Derek Carr as the Raiders starter went 12-44 against playoff teams.
Outside of four straight victories under Rich Bisaccia in 2021, he was questioned if he had the fight in him to perform under pressure.
Now at the start of training camp, Derek Carr’s replacement may be showing some new fight for Las Vegas.
Free agent signing Jimmy Garoppolo got into an altercation with All Pro Defensive End, Maxx Crosby at the start of the Raiders training camp.
The altercation occurred during Raiders training camp on Tuesday. It was during the 11 on 11 drills.
Crosby did not know a play had been blown dead before the snap due to a false start. So Crosby kept going and made a move for the ball while Garoppolo scrambled to pick it up.
There were heated words exchanged between Garoppolo and Crosby immediately after, a spat that continued even after another group of players took the field for the next snap. The coaching staff eventually got involved, and Crosby was told to take a lap around the field.
This may be the fighting spirit that Las Vegas has been missing the last few years.
“Real football is what we play on Sundays, right?” running back Ameer Abdullah said. “It’s always interesting to see how fundamentals carry over from non-padded to padded practice days. These are the days that we really lock in on the fundamentals, make sure we’re keeping it simple and guys are playing with the right technique because that wins football games.”
Despite his injury history, Garoppolo has been a proven winner and leader. Including the post season he is 16-12 against playoff teams in his career.
It’s 4 more wins than Carr in half the starts. Garoppolo having the fight in him for 2023 may be what Las Vegas has been missing since Rich Gannon retired in 2005.
