If there’s one category Rex Ryan is dominant in, it’s his ability to make rookie quarterbacks look like they don’t belong on the field. With a 7-3 record against rookie quarterbacks, Jets fans should look forward to seeing Derek Carr step out onto the MetLife Stadium turf with the Oakland Raiders. Some NFL pundits wonder whether Derek Carr should even be on the field this weekend.
Say what you will about Matt Schaub and his 2013 pick-six plague over the course of 10 games, but he has been slinging the ball on NFL defenses since 2004. The Jets secondary that will run out onto the field this Sunday would’ve been one of the worst secondaries that Schaub has seen throughout his 128 career starts. With Dee Milliner all but ruled out for Sunday, Ryan goes from Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie to Kyle Wilson and Antonio Allen.
Allen has never started a game as cornerback, and while his safety career is promising, this game won’t be about that. It’ll be about an offseason with questionable decisions by John Idzik on the defensive side of the ball. Idzik didn’t make a push for Revis, passed on Cromartie, and whiffed on Captain Munnerlyn while deciding to sign Dimitri Patterson, who was recently cut for being a no-show during their pre-season game against the Giants.
Here’s a video with more on Derek Carr winning the job, the first Raiders rookie signal caller ever given the chance to start the opening game:
Ryan has arguably the best defensive line in football, but for now also has arguably the worst starting cornerback tandem. The Jets and their fans should consider this opportunity against Carr a blessing. With Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Matt Stafford, Phillip Rivers, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady over the following six weeks, this week one game could’ve already been considered a must-win. The fact Carr makes his first start, after coming out of nowhere in training camp and forcing Dennis Allen to surprise all with his decision, this is now definitely a must-win. There’s one Ryan-coached game against a rookie quarterback that stands out among the others. Andrew Luck went into MetLife stadium with a record of 2-2 and got beat- badly. The Jets won 35-9, sacking Luck four times and forcing him to throw two interceptions with no touchdowns. That was Luck’s first wake up call, something Ryan has a reputation of doing to rookie quarterbacks. 
The Jets were already the favorite, even with question marks in the secondary and Schaub at the helm. Under these circumstances, no matter how great Carr has looked in pre-season, the Jets defense can’t let this one get away. In the video below the Fox Football Daily crew discuss the Raiders decision to start Derek Carr over Matt Schaub. Donovann McNabb, Charissa Thompson, Peter Schrager and Petros Papadakis discuss: