still feel very confident in Matt Schaub,” Allen told reporters.
He didn’t say in what respect his confidence in Matt Schaub existed. Perhaps it’s as a friend, or a responsible millionaire. But it isn’t as starting quarterback of the Raiders.
Schaub becomes the second pricey Matt to be displaced by a intriguing rookie before the first game of the season.
Last year, it was Matt Flynn who had a “balky” elbow that led to his dethroning in favor of Terelle Pryor.
But Derek Carr is far more fascinating than Pryor.
After a dazzling career at Fresno State, Carr proved he wasn’t a bust by performing solidly in the preseason before going down with sore ribs and a concussion that gave Raiders fans another reason to be sad.
Then the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks and their filthy defense came to town and set the stage for the greatest coming out party in Oakland since …when did Charles Woodson get drafted?
Carr was absolutely superb. Even if critics say the Seahawks weren’t going for broke in the last preseason game of the year, I’m pretty sure they didn’t want Carr farting in their faces and doing whatever else he felt like doing for two quarters.
That’s after Schaub looked like a fading professional quarterback against the Green Bay Packers. He did a bunch of totally unmemorable Matt Schaub things and the Raiders lost the game, and fans like me lost a little more hope.
And then … Derek Carr!! He jumped around, hugged his teammates, shouted, stepped up in the pocket, threw a pair of ridiculous first-play touchdown passes that would have made Mr. Davis bust out a sick moonwalk in his O.co luxury box. That’s the only sad thing about Carr’s ascension — Al would have loved this kid.
Carr did every single thing he could to win the starting job, as well as the hearts and minds of Raider Nation.
Now the celebration appropriately needs to end with Labor Day, because there is work to be done. And it starts this weekend in New … wherever the Jets play. The Raiders have struggled mightily on the East Coast, but that was before a kid from Bakersfield with NFL pedigree showed yet another Matt to the door.
