vation from the dismissal, just as he had upon bei from LAM's blog
ALAMEDA, Calif. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . -- When Derek Carr was preparing for the 2014 NFL draft, there was one quarterback-needy team that never came calling.After drafting Carrs older brother David with the first overall pick as an expansion team in 2002, the Houston Texans showed no interest in Davids little brother, taking pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney with the No. 1 pick and then guard Xavier Sua-Filo at the top of the second round -- three picks before Derek Carr went to Oakland.Well, they never talked to me, Carr said Thursday. I never talked one word to a Houston scout, G.M., coach anything. Im just happy to be here, I can tell you that.The Raiders are even happier as Carr has developed into one of the leagues top young quarterbacks in his third season and is a major reason why Oakland (7-2) is in position to end a 13-year playoff drought.Carr has completed 66.1 percent of his passes for 2,505 yards with 17 touchdowns and a passer rating of 99.1 heading into Monday nights meeting with the Texans (6-3) in Mexico City.Hes having a heck of a year, Texans coach Bill OBrien said. Hes only thrown three interceptions, I think hes completing almost 70 percent of his balls, doing a good job throwing the ball down the field, and he can run. So, yeah, hes doing a lot. Hes got a good grasp of their offense. We evaluated all the quarterbacks coming out in that draft and we felt like he was definitely one of the better quarterbacks.They just decided against taking him. There was speculation at the time that Houston passed on Derek Carr because David struggled during his time with the Texans.David Carr was sacked 76 times as a rookie in 2002 and 249 times in five seasons. He never had a passer rating higher than 83.5 and didnt produce a winning record in any season with Houston before ending his career as mostly a backup with Carolina, San Francisco and the New York Giants.With help from a stronger offensive line and good pocket presence, Derek Carr has been sacked only 62 times in 41 career games.He can go up there and fix a problem, ESPN analyst Jon Gruden said. If theres a blitz coming on the left, he doesnt miss it; he changes the protection. He hand signals the route. He keeps the Raiders in optimum play selection, and things dont have to perfect. I mean, if the pocket isnt clean, he can just slide two feet to his right and throw an awkward-delivery release 18 yards down the field on the dime. Hes got very good pocket skills.Gruden worked Carr out at his quarterback camp before the draft and came away extremely impressed. He recalled Carr hitting a target 20 yards downfield so accurately that it broke the cameras filming the session.Carr has shown more of those skills while starting every game for Oakland since entering the league.Houston, on the other hand, has started seven quarterbacks in that span. The Texans gave Brock Osweiler a $72 million, four-year contract this offseason to fill that role but he has struggled in his first full season as a starter.Osweiler has completed just 58.6 percent of his passes and is last in the league with 5.6 yards per attempt. He has thrown only 11 touchdown passes with nine interceptions and has a passer rating of 74.1.Now they get a chance to see how much Carr has developed since he faced them two years ago in his second game as a starter.Carr was intercepted twice that game as Oakland lost 30-14 as part of a 0-10 start to his career.Now, he shows signs of reading defenses, changing plays at the line of scrimmage, he can make all the throws, he can control the pocket and his movement in the pocket so that he can make a throw, Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel said. Hes a different cat and better. Hes a better guy then we faced a couple years ago.Game notes The NFL said there was no update on the status of LB Aldon Smith, who is waiting to be reinstated after his one-year suspension for substance abuse ended Thursday. Commissioner Roger Goodell must decide whether to reinstate Smith before he can make a comeback. ... DL Mario Edwards Jr. remains sidelined from a preseason hip injury.---AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Soccer Jerseys China . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Cheap World Cup Jerseys . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. http://www.chinasoccerjerseys.com/ . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action.Only hours after his five-year tenure in Toronto had come to an end, Mikhail Grabovski was still trying to sort out the emotions of what had just occurred. "Im [expletive] happy right now," he told TSN.ca exclusively early on Thursday evening, shortly after the Maple Leafs announced that they had exercised their second compliance buyout on the 29-year-old. With the sting of the wound being realized, Grabovski changed tune considerably in a frustrating diatribe that took aim most poignantly at Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle. "Of course I feel [expletive] sad," he continued in a lengthy conversation, minutes later, "I played [expletive] five years here. Im supposed to feel upset about that. I loved it [here]. Toronto fans are one of the best fans in the world." Grabovski finished a disappointing and altogether uninspired 2013 with poor numbers, compiling just nine goals and 16 points in 48 games, used almost exclusively in a checking role under Carlyle. While he performed with renewed fire and urgency in the playoffs, Grabovski ultimately finished goalless against the Bruins, adding just two assists in seven games. Unwilling to rock the boat throughout the season, which saw the Leafs reach the playoffs for the first time since 2004, Grabovski kept silent, but held nothing back in his feelings toward Carlyle after ties with the organization were effectively cut. "I play in the [expletive] Russian KHL, I make lots of [expletive] points and whats going to happen? He make me [expletive] play on the fourth line and he put me in the playoffs on the fourth line and third line again," Grabovski spewed. "Yeah, I dont score goals. I need to work more about that. I know that. But if you feel support from your coach [youll find success]. I dont feel any support from this [expletive] idiot." Grabovski found a favourite in Ron Wilson, from whom Carlyle took over in the latter stages of the 2011-2012 season, scoring 20 goals three times upon being acquired from Montreal. Inked to a hefty five-year, $27.5 million extension just three days after Wilson was fired in March of 2012, Grabovski never found a similar connection or rapport with Carlyle. Communication – or llack thereof – was in some ways at the crux of the matter. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Authentic. Grabovski and the head coach rarely spoke, most of the conversation instead streaming through assistant coaches Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon. "Wilson [expletive] pushed me same hard as this," Grabovski said, months of frustration finally bubbling to the surface, "but dont be an [expletive] with me. If you dont like something tell [expletive] right away, dont put me on the bench, healthy scratch [me] or something. Dont put me on a [expletive] third line and then [expletive] play me six minutes in a game." Due to be married to his long-time girlfriend on Friday, the news unquestionably took Grabovski by surprise. Initially he called the buyout – which will offer the Leafs a boost in cap space with free agency looming on Friday – a "good present" from the organization and looked ahead to the opportunity he would find elsewhere. He added that hed find motivation from the dismissal, just as he had upon being traded from the Canadiens five years – almost to the day – earlier. "People always in life motivate me," he said. According to Leafs general manager Dave Nonis, the Leafs desired "cap flexibility" in parting ways with Grabovski and ultimately they chose that flexibility – be it with Tyler Bozak, Stephen Weiss or whomover they manage to acquire – over Grabovski. After buying out Mike Komisarek a day earlier, the organization projects to have upwards of $24 million available heading into free agency period, though they have the likes of Nazem Kadri, Cody Franson, Carl Gunnarsson, Jonathan Bernier and Mark Fraser still to sign. Grabovski spent the early months of the most recent lockout in the KHL with CKSA Moscow and wouldnt rule out the league as an option for his next opportunity, though there figures to be NHL interest with a dearth of quality centremen available. "I need to work harder," he concluded, taking time to thank his teammates, equipment managers and fans, "I need to be smarter, I need to play harder, need to play better and score a lot of goals and do what I do the best." 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