Oakland Raiders: Derek Carr’s overly defensive clap back isn’t all bad

Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr may have been overly defensive about criticism as he wanted to fight about it, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing

The Oakland Raiders had a terrible season in 2018 and with that comes a lot of criticism. While much of that has been hurled at head coach Jon Gruden, quarterback Derek Carr has also taken some heat for their 4-12 record.

Some of the latest criticism came by way of First Take on ESPN, a show that is known for trying to push the boundaries. They also have no problem trying to get a rise out of players and it worked with Carr.

Oakland’s signal-caller took exception to the criticism and took to Twitter to claim that this specific instance came because he blocked Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman. He then went on to say he would like to break down film to show their incompetence.

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"“It’s because I blocked them both for talking trash about our team. Those 2 clowns don’t know anything about this game. Would love to actually sit and break down film with these two on tv just to show their viewers how incompetent (lacking qualification) they are about our game.” — Carr said via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk"

After that, Carr started to ask about getting into a UFC ring to fight some of the “clowns” who criticize him. At first glance, this seems incredibly defensive. And the standard line is that he should have ignored it and moved on. However, that’s not always the case.

Oakland took a beating last season and it’s not really all that bad to see Carr show some fire. Maybe he doesn’t need to get into the ring to beat anyone up, but it would be funny to see him break down film with some of his critics.

Because if we are being honest, the worst player on the worst team knows more about football than the average fan — or even many of those who do criticize players. As for Carr, he’s far from the worst player and could make many people look foolish simply by sharing his knowledge against theirs.

Another reason this may not be all bad is that it could fire up some of his teammates. Carr has often come across as mild-mannered and seeing him with a fire lit under him could be a good thing.