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Derek Carr threw for 513 yards and four touchdowns Sunday, and now hes one of the hottest stories of the NFL season. Carr has helped lead the Oakland Raiders?to a 6-2 record -- tied for first in the AFC West through eight games. Hes also garnering legitimate MVP hype?and has emerged as the far-and-away star of the 2014 quarterback draft class.How has he done it? The numbers provide some insight into Carrs development, as well as the Raiders strong work in creating a winning environment around him. Lets take a closer look, with help from ESPN Stats & Information senior statistics analyst Jacob Nitzberg.Carr was a polarizing draft prospect three years ago, in part because of the spread system he played in at Fresno State and also because of an alarming dip in production when pressured. He was incredibly accurate when in a clean pocket during his college career, completing 72 percent of those passes. But when under duress, his completion percentage dropped to 29 percent.If Carr reacted that poorly to pressure in college, some wondered how he could possibly succeed in the NFL. Check out the chart:Derek Carr under pressure, since 2014As you can see, Carr struggled under pressure -- defined as dropbacks in which a quarterback is sacked, hit or put under duress -- in his first two seasons. This season, however, he has improved his Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) in those situations to 51.3, sixth best in the NFL. For context, the league average when under pressure is 30.6.Carr appears to have made an adjustment in those situations, mostly throwing shorter passes when facing a heavy rush. From 2014-15, 25 percent of his passes under pressure traveled at least 15 yards downfield, and 13.4 percent went 20 or more yards downfield. This season, those percentages have dropped to 18.9 and 5.7, respectively.That increase in higher-efficiency throws has spurred a significant reduction in off-target throws while under pressure, as illustrated in the chart below:Derek Carr percentage of off-target throws under pressureWhile its clear that Carr has engineered improvement in an area that vexed him both in college and in his first two NFL seasons, heres a dirty little secret: The Raiders have minimized the pressure he has faced far better than most NFL franchises.Carr has been sacked only nine times this season, fewest in the NFL for quarterbacks who have played eight games. Overall, he has been pressured on only 20.3 percent of his dropbacks, the third-lowest rate in the league.The following gives you a sense of the disparity in sack rates between Carr and the NFL average. The takeaway: There are quarterbacks who are being sacked at a rate more than three times that of Carr.2016 NFL quarterback sack rateYou might be wondering whether Carr is getting great protection, or if hes using his compact release to throw before the pass rush gets to him. Well, its more the former than the latter. His average time before throwing this season is 2.47 seconds, slower than 20 other quarterbacks.Heres the truth: The Raiders have made a big commitment to building their offensive line. They made Rodney Hudson the NFLs highest-paid center in 2015, then made free agent Kelechi Osemele the leagues highest-paid guard in the spring. And the Raiders re-signed Donald Penn to play left tackle, allowing Osemele to remain at his natural position.The Raiders have committed more salary-cap space to their offensive line than any other team in the NFL, and nearly?65 percent more than the league average.2016 salary-cap commitment to O-lineAdd it all up, and Carr has become one of the leagues most efficient and productive quarterbacks. In his final season at Fresno State, Carr threw 50 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions. But would you believe he actually has a better touchdown-to-interception ratio in the NFL this season?Thats right; Carr has thrown 17 touchdowns against three interceptions, and his ratio of 5.67 is second only to Sam Bradford (eight touchdowns and one interception) as the best among QBs with at least five starts. Neither Tom Brady (12:0) nor Brian Hoyer (6:0) has enough starts to qualify.Best TD/INT rate, 2016 (min. five starts)Carr has had plenty of help this season. In addition to a well-fortified offensive line, his wide receivers have added an NFL-high 244 yards after first contact. The Raiders also have an accomplished offensive coaching staff, starting with coordinator Bill Musgrave, offensive line coach Mike Tice and quarterbacks coach Todd Downing.Still, there have been missed opportunities to produce at an even greater rate. As a team, the Raiders have the NFLs seventh-worst drop rate at 5.3 percent. But no matter how you look at it, or whatever qualifiers you find, Derek Carr is having a breakout season. Quinnen Williams Youth Jersey . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. LeVeon Bell Womens Jersey . