But this was before the draft. This was before the Raiders didn't try to trade up from their second-round spot and were rewarded for their patience when Derek Carr fell in their lap.
With his arrival, the speculation immediately began regarding not if but when Carr would take over as starter. Five games into the season? Eight? Next year?
As it turned out, the wait was much shorter than expected, and Carr has been the Oakland starting quarterback since the final game of the preseason. The question was, did Carr earn the spot, or did he just avoid being as ineffective Schaub?
Through the first three games of the season, Carr has not only shown that he deserves to start, but he's also begun to establish himself as the franchise quarterback this organization has been desperately seeking for more than a decade.
Earning the Job
Entering the preseason, the starting job was still Schaub's to keep. Carr was firmly entrenched as the backup, and that's where he was going to stay. But as he played more snaps and Schaub continued to struggle, he showed signs that he wasn't as far behind as the coaches expected.
Then, heading into the final preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks, it was reported that Schaub would sit, and Carr would get the start. Expectations were tempered knowing that the rookie would be going up against the NFL's top defense.
There was always the hope that Carr would have a good enough performance and earn the starting job. But in reality, the more reasonable expectation was that he would at least show he had progressed since training camp.
But in that...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
