I was impressed by Derek Carr last year. He had some success, particularly with simply getting the ball out of his hands – better to throw incompletions than to take sacks. And in this area, he performed like a seasoned veteran.
Oakland’s quarterbacks (and Carr started all 16 games) were hit only 56 times last year, on less than 9 percent of their pass plays. In the last six years, only eight teams have had their quarterback hit less often, and all but one of those teams were quarterbacked by either Peyton Manning or Drew Brees.
| QUARTERBACK HITS (since 2009) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Hits | Plays | Pct |
| 2014 | Denver (Manning) | 42 | 624 | 6.7% |
| 2010 | Indianapolis (Manning) | 47 | 695 | 6.8% |
| 2009 | Indianapolis (Manning) | 44 | 614 | 7.2% |
| 2011 | New Orleans (Brees) | 51 | 686 | 7.4% |
| 2012 | Denver (Manning) | 46 | 609 | 7.6% |
| 2013 | Cincinnati (Dalton) | 47 | 616 | 7.6% |
| 2013 | Denver (Manning) | 54 | 695 | 7.8% |
| 2012 | New Orleans (Brees) | 59 | 697 | 8.5% |
| 2014 | Oakland (Carr) | 56 | 657 | 8.5% |
| 2013 | Dallas (Romo) | 54 | 621 | 8.7% |
—Ian Allan