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. http://www.jetsrookiestore.com/Jets-Joe-Klecko-Jersey/ . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. C.J. Mosley Youth Jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. LeVeon Bell Jersey . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez looked more like himself Friday night.Fernandez bounced back from allowing a career-high nine runs, six earned, in a loss at Atlanta to pitch seven innings allowing just an unearned run to help the Miami Marlins to a 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds to begin the final series before the All-Star break.Obviously there was a lot of things to work on from last start and a lot of adjustments to be made, Fernandez said. I think we made a couple, but theres still a lot of work to be done.Fernandez (11-4) struck out eight and did not walk a batter while allowing six hits, lowering his first-half ERA to 2.52. The Reds scored the unearned run with two errors committed by Marlins outfielders.Its a different element when you can strike people out, Reds manager Bryan Price said. When he needed a strikeout he was able to go get it. He has a different gear when he needs an out. Thats what makes great pitchers special.Christian Yelich homered and drove in two runs and Derek Dietrich also knocked in a run for the Marlins, who returned home after a 3-6 road trip.Miamis All-Star relievers both pitched one inning, Fernando Rodney in the eighth and A.J.Ramos in the ninth for his 26th save in 27 chances.The game took only 2 hours and 16 minutes.Thats pretty good, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. That will help our pace of play report when it comes out.The win assured the Marlins (45-41) of a winning record in the first half for the first time since 2009 when they went 46-44 before the break.I know everybody is excited, but were four games over and four games over is not going to get it done, Mattingly said. Weve got a ways to go. Were getting better. Were capable of more. Weve got a lot of talent here and this second half should be fun. If we play the type of baseball were capable of, weve got a chance to do something special.Dan Straily (4-6) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings for the Reds.I thought I pitched well but not good enough, Straily said. Certain nights you have to go out there and win a ballgame 1-0. I wasnt able to get that done tonight.Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips left the game after being hit by a pitch on the left hand in the seventh inning. X-rays revealed a hairline fracture.It wasnt good enough to stay in the game, Price said. It was real sore. Well have to see where he is ttomorrow with a lot of ice and time to sleep and get the swelling down.ddddddddddddYelichs RBI double in the first gave the Marlins the lead.To me Yelly is one of the best hitters in the game and hes starting to show it more and we still feel theres room for improvement with him, Mattingly said.Adam Duvalls single tied the game in the top of the fourth before Dietrichs base hit put the Marlins ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the inning.Yelich hit a solo homer in the sixth for a 3-1 lead. It was his seventh of the season after hitting seven in 126 games last season.Theres room for improvement I think for myself and as a team weve played well in the first half, but weve let a few get away, Yelich said. Its important to finish up this last series strong and take that momentum into the second half.MARLINS DROP FIFTH STARTERMiami optioned starting pitcher Justin Nicolino to Triple-A New Orleans on Friday and recalled catcher Tomas Telis with the plan of going with a four-man rotation until a fifth starter would be needed on July 19, at Philadelphia.Nicolino, who is 2-5 with a 5.57 ERA in 12 starts this season, might not get the nod against the Phillies.Were looking for the best alternative, Mattingly said. Were not committed to Nico getting the next start. We dont have to make that decision right now.TRAINERS ROOMReds: CF Billy Hamilton (right knee) made a leaping catch up against the wall in center field in the fifth inning, but stayed in the game and had ice on his knee after the game. Its fine and everything should be good, Hamilton said. ... RHP Homer Bailey (right elbow) made his third rehab start on Thursday and will make at least two more before returning to the big league club. It sounds like he felt pretty good, threw the ball over the plate, gave up a few hits and a couple of runs, but thats a distant second to how he felt, Price said. It sounds like things are getting better.UP NEXTReds: LHP John Lamb (1-5, 5.43 ERA) will start Saturdays game against the Marlins after allowing eight runs over 4 1/3 innings in his last start at Washington.Marlins: LHP Adam Conley (5-5, 3.65) will take the mound looking to continue his positive stretch, which includes a 2-1 mark and 2.25 ERA over his past four starts. ' ' '