In a story last month, Michael Crabtree drew a comparison between his current quarterback, Derek Carr, and Brett Favre, who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer. He brought out the well-worn "gunslinger" term.
Asked about the comparison, Favre himself disputed it. "I don't know if I consider him a gunslinger," Favre said. "I think he's a little more polished. And I mean that with all due respect. I think he's done a tremendous job in Oakland. I like the way he plays."
I didn't put a lot of stock in the comparison initially, but it's interesting how similar the two players' numbers are at the start of their career. Yards, touchdowns, completion percentage, passer rating. Very similar.
The table below shows Favre's numbers from his first two full seasons as a starter, followed by Carr's from his first two seasons. Carr -- and this is in part because of how the league has changed over the last 20 years -- has been a little better; slightly more yards, fewer interceptions.
| FAVRE VERSUS CARR, FIRST TWO SEASONS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Year | Com | Att | Pct | Yards | TD | INT | Rating |
| Favre | 1993 | 318 | 522 | 60.9 | 3,303 | 19 | 24 | 72.2 |
| Favre | 1994 | 363 | 582 | 62.4 | 3,882 | 33 | 14 | 90.7 |
| Avg | 341 | 552 | 61.7 | 3,593 | 26 | 19 | 81.5 | |
| Carr | 2014 | 348 | 599 | 58.1 | 3,270 | 21 | 12 | 76.6 |
| Carr | 2015 | 350 | 573 | 61.1 | 3,987 | 32 | 13 | 91.1 |
| Avg | 349 | 586 | 60.0 | 3,629 | 27 | 13 | 83.8 | |
--Andy Richardson