QB Derek Carr is energized by the Saints new-look offense: 'These guys are awesome.' (2024)

Before he got a chance to sink his teeth into it, Derek Carr knew at least one thing about the New Orleans Saints’ new offensive system.

“No matter where this scheme has been run, there’s been a lot of success,” Carr said.

Carr echoed what many in the organization already have said since the Saints hired offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak: They are thrilled by the prospect of what offensive football can look like in New Orleans with Kubiak behind the play sheet, and a big part of that excitement is based on the scheme’s proven NFL track record.

The team has gone through only the first of three voluntary organized team activity (OTA) sessions, and Carr has had a little more than a month of limited contact with the new staff to dive into the new playbook. But the opportunity he’s had to study the offense, envision his role within it and get to know his new coaches have energized Carr.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Carr said. “These guys are awesome.”

These are the early days of the Saints building what they hope is a strong offensive foundation, and Carr is at the center of it all.

“Derek has had a really good offseason thus far,” Kubiak said. “He’s putting in the work, he’s here after hours, he just really studied his tail off. His teammates see how hard he works, and he brings their level of play up as well.”

Last year, Carr joined a team that was running an offensive scheme that had been in place since he was a sophom*ore in high school. Many of his teammates had spent their entire career in that offense.

Now, they’re all sitting on the ground floor together. They’re not only learning about the scaffolding of the offense — the formations, the verbiage, the cadences — but they’re also all learning what this coaching staff has identified as important.

They are honing in on big ideas and small details. One of the early sayings is for the quarterbacks to “listen to your feet,” a way of keeping them on time with their progressions. And for the first time in New Orleans, Carr doesn’t feel like he’s playing catch-up.

He has enjoyed learning and asking questions. Carr also felt that starting on even footing with the rest of his teammates opened up a new avenue for him to be a leader on the offense.

“His mindset is a growth mindset,” quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko said. “So every day he comes in, he’s really passionate about coming in and taking notes. So even though he’s heard 'Z Dragon Lion' for the 1,000th time, he’s still taking a note on it.

“… Or he’s looking at the young guys, and he’s giving them a tip on the defense because it’s something he has learned and can pass that down.”

When asked about Carr and his approach to the new offense, head coach Dennis Allen described his quarterback as someone who “jumped right into the deep end of the pool.”

“He’s embraced everything they’re asking him to do,” Allen said. “He’s been really attentive in meetings. He’s taking control of the offense, both on the field, in the classroom, all those things. And look, that’s a difficult proposition for any quarterback, and I think in particular a guy that has been in the league for a long time. Getting into a new system can be a challenge, and for him to embrace the change is positive.”

Carr is hitting a somewhat crucial juncture as he embarks upon his 11th professional season, and his second in New Orleans.

As with any starting NFL quarterback, much of the Saints’ success this year will be tied to Carr’s performance, and the Saints are banking on this new offense getting more out of him.

Going only by the statistics, Carr and the Saints offense were fine last season — Carr ranked top-10 in the league in most major passing statistics, and the Saints finished with the NFL’s No. 9 scoring offense.

But the full-season numbers don’t paint a complete picture. There were times Carr and the offense were extraordinary, but there were also long stretches that fell somewhere between bad and mediocre. That the Saints finished in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive scoring and missed the playoffs should say plenty about the swings between high and low.

Carr turned 33 years old this March, and he has three years remaining on his contract — though New Orleans could decide to release Carr next year and absorb a significant dead-cap charge.

But when the Saints’ new offensive coaches looked at what Carr did in his debut season, they saw plenty they liked — especially during the final five games, when Carr fired 14 touchdowns against two interceptions to lead the Saints to a 4-1 finish.

“He got comfortable later in the season; he got on a roll,” Janocko said. “... Some of the new players, as those guys felt comfortable, they started to feed off each other and you could see that. That’s something that we’re hoping to build on.”