Raiders’ Derek Carr proves he can start, but should he start Week 1?

This Carr is definitely no lemon.  Even people on Twitter started a hashtag called #StartTheCarr (yes, this is really a thing.)

If we didn’t have a quarterback controversy before, we do now.  And maybe that’s a good problem to have if you’re Oakland.

After going through more quarterbacks than anyone in the last decade, the Raiders may (finally) have their quarterback of the future in Derek Carr after his near-perfect performance Thursday night in the Raiders’ 41-31 win over the defending champion Seattle Seahawks.

Carr went 11-for-13 for 143 yards with three touchdowns in just over a quarter against Seattle, leading scoring plays on all four drives.

He led the Raiders on a 12-play, 68-yard drive ending with a 5-yard touchdown run by Latavius Murray to open the scoring, then tossed a 36-yard touchdown to Denarius Moore on the first play of his second drive to put Oakland up 14-7, followed that with a touchdown pass to tight end Mychal Rivera off of a tip on the first play of the third drive and ended his night with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Moore on a perfect back-shoulder fade to cap an eight-play, 61 yard drive, putting Oakland up 28-7 with 13:45 left in the second quarter.

And for those interested, he even jumped into the Black Hole after his third touchdown pass.

Stats aside, Carr looked sharp throughout the night, led the offense downfield with ease, made the right reads, threw the ball quick and looked comfortable in the pocket.

While Carr showed his stuff and made his case to possibly win a job, current starting quarterback Matt Schaub watched from the sidelines while nursing a sore elbow.

“I don’t think he could have played today, but that’s pure speculation,” head coach Dennis Allen said after the game.

Schaub struggled to get the Raiders offense moving, let alone scoring all preseason, throwing for just 218 yards with an interception, recording a 55.1 quarterback rating.

Carr, on the other hand looked sharp throughout the preseason, completing two-thirds of his passes (30-of-45) for 326 yards with four touchdowns and a pick, recording a 108.2 quarterback rating, nearly double that of Schaub’s.

“I’ve said it from Day 1, the guy’s comfortable in the huddle,” Raiders offensive coordinator Greg Olson told San Jose Mercury News’ Jerry McDonald.  “The game’s not too big for him. … I don’t think the game’s too fast for him, which a lot of times is a concern with a rookie quarterback.”

Last year, we saw the same situation between Matt Flynn and Terrelle Pryor, around the same time of the year as well.

While some may make the case to start Derek Carr in Week 1 at New York after his performance Thursday night, let alone throughout the preseason, keep this in mind: he did a majority of his work against second and third stringers this month.

Against the Seahawks, however, Carr went 5-for-7 in the team’s opening drive, against Seattle’s “Legion of Boom.”

If Carr would’ve been able to play in the third preseason game at Green Bay (missed game due to rib injury), we may have a better idea of what he can really do against other NFL starters. That’s not to say that he’s not the long-term answer at quarterback however.  At some point this season, Carr will take over as the team’s starting quarterback.  The earliest he could start could be after the team’s Week 5 bye week after their game against Miami in London.

“The more I can be out there, the happier I’ll be,” Carr mentioned.  “That’s why we work so hard in the offseasons.  That’s why you spend so many hours here before anyone’s here.  That’s why you do all those things, because you want to go out there and help the team win, and I’m looking forward to it.”

“I do everything selflessly.  I do it for my teammates I come out here and I work as hard as I can so I know when my number, if it has to be called, I’ll be ready to help us win.”

Playing Schaub Week 1, if healthy, would be the safe move for the Raiders entering the season.  Carr was expected to redshirt the year in order to learn the game (and to avoid having him become like his older brother David).

However, with a struggling and injured vet in Schaub and after Carr’s performance Thursday night, let alone all preseason, the Raiders might be tempted to force their hand in starting the rookie Week 1.

So far, this may be the first season that no rookie quarterbacks start Week 1.  We’ll have to wait until next week to see if Oakland is willing to #StartTheCarr.