AsylumGuido

Why Derek Carr believes Saints are 'so far ahead' of 2023 struggles

Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff Writer
May 26, 2024, 06:00 AM ET

METAIRIE, La. -- Quarterback Derek Carr shook his head when asked if he was bothered by low expectations for the New Orleans Saints in 2024.

"No, no. I've been on teams where that was the case and that was our best team," Carr said. "Then you come in and you play good football and you just try to just string good days together. ... That's the exciting part about this game, is you always get another chance. Not every time, but this group of guys will get another chance to put that ball down and say 'This is what Saints football is this year.'"

Carr, speaking to reporters after the Saints' first practice of OTAs on Tuesday, sounded as positive as he did a year ago, just a few months removed from signing a four-year, $150 million contract in free agency . Since then, New Orleans finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Carr believes the chemistry the team started to develop at the end of last season will translate to 2024, and he thinks the work everyone has put in this offseason is already producing positive results.

"We're so far ahead of where we were last year, just as a team, just as a group of guys," he said.

Ahead of Carr's first season as a Saint, he and the team were excited about the season's possibilities; he and wide receiver Michael Thomas gushed about each other and the capabilities of the offense. The 2023 season certainly saw some highs, like decisive wins over the New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But the lows included three losses where Carr was injured, public spats with teammates and a growing sense of frustration among the fans, a number of whom sold their tickets and booed the offense during home games. Thomas, who is now a free agent , publicly criticized Carr on his social media.

"Last year we were so excited. Everyone was so excited, but we really didn't show why we were so excited until it was too late," Carr said. "So for us, you get humbled a little bit. That's unacceptable for what we have in that room."

Carr played some of his best football in the final two games of the season, completing 76.6% of his passes for six touchdowns, no interceptions and a 131.3 quarterback rating. He said he wants to get off to a quicker start than last year, and the team will have the opportunity to do so when the season opens against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8, a little more than three months away.

That momentum from last season can translate only so much, however, as Carr will enter this season working with his fourth offensive coordinator in four years dating back to his last two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders.

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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill

leilung

Looks like his head is in the right space. I'm curious about synch and execution now.

Sinner

Raiders kicked this dude to the curb. No matter how much lipstick you put on it, WE DAT curb.

vpheughan

The Raiders are a poor Barometer to judge any move. Between 2019 and 2021, the Raiders had 6 that's SIX first-round draft selections. Currently, there are only two that are still on the Vegas roster, and only one — Josh Jacobs (2019) — is actually seeing considerable playing time. The other, Ferrell (2019), has seen only 221 snaps throughout all of 2022

Sinner

Derek Carr is a poor barometer to judge Saints QB highlight reels.

Boston Saint

Hilarious how people can complain about how poor an organization the Saints are, then turn around and nock Carr for lack of success with an organization that has been objectively and demonstrably worse than the Saints over the last 20 years. The “logic” of a six year old.

Sinner

A poorly run organization and a poor (and way overpaid) QB are not mutually exclusive… in fact, they are a perfect match.

AsylumGuido

Some people complain about everything. Life must be miserable for those types.

Boston Saint

Some refer to it as “coping”. Really, it’s just being triggered.

Sinner

Some people come to this Saints Forum to talk about the Saints. Others get caught up in talking about the people. Big difference.