Must See: Raiders Derek Carr Post Loss to Colts
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HENDERSON, Nev.--With a gut-wrenching 25-20 loss to an Indianapolis Colts team that many thought was tanking, the Las Vegas Raiders Derek Carr was visibly frustrated.
You certainly can't blame the Silver and Black captain. In one of the most genuine and emotional press conferences I have ever attended in decades of journalism, here is Derek Carr's entire press conference.
You can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript:
Raiders QB Derek Carr
Q: You guys didn’t expect to be here at this point in the season, do you have any explanation for just where the team stands right now?
Carr: "I can't speak for everybody. I know where I stand, and I love the Silver and Black. I'm going to give it everything I can, every time I go out there, and I can't speak for everybody, for every man, what's going on in their head. But I can tell you what's going on in my head, and I'm going to give it all that I can every single time."
Q: Last year with what you did with his team, and everything you guys went through; you endured and got to the playoffs. This year, it just seems there's frustration at times, obviously at these losses. Is there in any way a disconnect with what you're trying to do and this new staff as far as the system?
Carr: "I don't think so. I love Josh [McDaniels], I love our coaches. They've had nothing but success, way more success than I've ever had. I'm sorry for being emotional. I'm just pissed off by some of the things that a lot of us try and do, just to practice, what we put our bodies through just to sleep at night. For that to be the result of all that effort pisses me off. It pisses a lot of guys off. It's hard knowing what some guys are doing. Like I said, just to practice, what they're putting in their body just to sleep at night, just so we can be there for each other. I wish everybody in that room felt the same way about this place. As a leader that pisses me off, if I'm being honest."
Q: The game started a little slow in the first quarter, and then it seemed that those defensive plays by Amik Robertson and Maxx Crosby really seemed to kind of bring the team up and the offensive immediately went down and scored. But obviously, later in the game, it couldn't quite maintain; how do you explain the difference between how it started and the energy they had after those defensive plays?
Carr: "It definitely helped us, them getting the ball out and all that. It was good for the momentum, for the sideline. In the first quarter we were killing ourselves with penalties, for the first quarter and half. Penalties, I mean second-and-30s and stuff -- that hurt us. I didn't see the replays on them, so I don't know what it was or anything like that. I just know that it hurt us. But having those plays really fueled us, helped our sideline. And I'm happy we made those plays because it got us going."
Q: As a captain, if you have guys on that team that maybe you don't think are giving maximum effort or buying in, how do you address that? How do you do it nine games in?
Carr: "Well, we had our leaders -- and it's not even something crazy -- address it, man to man just now and it was good. It needed to be done. It needed to be said. And I think for me is I'm always going to just show the way. I'm going to show the way, show them what it looks like. Show them how hard it is. In the huddle, I told them in the second quarter. I said, 'It's going to be hard, but we're going to come back and we're going to win this game. I believe it. It's going to be hard, though. It's not going to be easy.' You got to do the hard things. Josh [McDaniels] always preaches 'Do the hard things right.' And I'm not perfect. I'm never going to be perfect. But the love that I have for this place and the effort that I give will never be second to none, every time. And so, they addressed it, we addressed it. It's not a problem. It was addressed. It was good. But I think the emotion of just nine years of stuff hit me today, for how much I really love this place. And it's not going to change anything. I'm going to come here and I'm going to fight and compete next week, and that's what I'm going to do."
Q: Six losses you've had by one score and the narrative is always 'One play here, one play there.' Does it include everyone from your coaching staff on down? That's a lot of losses for one score at this stage just to say, 'A play here?'
Carr: "Yes. We all take accountability, I take accountability. Like I said, I'm not perfect. There are so many plays -- I don't know what the completions were -- but one of the ones I missed. Take a look at those; the one to Tae [Davante Adams], I tripped as I'm throwing him the ball down the field. That can't happen. So, we all take accountability. And the NFL is one-score games all the time. And so, this team has to learn how to finish those. Like you said, there's been so many of them – six you said, right? And you flip all those and everyone's feeling good about it, and I feel great about everything. But that just isn't the case. But it's on all of us. But for me, I'm going to speak for myself and I'm going to come in and take my coaching from Josh. He's going to be hard on me like he always is, and I'm thankful for it. We'll keep going forward and all of that. I think if everyone takes that mindset, that's where you get better."
Q: When you and your teammates are walking off the field and you hear the reaction of the fans – I'm assuming you obviously understand their frustration as well and maybe not taking it too personally?
Carr: "I never take it personally. I'm just the one that's been here the longest. I had some older players that were here longer than me that said, 'Don't worry, it'll be your turn someday, too.' I jog off the field like, 'Yeah, that stuff happens.' I'm not mad at it, so don't worry about it."
The Raiders return to action next week when they head to Denver to take on the Broncos. That game kicks off at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST. You can see that game on FOX.
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