New Orleans Saints fans would probably agree that quarterback Derek Carr got off to a rough start this preseason.
For some, that might be putting it lightly, too.
Carr’s offense only ran nine plays against the Arizona Cardinals, yet had the benefit of doing so against a second-string defense. It was, on paper anyway, a chance to show what the Klint Kubiak offense can do.
Instead, Carr completed just two of his six pass attempts for 12 yards, notably appearing to overthrow one target and benefitting from a dropped interception on another.
To make matters worse, rookie Spencer Rattler ended up going 9-of-17 for 70 yards and Jake Haener went 9-of-13 for 107 in what turned out to be a 16-14 Saints victory, anyway.
The usual disclaimers apply. Breaking in a new offense against real competition isn’t easy and Carr’s offensive line didn’t do him a ton of favors. The chances to get in a rhythm in what was surely a vanilla version of the offense were few. There’s no reason to think the guy who completed 68.4 percent of his passes with 25 touchdowns against eight interceptions last year can’t have a strong season.
That said, this isn’t exactly what fans wanted to see, either. Ideally, perhaps the plan was to let Carr get some run in the first preseason game and then take it easy on the starters for the remaining two exhibitions. Now, fans might wonder if that’s the smart play and if Carr’s sluggishness will translate to Week 1.
- 1st throw near interception
— Hold The Mayo (@snowlikejonn) August 11, 2024
- over throw to Olave running wide open down the field
- check down to Jamal Williams on 3rd no where close to a first down
Derek Carr is so back
You need a better QB for better execution. How many OC's has Carr burned through in his illustrious career? He is a year older, not a year better. Better develop Rattler.
— Hassan Dabon (@hassan_dabon) August 11, 2024
Derek Carr on broadcast: "It's frustrating, because you're getting ready for a game but you're not game-planning; I didn't even know who was gonna be out there, but the execution, getting through the play calls — of course you want to score and win — but the communication we… https://t.co/MNJMRJWc3d
— Zach Ewing (@zewing) August 11, 2024
