Oakland Raiders must stand behind QB Derek Carr in 2014

In 2002, the upstart Houston Texans, a newborn expansion franchise, used its first-ever pick on a quarterback — talented Fresno State signal-caller David Carr.

The Texans had a potential franchise building block in Carr, and … well, we all know how that story ended. Behind an inexplicably bad offensive line, Carr was sacked and sacked and sacked and, you guessed it, sacked some more — a then-record 76 times.

Five years later, the Carr era was over. He’s since been relegated to nothing more than a backup and, depending on who you ask, a gigantic bust. A lot of that can be attributed to the abomination that was Houston’s front office, which arguably sabotaged Carr and turned him into a shell-shocked, happy feet-having, tentative QB.

Why am I reminding you of this? Because, more than a decade later, the league has seen a rebirth of Carr — his younger brother, Derek, who also played his college ball at Fresno State. Unlike David, however, Derek wasn’t the No. 1 overall draft pick; he was taken in the second round, No. 36 overall, by the Oakland Raiders.

Regardless, they can’t let another Carr accident repeat itself.

Since draft day, Derek Carr has patiently waited for his opportunity. Working behind offseason acquisition Matt Schaub, the dead-armed retread who was, ironically enough, run out of Houston, Carr wasn’t thought of as a legitimate starting option.

And then the preseason happened. Playing in a revamped, upgraded offense, Schaub looked dreadfully unimpressive, completing just 24-of-47 passes for 218 yards (4.63 yards-per-attempt), zero touchdowns and one interception in three exhibition contests.

The door sprung open for the big-armed Carr, and he burst through. Like a breath of fresh air, he took control of the Raiders’ offense, slicing and dicing up the Seattle Seahawks’ first-team unit in the final preseason game. He finished an impressive 11-of-13 for 143 yards, leading the team to four touchdowns in as many drives.

Following Carr’s red-hot August — he had a passer rating of 105.2, out of 45 throws — head coach Dennis Allen was left with a choice, his only choice, at the position. On Sept. 1, just days before the regular season kicked off, Carr was named the starting quarterback.

The next day, his top target, receiver James Jones, gave him one heck of an ego boost.

“He’s really calm, really cool in the pocket,” Jones said, via SFGate.com. “He acts like he’s been there before. I’ve been calling him mini A-Rod since he got here.”

As a matter of fact, so did his center.

“He’s not your typical rookie,” Stefan Wisniewski said. “He’s got an NFL quarterback older brother that’s been teaching him for years. He understands defenses at a very advanced level more than most rookies would. I think Derek gets way more prepared than most rookies would be.”

On Sept. 7, Carr made his NFL debut. He was put in a tough position — on the road, facing a ferocious New York Jets pass rush. The Raiders were underdogs, even against a team many thought would finish with less than six wins.

But to say he held his own would be an understatement. In a losing effort, Carr completed 20-of-32 passes (seven consecutive completions to open the game) for 151 yards and two touchdowns, including a long beauty of a TD pass to Jones in the fourth quarter.

In the name of fairness, though, I’d like to add that Carr was far from perfect; he failed to develop a consistent rhythm and seemed content to check down on most of his drop-backs. It didn’t help that offensive coordinator Greg Olsen didn’t dial up many deep passes, failing to test the Jets’ depleted secondary.

However, any unbiased viewer came away impressed with Carr’s as-advertised arm strength, command of the huddle, and moxie to nearly rally Oakland to a fourth quarter comeback.

Things such as those — intangibles and otherwise — only add to the notion that the Raiders must roll with Carr through the entire season. There will be growing pains, frustrating moments, and temporary calls for Schaub. But, in the current NFL, you let a young gunslinger experience a trial by fire. You let him hold a football, put him in the best possible position, and see what he can do under center.

The Texans failed in that respect with David Carr. The Raiders have a chance to not mess that up again.

Carr knows it all too well.

“I learned everything that he did right and everything that he did wrong,” Derek Carr said of his brother. “He told me that if he could do anything, he hopes he made the path smoother for me as I transition into the NFL.”