Derek Carr's injured pinky didn't keep the Oakland Raiders out of the playoffs and hasn't hindered his passing ability, but it's become a problem in the red zone.
Since dislocating his pinky finger, Carr has taken snaps exclusively from the shotgun or pistol formation. (Carr actually lined up under center for one play Sunday versus the Chargers to try to draw defenders offside on a first down from midfield. It worked.)
"Yes, it is somewhat of an issue," coach Jack Del Rio said of not being able to take snaps under center, via ESPN.com. "It is not ideal. Being completely honest about it, it is an issue that we are working through, but it is the way we're choosing to work through it right now."
Playing exclusively from shotgun or pistol becomes more difficult in the red zone. It's tough to be successful on power run plays from those formations in the restricted space near the goal line. Not going under center can also throw off timing on certain routes.
