David Carr on the NFL | Khalil Mack's Trade Perspective

The first 30 minutes Khalil Mack was in the Chicago Bears' uniform did not look good for Jon Gruden, the Raiders or their trade; Mack, one of the scariest defensive players in the league, has been selected four times in the repechage, including two in the first round.

He recovered a pass and a fumble, and intercepted a pass that he returned for a touchdown. He did the things of Khalil Mack. He has probably had one of the best football halves a defensive team has had in the last 30 years.

That's why the Raiders even paid $ 100 million to someone to rush the smuggler. You find yourself in fear of the guy every time he comes out on the pitch. He has the ability to do things like that.

But what was interesting overall, in the last part of the match, Nick Perry had a backpack on Mitchell Trubisky, and Nick Perry earned about $ 6 million a year. It's interesting to see how it all works. You can see Khalil's value for the Chicago Bears – it's priceless. They were still in position with Trubisky on his rookie contract, to pay a player like that and you have no problem with that.

But when you get into that range – Mack signed a $ 141 million six-year, $ 90 million guaranteed deal with the Bears after the deal – and you really look at the numbers and the story , the best Make this kind of money, they are quarterbacks.

The others, they affect the game, but they do not affect the game as much.

Aaron Rodgers is back and we know the contract he signed with the Green Bay Packers. The Packers have other players on their team who are making money – Davante Adams, for one. But everything is a question of Rodgers. When he came back into the game, Mack's big first half was practically canceled by a quarter-high playing at a high level.

Mack had one of the biggest games in his history and the Bears were still lost. Make had a great year last year with the Raiders. He played every game, almost every moment, but they went 6-10.

You have to look at it from this angle.

You can almost justify the trade, even if it is really difficult. Nobody, including Derek Carr, wanted Mack to play for the Bears. Mack is one of Derek's best friends in the world. I do not think Mack wanted to play for the Bears, I do not really do it. I think he wanted to be a Raider, but that did not happen, for any reason whatsoever. Some of the reasons we might never know. But you can understand why the Raiders did it.

The Raiders did not do much either for the sake of this deal, losing to the Rams.

But I do not think Gruden was crazy in his thinking. When I was in camp with the NFL network, he told us, "We were not a very good defense with Khalil." I do not think he was saying that Mack was a n & # 39; Was not a very good defense. I think that's what he meant.

I think that they can be a better defense than last year. Obviously, they would like to have Mack. But I still think this team will end up with more bags and more interceptions than last year. I think they'll be better at defending.

It's almost crazy to say that because Mack is not here. But from the point of view of the defensive coordinator, if you look at what Paul Guenther did in Jacksonville and Cincinnati, they have always been tough teams. They are opportunists. They will find ways to create turnover. They will give their offense short fields.

I think the Raiders' high school is better. I think their linebacker's body is better. I think Bruce Irvin still has a lot of things. Arden Key will be a good player.

They have a chance to be a better defense.

The Raiders played a very good football team and Mack had an amazing night the night before, so the storm was almost perfect.

The tough part of dealing with a team like the Rams, sort of, puts you on the heels as a defensive coordinator because they do so much with formations and scans and screens, and Todd Gurley is just a amazing back.

You can not really risk everything and go after the shift when you have so much to worry about from a schematic point of view.

It hurt the Raiders a bit, as they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. But not all teams will have the same skills as the Rams, so they can become more aggressive throughout the year.

David Carr is a former quarterback from Fresno State, the NFL draft pick and Super Bowl champion. Now he is an analyst for the NFL network and writes a weekly column in collaboration with Robert Kuwada of The Bee. The column is sponsored by Valley Children's Hospital.

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