Continuing on with our Advent Calendar, it’s time to mark the fourth of December with the Raider’s #4. If you missed yesterday’s edition, you can find it here.

Derek Carr isn’t just the Oakland Raiders starting quarterback. He is the saviour to their franchise. The Raiders fate at quarterback hasn’t been great since Rich Gannon retired in 2004, with 18 players lining up under centre before Derek Carr was drafted out of Fresno State, 36th Overall in the 2014 NFL draft. Take a look at some of the names on the list:

1. Matt McGloin 2. Matt Schaub 3.Terrelle Pryor 4. Matt Flynn 5. Carson Palmer 6. Matt Leinart 7. Jason Campbell 8. Kyle Boller 9. Bruce Gradkowski 10. JaMarcus Russell 11. Charlie Frye 12. J.P. Losman 13. Andrew Walter 14. Marques Tuiasosopo 15. Josh McCown 16. Daunte Culpepper 17. Aaron Brooks 18. Kerry Collins

I will be very impressed if you could remember all 18 of those names! In some respects, you may think it is equally as hard for Carr not to succeed but this is the Oakland Raiders and they just do not win games. From 2004 to 2013 before Carr was a Raider, they went 49-111, which in typical Raider fashion was the worst in the NFL. Carr is only 8-19 since entering the NFL, but the Raiders are still in the hunt for a wildcard spot in the AFC playoff race. The fact that the Silver and Black are relevant 11 games into the season says it all.

I have crowned Derek Carr ‘The Prince of Darkness” for his naturally thick eyelashes (He doesn’t wear eyeliner, he promises!). Carr has been electrifying this season, especially with the AC/DC connection with rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper. The former Crimson Tide wide receiver has helped the gunslinger greatly this season. Cooper, who is on pace for 1,255 yards this season, would join Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Tim Brown as Raiders with over 1,250 receiving yards in a season.

Carr is already among Oakland Raider folklore. He was tied third before Thursday Night Football in touchdowns with Aaron Rodgers, behind only MVP candidates in Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. To have a Raiders quarterback winning games in the style Carr has done has been special, dominating teams, making throws all over the field. This season alone he has ripped apart the Jets defence when it was a formidable force, went toe to toe with Ben Roethlisberger in a tight loss and drove down the field with less than two minutes to go to get the go-ahead touchdown. Derek Carr is a top five quarterback.

If Al Davis were still alive, he would appreciate Carr’s style of play. Carr has the number one deep ball in the NFL. His 53.1% completion rate on passes 15+ yards is the highest in the NFL along with his 124.3 passer rating on those throws. He wears the number ‘4’ as homage to his childhood hero Brett Favre. Carr also models his game as a gunslinger in a very Brett Favre way. The difference early in their careers seems to be that Carr takes a little better care of the football. His INT rate is the lowest in history for a quarterback wearing the silver and black; in fact since 2000 he has the second lowest INT rate of 1.84% of anyone in that span. Only Aaron Rodgers takes care of the football better than Carr. On top of a great deep ball throw Carr is a dangerous man.

If you can name a team with more upside, having a league high in cap space next season and an exciting young trio in Carr, Murray and Cooper, I’d like to hear it. Not to mention the bookend in Khalil Mack on defence. Watch out, Derek Carr could lead this team to future Super Bowl glory.

And finally, I just wanted to say if my emotion did spill out….. “He’s my quarterback.”