How Derek Carr is handling the boos – and unmet expectations in Year 1 with Saints

Derek Carr always tries to keep things positive publicly. Maybe even to the detriment of how he is perceived by Saints fans who would like to see that he, and everyone else, is just as disgusted by the results of this underwhelming 6-7 season as they are.

But Carr did acknowledge Wednesday he is frustrated by both the injuries and the losses that have piled up this season. And even though he experienced plenty of scrutiny and criticism during his first nine seasons with the Raiders, Carr admitted that the volume of boos he’s received in the Superdome over the past two weeks was unique.

“Yeah, I’m not used to that. But I do understand that their expectation is our expectation. So their frustration, that’s the way they can show their frustration. My frustration — I, we showed in our way,” Carr said — which was a possible reference to the shouting match he had with center Erik McCoy on the field during this past Sunday’s win over Carolina, along with some of his emotional on-field outbursts in past games.

🆕: How will the Saints contain Tommy DeVito and end Giants win streak?📌: What direction will the Saints go in 2024 draft?📌: Is Jimmy Graham the answer on third down and in the red zone📌: What did the tape say about Derek Carr's performance against Carolina?… pic.twitter.com/CxpqPMcLGn— NOF (@nofnetwork) December 14, 2023

“All of our expectations were so high. And our expectations still should be high,” Carr continued. “Everything is still in front of us. Again, I keep saying this, man, like this is the time to do it. This is the time to get hot. Right now. I was on a team where this was when we got hot (the 2021 Raiders, who won their final four regular season games to make the playoffs after a 6-7 start and coach Jon Gruden’s midseason resignation.)

“And, man, that was a great time in our stadium. That was a great energy in the city. And we want to do that for our city.”

Carr is right. The best way to change the perception of anyone outside the building — or inside the Saints building, for that matter — is to play his way out of the team’s current dire straits.

Carr has dealt with the ire of fans and critics before. He was just unceremoniously released by the Raiders after the team made the playoffs just twice during his tenure. (He only appeared in the playoffs once since he was injured late in the 2016 season after a 12-3 start.)

But there was supposed to be more of a honeymoon period in New Orleans, which was supposed to be a fresh start for both sides. Carr chose the Saints over other suitors because he felt like this was his best chance to thrive, resurrect his career, make the playoffs and even uplift the city after two non-playoff seasons.

So this season has certainly been a trying one.

Physically: Carr has been knocked out early from three games with a sprained AC joint in his right throwing shoulder, two concussions and fractured rib cartilage.

Emotionally: Although Carr and McCoy insisted they were just letting their emotions get the best of them in the heat of the moment, it was the third time Carr had apologized for going overboard on the field in similar situations this year — including the time when he chastised receiver Chris Olave for not finishing a route that was not designed to be thrown to Olave.

Chris Olave and Andrus Peat were not at practice during the media viewing portionRashid Shaheed & Taysom Hill were back. Hill was working with the QBs, but did not have a red jersey onNoticed Alvin Kamara working with the WRs during ROA. RBs were still in their drills #Saints— Brooke Kirchhofer (@brookechesney) December 13, 2023

And performance-wise: Carr has thrown for just 221.5 yards per game with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions, a 66.4 completion percentage and an 89.4 passer rating.

When asked about the injuries, Carr acknowledged they have been “very frustrating” but repeated something he has often said.

“I learned a long time ago at the end of the day, ‘Nobody cares,’” Carr said. “You gotta do your best. You’re gonna have to answer tough questions when things happen because of those things, and you’re gonna have to deal with stuff. But you do your best to be out there for your teammates at practice and do your best to be out there at the games and give it your best shot. And I’ve been trying to do that all year.”

Carr also insisted he is better at dealing with backlash than he was early in his career.

“Oh yeah,” Carr said. “I’m a people-pleaser. Since I was a little kid, I care what everyone thinks. ‘Are you happy? Are you good? Are you good?’ No matter how excellent you try (to be at) your job, no matter how good you try and be in life, all those things, I learned real quick, man, there’s still gonna be people who don’t like you or don’t care. When I was a young player, that was an awakening for me. Like, ‘Dang, I’m trying to do everything right’ and be a good role model for the kids and all these kinds of things. And you learn real quick that that just is what it is.

“So it’s not that you get hardened. You just know to expect it. It’s not gonna be positive all the time. But it sure was at the end of that (Week 14 win over the Panthers), and hopefully we can keep doing that for our fans.”

Carr was also asked about what he tells his kids about the booing since his family attends games and hears them. And he said he has been open about it — even using it as a teaching lesson.

“They’re there. They’re old enough. They’re smart,” Carr said. “Yeah, I talk to my kids. Like, ‘Guys, at the end of the day, you still gotta do your job.' I remember the other day my son was — true story — he was getting frustrated with his math homework; he was getting really upset at it. He won’t even look at the page. I was like, ‘Look, son, it’s OK. I’m gonna start booing you right now, too.’ And it made him laugh. I was like, ‘It doesn’t matter, buddy, just focus and do your best, man. That’s all you can do. Knock this homework out.’ And it was just a great lesson for him. It was a great lesson as a dad to be able to teach him.

“So I love everybody, and I’m gonna do my best this week to get everyone excited, complete all the passes I can complete and score all the points that we can score. And I’m gonna keep giving everything that I physically can, everything mentally that I can, to do my best. And I know all of our team is doing that. But we gotta give them some stuff to get excited about."

🆕: Saints QB Derek Carr on using boo's to help teach his children about dealing with adversityFull Interview: Youtube | @NOF pic.twitter.com/wCjH77NtpZ— NOF (@nofnetwork) December 13, 2023

Carr said the thing that has frustrated him most this year is that “as a team, we just haven’t put it all together at one time.” But he has been encouraged by the improvement the offense has shown the past two months.

When asked what has improved most for him specifically, Carr said, “I’m getting a much better feel of our chemistry and our timing with some of the wideouts and some of the things” — specifically pointing to his growing connection with Olave in recent weeks.

“We’ve hit on and connected on stuff that takes years of experience to do together. Stuff I’ve done with (former teammates Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow), and we did it in the first year,” said Carr, though he acknowledged that “obviously this last game was a little tougher for whatever reason.”

Members Only podcast: 3 Up and 3 Down@KevinWashJr and I take a deeper dive into the Saints' Week 14 win over the Panthers and discuss why it wasn’t enough to change the vibe around the team and Derek Carrhttps://t.co/UrZRgbnPgU— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) December 12, 2023

Carr and the Saints offense finished strong in the 28-6 win over Carolina. But he totaled just 37 passing yards on 13 completions through the first 50 minutes of the game. For a while, it was on the way to being his most ineffective performance of the entire season — the exact opposite of the type of getting-hot-at-the-right-time finish he needs.

When asked if he was affected or limited while coming off of the concussion along with rib and shoulder injuries from the previous week, Carr said, “I mean, if I can be out there, I’m gonna do my best to be out there for my team and for our organization.”

“I was taught a long time ago, if you can be out there for your team, especially at quarterback, it says a lot, for your teammates and for your coaches,” Carr said. *And maybe I wasn’t at my best. But that kind of respect goes a long way in building unity and building a team.”

One of those “complete games” that has eluded Carr and the entire Saints team all year long would go even further.