Overreaction Monday: Derek Carr's biggest weakness will hurt Saints down the stretch

When it comes to Derek Carr quarterbacking your team, you have to take the good with the bad, and sometimes swallow the downright ugly. That was this past Sunday vs. the Philadelphia Eagles. After getting embarrassed at home on Monday Night Football, the Birds came to play—sort of—vs. Carr's team in the New Orleans Saints. It was a low-scoring affair, but the Eagles still won the game, 15-12.

From the Saints' side of things, we got our first bad game out of Carr this season. He was playing tremendous through the first two weeks of the season. Carr seemed to be really taking to new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak's coaching. Then again, New Orleans' first two opponents were the Carolina Panthers and the Dallas Cowboys, two teams that are 1-2 on the season through Week 3.

More importantly, have you seen what Carr's passer rating by quarter numbers look like so far?

• First Quarter: 150.8
• Second Quarter: 120.7
• Third Quarter: 104.2
• Fourth Quarter: 59.7

With a huge road date at the arch rival Atlanta Falcons' house on early Sunday afternoon next week, we have to wonder what could be in store for the loser of this game. While Atlanta would fall to a rough 1-3 with another defeat, New Orleans would be riding a two-game losing streak. Plus, they'd be behind Atlanta in the NFC South divisional race due to the the head-to-head tiebreaker. What a huge game!

While you have to like Carr's numbers in the first three quarters, fourth-quarter struggles are an issue.

Derek Carr's fourth-quarter struggles should be a real concern for Saints

Look. New Orleans is better than I expected they would be. I had them hovering around .500 due to roster construction issues and whatnot. I failed to realize until very late in the process that hiring Kubiak to be the offensive coordinator was going to be such a huge boost in the right direction for the Saints. However, that does not change the pressure Dennis Allen may be feeling as head coach.

Overall, we need to see how the season unfolds before we really try to make Carr wear this. We are still in the first month of a 17-game and 18-week regular season. Players, coaches and teams are allowed to get better as the season goes along. Right now, the emerging partnership between Carr and Kubiak could make the Saints a real contender to win the division. This is something to root for.

Ultimately, Carr has not always been the most clutch player in the game. Yes, he has had his fair share of game-winning drives and yes, he has had staying power in the league as an above-average starter. However, I wonder if he has the pieces around him to overcome a mental lapse or two in the fourth quarter by him. To be frank, most teams do not have enough players to do that, and that is a problem.

It all starts with Carr playing a strong four quarters vs. the Saints' biggest rival next week.