Graney: Emotional Carr calls out teammates after loss to Colts

His eyes were red and his voice cracking. Derek Carr swayed from one side of a podium to the next, searching for answers that aren’t there.

The nine-year franchise quarterback of the Raiders fought back tears more than once. He couldn’t help it.

This isn’t working. Something or someone has to change. This is a disaster.

The jokes will be made about a 25-20 loss to the Colts on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, about how the Raiders fell to a man who had never coached above the high school level.

But as much folly as you want to add about Jeff Saturday (Sunday?) being named coach in Indianapolis last week, the Raiders have far more significant issues in which to address.

It’s even bigger than a 2-7 record.

Locker room strife

You are looking at a splintered locker room under a coach (Josh McDaniels) who in Denver and Las Vegas hasn’t proven he’s prepared for the responsibilities that come with the job.

McDaniels has lost 24 of his past 31 games as an NFL coach. If he’s the answer, there are countless questions left to be asked. Coaching is about leadership. The Raiders need more of it.

McDaniels eventually lost the locker room with the Broncos, and there’s obvious strain in his current one, this the second straight week in which team leaders have called out others without specifically naming them.

“I’m sorry for being emotional,” Carr said. “I’m just pissed off about some of the things that a lot of us try to do just to practice. What we put our bodies through just to sleep at night. And for this to be the results of all that effort just pisses me off. It pisses a lot of guys off.

“What some guys are doing just to practice — what they’re putting their bodies through so we can be there for each other. I just wish everybody in that room felt the same way about this place. As a leader, that pisses me off, if I’m being honest.

“I can’t speak for everybody. I know where I stand. I love the Silver and Black. … I can’t speak for everybody and every man about what’s going on in their head, but I know what’s going on in my head. I’m going to give it everything I have every single time.

“We had our leaders address it (in the locker room afterward), and it was good. It needed to be done. It needed to be said. For me, I’m always going to show them the way, show them what it looks like, show them how hard it is. We addressed it.”

Pointed words, these.

McDaniels certainly isn’t going to acknowledge there is strife within. Expect the team to publicly rally around one another this week. That’s how these things go. Raw emotions often define postgame comments after a terrible loss.

It’s also when guys are most honest.

The coach isn’t going anywhere. Owner Mark Davis has invested far too much in the duo that is McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.

But the status quo isn’t working. Something — a lot — is amiss.

They still can’t stop anyone. The offense is still far too inconsistent. And there is an obvious disconnect about a level of commitment between different groups within the team. Carr said as much. So has wide receiver Davante Adams.

“Sounds like a broken record,” is how McDaniels began his postgame news conference.

“It starts with me. It always starts with me. I’ll do everything I can to figure out what we can do better to change the results.”

Booing fans

The boos started after the team’s second offensive series. They continued at the end of the first quarter, when Carr was 0-for-5 passing and the Raiders had a robust total of 5 yards.

They returned when a fourth-and-2 call resulted in a 3-yard loss inside Indianapolis territory in the second quarter and rained down from above as the final seconds of another embarrassing defeat became official.

The Raiders are 0-6 in one-score games. That’s a serious lack of execution at the most critical of times. That’s a serious lack of coaching.

“(The fans) are as passionate as anybody I’ve been around,” McDaniels said. “I appreciate that. All of us here understand that we have great fans and they deserve better than this. I get it. They have a right to feel frustrated with the results we’ve provided this year.”

His nine-year franchise quarterback swayed from one side of the podium to the next, eyes red and voice cracking and fighting back tears.

This isn’t working. Something has to change.

Ed Graney is a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing and can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on Twitter.